Vital Statistics:
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Recipe: 9 lb 2-row pale malt 1 lb Victory malt 5.5 oz Cara-Pils 6 AAU (12g @ 14.5% AA) Columbus @ 60 5 AAU (10g @ 14.5% AA) Columbus @ 20 5 AAU (25g @ 5.6% AA) Challenger @ 20 5 AAU (25g @ 5.6% AA) Challenger @ 5 5 AAU (12g @ 14.5% AA) Fuggles @ 5 14.5 AAU (28g @ 14.5% AA) Columbus @ 0 (flame-out) 5.1 AAU (28g @ 5.1% AA) Fuggles @ 0 (flame-out) 22g gypsum, spread between mash and sparge water. Goal is ~600ppm sulfates and ~250ppm calcium. Whirlfloc tablet @ 15 Wyeast 1272 - American Ale II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General Notes: First use of brewing salts. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tasting Notes: Tasting notes taken 15 October 2012, 9 days after kegging. Dispensed from tap into a dimpled mug. Appearance: extremely murky yellow-orange body with two thick fingers of frothy ivory foam. Head has great retention and leaves a great lace. Murk is surprising, considering I did use a whirlfloc tablet; perhaps something about the gypsum is contributing to the cloudiness. That doesn't really bother me though; it's still a good looking beer. (4) Smell: quite yeasty and bready, with an earthy hop aroma that has highlights of citrus and a light fruitiness. This beer is quite earthy without going so far as funky. I think it could have benefitted a lot from a dry-hop, though; the aroma is somewhat limited in volume. Not bad, but I need to not be so lazy and actually dry hop every time. It's just so worth it. (3.5) Taste: quite yeasty and bready with a good earthy, citrusy and piney hop flavor. The yeastiness I think may be due to higher fermentation temperatures; this bad boy hit as high as 74°; in the future, I'll try to keep it down below 70°. Bitterness is quite sharp and bracing despite the comparatively low IBUs, probably helped out by the gypsum. I feel like there's also a light chalkiness, which I also mentally credit to the gypsum. I actually quite like the overall effect; I may start dosing all my hop-forward beers with at least a little bit of gypsum; maybe 10g or so. (4) Mouthfeel: medium body with plenty of carbonation and a smooth, smooth texture. The yeasty flavor also adds to the perception of creaminess, I think. (4) Drinkability: this is a refreshing and drinkable IPA. I rather like it. The bitterness builds on the palate over time, but at no point is it rasping or out-of-line. I'm thinking that the Columbus are a damn fine bittering hop: smooth, without too much vegetal character. (4) Overall score 3.9 (B+). A pretty fitting English-style IPA, if a little bit yeasty in character. I think lower fermentation temperatures would ameliorate that, though. I look forward to doing a similar beer again soon. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hops Table
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