Seeing that getting a proper brewing venue is taking way longer than expected, our mission for 2012 is to sort out some of the beer recipes…
So far this year we made two batches of an American Pale Ale, a Black Ale and an English Ale on our pilot system, and on the 1 gallon system a few Belgian style ales.
Today seemed like a good day to crack open a few packets of the super high alpha hops from www.nikobrew.com to make a proper American IPA.
A proper American style IPA is not for the faint hearted… Typical beers in the style are hop-forward to say the least. They are characterised by the floral, citrus-like, fruity, piney & resinous notes from the hop varieties of the American Northwest.
Many of the beers being sold as IPA’s are not quite IPA’s… Some people tend to incorrectly label American Pale Ales as India Pale Ales. Luckily The Brewers Association 2012 Beer Style Guidelines provide an additional classification for these inbetween beers, i.e. American-Style Strong Pale Ale.
American-Style Pale Ale
OG: 1.044-1.050
FG: 1.008-1.014
ABV: 4.5-5.6%
IBU: 30-42
Color: 6-14 SRM
American-Style Strong Pale Ale
OG: 1.050-1.060
FG: 1.008-1.016
ABV: 5.5-6.3%
IBU: 40-50
Color: 6-14 SRM
American-Style India Pale Ale
OG: 1.060-1.075
FG: 1.012-1.020
ABV: 6.3-7.5%
IBU: 50-70
Color: 6-14 SRM
Double or Imperial India Pale Ale
OG: 1.075-1.100
FG: 1.012-1.020
ABV: 7.5-10.5%
IBU: 65-100
Color: 5-13 SRM
If all goes to plan we will end up with a proper American IPA.
The alcohol content by volume should be in the region of 6.3-6.5%. The calculated bitterness will be at 85 IBU. This exceeds the style guidelines quite a bit, but as it clearly states “guidelines” we reckon some of the values are left open the interpretation and a bit of leeway is allowable.
The beer will have a bold hop aroma and strong hop bittering thanks to ample amounts of Apollo, Columbus, Centennial & Cascade hops.
