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Northwest Not-So-Imperial IPA


Vital Statistics:

Batch Number:19
Style:IPA
Brew Date:27 March 2010
Original Gravity:1.057 (14.04 °Plato)
Final Gravity:1.010 (2.56 °Plato)
ABV:6.2%
ABW:4.8%
Calories per pint:245
Estimated IBU (Rager):171.6
Estimated IBU (Tinseth):133.4
Mash Temperature:152°
Mash Efficiency:47%
Days in Primary:28 (into secondary on 24 April 2010)
Days in Secondary:13 (kegged on 7 May 2010)
Yeast Used:1272 American Ale II
Apparent Attenuation:82%
Real Attenuation:67%
Rating:3.75
Entirely Consumed:Yes (finished 13 June 2010)
Availability:37 days
Recipe:

11 lb 2-row pale malt
1 lb Victory malt

2 lb, 3.5 oz light DME

26 AAU (56g @ 13% AA) Nugget @ 60
5.4 AAU (28g @ 5.4% AA) Cascade @ 30
4.5 AAU (28g @ 4.5% AA) Willamette @ 30
5.4 AAU (28g @ 5.4% AA) Cascade @ 20
4.5 AAU (28g @ 4.5% AA) Willamette @ 20
5.4 AAU (28g @ 5.4% AA) Cascade @ 10
4.5 AAU (28g @ 4.5% AA) Willamette @ 10
5.4 AAU (28g @ 5.4% AA) Cascade @ 5
4.5 AAU (28g @ 4.5% AA) Willamette @ 5

1 Irish Moss tablet @ 15 min

Wyeast 1272 - American Ale II
General Notes:

Efficiency disaster. Used all the DME I had on hand, 2lb 3.5oz, to fortify this a little bit so that I could approach "Imperial" territory. Pitched yeast cake harvested from batch #17.
Tasting Notes:

Tasting notes taken 5/11/2010. Poured from 22oz bomber into a tulip; the bomber was filled from the keg an hour and a half ago and chilled.

Appearance: very cloudy medium orange color with a thin finger of head which dissipated rapidly, leaving a thin lacing. Again, I'm still figuring out how to bottle from the keg. (3.5)

Smell: nice earthy, funky, citrusy aroma. Very hop-centric with little in the way of malt aroma. Still, quite nice. (3.5)

Taste: hops start off clean and citrusy, then develop into a danker, earthier flavor and finally the flavor finishes quite bitter. Malt definitely plays second fiddle to hops in this brew. Bitterness is very solid but does not have as much of the raw vegetable quality that I seem to recall getting earlier when using Nugget for bittering. Overall, a tasty, bright & earthy IPA. (4)

Mouthfeel: medium body with OK carbonation. Not the best, but perfectly acceptable. I think once I'm carbonating at lower temperatures, I'll get more consistent force-carbonation. (3.5)

Drinkability: this is a strongly bitter but pretty tasty little concoction. I find it quite refreshing and drinkable. (4)

Overall score 3.75 (B). This is a pretty darn good attempt at an imperial IPA. What I really need are better head with better retention and lacing, a little better clarity, some dry-hopping to improve aroma, and better carbonation to bump mouthfeel. Those could potentially bump this into A-territory.
Hops Table
Hop Variety Addition Time AAU AA% Quantity (g) Type IBU (Rager) IBU (Tinseth) Notes
Nugget 60 26.00 13.0 56 Pellet 104.6 76.8  
Willamette 30 4.50 4.5 28 Pellet 12.3 10.2  
Cascade 30 5.40 5.4 28 Pellet 14.8 12.3  
Willamette 20 4.50 4.5 28 Pellet 9.2 8.0  
Cascade 20 5.40 5.4 28 Pellet 11.1 9.7  
Willamette 10 4.50 4.5 28 Pellet 5.5 4.8  
Cascade 10 5.40 5.4 28 Pellet 6.6 5.8  
Willamette 5 4.50 4.5 28 Pellet 3.4 2.6  
Cascade 5 5.40 5.4 28 Pellet 4.1 3.2