These two small batches are much the same what was in “IPA and Pale Ale – Part 1” with a few different ingredients thrown in. Though I am not thrilled with the way the last two turned out, the only way to get better is to continue trying. So this time I took a recipe for a British IPA and decided to split it into two 2.5-gallon batches so I could experiment a bit further.
Again I am going to focus on what was different this time, so I will likely pass over some of the basic processes. If you are interested in a more in depth description of the steps, check out “Part 1” for any of the beers on the “Brewing” page above. Hopefully this will all be clear as I try to again recap two beers in one post.
The Chief of Sanitation is always present
The 1 pound of Crystal 60L Malt and 2 pounds of 2-Row Malt was split into halves (1.5 pounds each). Each half of the crushed grains was steeped in 1.25 gallons of 155 degree water for 45 minutes. This time I used the grain bag for one and no grain bag for the other just to see what difference it would make in the process. Exact temperature control still continues to be a bit of an issue for me, but 155-160 degrees was the general range for that time. Each half was then rinsed with a quart of 170 degree (or so) water before removing the grains entirely.
In an attempt to keep the two batches straight here, the one with the grain bag will be referred to as the British IPA and the other as the IPA. I was basically taking half of the recipe and staying very close to the British IPA instructions and using the other half as more of an experimental version.
For both batches 3 pounds of the Extra Pale Extract was added and dissolved before returning the mixture to heat. Each was brought to a controlled, rolling boil before adding 1.5 ounces of Kent Golding hops to each for bittering. After 45 minutes .5 ounces of Kent Golding hops was added to each for flavoring. Ten minutes later the same amount of Kent Golding hops was added to each for aroma along with .5 teaspoons of fresh ground nutmeg and 1.125 ounces of fresh ginger to the IPA.
Hops and hops and hops
Fresh nutmeg
Chunks of fresh ginger
After the boil, the British IPA was cooled to prepare for pitching the yeast. To the IPA I added 12 ounces of frozen cranberries after scooping out the chunks of ginger and allowed them to steep for 15 minutes (or so). Since the fruit was frozen I didn’t really need to break the skins, but I did take the masher to some of them just to help the flavor come out. I wanted the temperature to drop a bit to allow the fruit to pasteurize without boiling. As mentioned before, if the fruit were to boil the pectin can cause problems with clarity and the higher heat can also give you different flavors that you may not be looking for.
Taking a warm bath.
The cooling is much easier with these small batches and I was able to get the temperature down without much of a problem at all. Each batch was put into a primary fermenter and water was added to roughly 2.625 gallons. The original specific gravity for the British IPA was 1.0464 and the IPA came in at 1.0481. The readings for both batches were pretty low and I think my exactly halving the recipe is watering the mix down a bit. In the future I might try to end at 2.5 gallons or lower just to see what happens.
Since the dry yeast worked so well last time I decided to use it again. To prepare for pitching, the yeast was split (5 grams or so each) and added to .5 cups of warm (previously boiled) water and allowed to sit for 15 minutes. One teaspoon of sugar was boiled in a small amount of water, cooled and then split and added into each of the yeast mixtures. After covering and allowing each to sit for 30 minutes it was clear that they were alive and ready to pitch.
As it comes
Though I don’t know how the cranberry IPA will turn out, I think that the flavor will work better with the hops than the sweeter pineapple and grapes did in the last. If the nutmeg and or ginger come through at all in the aroma I would be thrilled. If nothing else, it was fun to use whatever ingredients I had around the house for an experimental brew.
Now I wait until racking to secondary.
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