Hop Savant, Tasting Session

Shitty picture, I was drunk at the time BTW

Aroma: Malt sweetness, heavy simcoe (not catty) flavors, very aromatic.

Appearance:  Burnt amber, cloudy (more than normal)  tan colored head, well balanced long lasting head retention

4 C's Double IPA

Rye has always scared me, I have thoughts of rye bread as a child always brings back bad memories of biting into a great look piece of bread and getting a tart, somewhat spicy flavor.  This chain of events somehow always ends in my tossing out a otherwise great sandwich.  Now, I have grown, a little over the years but for the most part anything with rye makes me look for the alternative.

Then one day at Obrien's Pub in San Diego I had a Rye IPA from Alpine Brewing Company called Nelson.  This was brewed with Nelson hops.  These hops are grown in New Zeland, and by all accounts one of the most unique hops I personally have ever tried. 

I have no other way to describe the taste of the Nelson other than mind blowing.  This beer was clean, crisp and spicy.  The combination of the Nelson and the Rye was a match made in heaven.  This started my journey onto the idea of Rye brewing.  Now keep in mind, if you love Rye, this is not a new brewing idea at all.  Just from my perspective the thought of brewing with something that I traditionally hated was not something that I ever conceived before.  Would other things work?  Mustard for example?  Probably not, but now I know that thinking outside the box in brewing could change things for the better. 

Getting back on track, my passion for homebrewing was started by the IPA.  Russian River, Alesmith, Alpine and other San Diego breweries make the best IPA's in the country.  The blending of hops, malt and residual sugar is amazing.  My other personal favorite is Mermaid Red by Coronado Brewing Co.  I've had other red's but they always lack the crispness of the Coronado's.  Somehow the idea of blending all of the above started to grow in my head.  The thoughts of a hop layered, sunshine red, malt bomb just seams so satisfying to me.  So I started working on this recipe a couple of months back.  The idea was simple, a malty, hop ridden shot of sunshine.  With the current backlog of session beers in the fermentor I wanted something a little stronger, maybe in the 8% range.  The end result is below.  The 4 C's comes from the 4 hops in the beer.  Chinook, Cascade, Columbus and Cenntennial.

**Entered into NHC 2012**
 

Tasty's IPA

Tasty's Double IPA

Imperial IPA

 

Type: All Grain	Date: 6/11/2011
Batch Size: 6.00 gal	Brewer: Chris Lewis
Boil Size: 4.67 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: B3-1500 5 Gallon Brewing System
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0	Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00%
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 8.1 oz Dextrose (Corn Sugar) (3.0 SRM) Adjunct 2.60 % 16 lbs 16.0 oz American Pale Malt (2-Row) (3.0 SRM) Grain 87.12 % 15.9 oz American Dextrin (Cara-Pils) Malt (3.0 SRM) Grain 5.08 % 8.1 oz American Wheat Malt (3.0 SRM) Grain 2.60 % 8.1 oz Crystal Malt 40L (3.0 SRM) Grain 2.60 % 0.75 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (90 min) Hops 46.9 IBU 1.50 oz Columbus [15.00 %] (90 min) Hops 108.2 IBU 0.75 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (45 min) Hops 40.2 IBU 0.75 oz Columbus [15.00 %] (30 min) Hops 38.9 IBU 0.75 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (15 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops - 1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (1 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops - 1.25 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (1 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops - 0.75 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (0 min) Hops - 2.00 oz Columbus [15.00 %] Hops - 1.25 oz Centennial [10.00 %] Hops - 1.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] Hops - 1.25 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] Hops - 0.00 gal San Diego, CA Water 1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.000 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.082 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.000 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 0.00 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 9.17 %
Bitterness: 234.2 IBU	Calories: 373 cal/pint
Est Color: 7.1 SRM	Color: Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion Mash, Medium Bodied Beer	Total Grain Weight: 19.51 lb
Sparge Water: 7.51 gal	Grain Temperature: 71.6 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.8 F	TunTemperature: 71.6 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE	Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Single Infusion Mash, Medium Bodied Beer Step Time Name Description Step Temp 60 min Mash In Add 0.00 qt of water at 154.0 F 154.0 F 10 min Mash Out Add 0.00 qt of water at 168.0 F 168.0 F
Mash Notes:
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Keg	Volumes of CO2: 2.4
Pressure/Weight:	Carbonation Used: -
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 60.0 F	Age for: 28.0 days
Storage Temperature: 37 F
Notes
Mike (Tasty) McDoles Pliny the Elder clone
Created with BeerSmith

Double Drunk Elf IPA Recipe

I am working on a basic IPA recipe that I can evolve with, that should have a strong malt backbone with a overpowering hop presence.  This is the starting point for this endeavor, I am hoping to wash the yeast and brew back to back tweaking when necessary. 

Double Drunk Elf IPA #2

American IPA

 

Type: All Grain	Date: 3/15/2011
Batch Size: 6.00 gal	Brewer: Chris Lewis
Boil Size: 6.87 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: My Equipment
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0	Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00
Taste Notes: Great Tasting IPA. Was brewed for Christmas break here in San Diego.
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 11 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 69.84 % 3 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 19.05 % 1 lbs Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain 6.35 % 12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 4.76 % 1.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 32.1 IBU 0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (Dry Hop 4 days) Hops - 0.50 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (20 min) Hops 9.7 IBU 0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (20 min) Hops 9.7 IBU 0.25 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (10 min) Hops 2.9 IBU 1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (0 min) Hops - 1 Pkgs California Ale V (White Labs #WLP051) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.076 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.065 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.020 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 7.37 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 7.84 %
Bitterness: 54.5 IBU	Calories: 287 cal/pint
Est Color: 6.2 SRM	Color: Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Lewy Mash	Total Grain Weight: 15.75 lb
Sparge Water: 8.76 gal	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE	Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Lewy Mash Step Time Name Description Step Temp 60 min Step Heat to 155.0 F over 0 min 155.0 F
Mash Notes:
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Kegged (Forced CO2)	Volumes of CO2: 2.4
Pressure/Weight: 10.2 PSI	Carbonation Used: -
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 38.0 F	Age for: 28.0 days
Storage Temperature: 52.0 F
Notes
This is the 2nd time I have brewed this beer, I swaped out the cascade for the Chinook
Created with BeerSmith

Update:  This turned out to be a great beer.  Loaded with Hops and Aroma.  This (since this posting) has been brewed 2 more times.  Originally it was my Christmas break brew it has since become a house staple.  Which deep down I want to update the name but it is just so damn hard because I love Double Drunk Elf IPA.