Dark IPA

[Dewald Posthumus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dewald Posthumus]

Hi all,

So I bottled my first Partial Mash Blonde Ale last night after 10 days in the primary. It had a nice yeast cake at the bottom of the fermenter and tasted great, although it might be on the light side.

Now for a black/dark IPA next..

The recipe:
Pale Ale Malt 2kg
Crystal Malt 200grams
Carafa Special II 200grams
Black Rock Malt extract Amber
Mangrove Jacks British Ale yeast
Not sure about the Hop additions, any ideas? Williamette?
I have some Southern Passion left over from my previous batch, will use it to dry hop.

Thanks
Dewald

[kingcur Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kingcur]

Looks like a nice grain bill. Hops wise prefer citrusy hops in an IPA. Cascade, Centennial or something along those lines.

I've never used Willamette, but it looks like a good candidate.

I wouldn't use Southern Passion for dry-hop. I've gone off Southern Passion for anything other than bittering.

[Dewald Posthumus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dewald Posthumus]

I wouldn't use Southern Passion for dry-hop. I've gone off Southern Passion for anything other than bittering.

Any specific reason for this? I used all Southern Passion for my Blonde Ale I just bottled (tried to stay local and use only one hop), 60 min, 30 min and dry hop for 5 days. It tasted great whilst bottling.

[MongooseMan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close MongooseMan]

Any specific reason for this? I used all Southern Passion for my Blonde Ale I just bottled (tried to stay local and use only one hop), 60 min, 30 min and dry hop for 5 days. It tasted great whilst bottling.

I've done an all southern passion brown ale with 30,10,5 additions and it turned out great

[kingcur Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kingcur]

I tried SP in my Pale Ale a number of times, but in the end I stopped using it.

Our local hops have gotten better lately, but flavour and aroma wise I don't feel they at the same level yet.

It could be that it wasn't right for the recipe. A single hop, light colour beer might be a better use for SP. I might give it a try again.

[Dewald Posthumus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dewald Posthumus]

The reason I ask is that I had some Notties IPA (Tipsy Tiger) over the weekend and the main hop used is definitely SP - it has a clear and distinctive taste. I recognised it easily after brewing with SP the week before. I think I will go with Amarillo for this batch and add the SP as a dry hop addition with the Amarillo.

This will only be my second partial mash batch, will do another couple and move onto AG BIAB soon.

Thanks for your input, greatly appreciated.

[kingcur Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kingcur]

I was down at the Notties for the Midmar Mile this year. The guy at the brewery said they used Cascade for the IPA. That was late Feb, so maybe they've changed it.

If your SP tastes like Cascade, maybe I just had a bad batch.

[Dewald Posthumus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dewald Posthumus]

I was down at the Notties for the Midmar Mile this year. The guy at the brewery said they used Cascade for the IPA. That was late Feb, so maybe they've changed it.

If your SP tastes like Cascade, maybe I just had a bad batch.

Nope, being the master internet brewer that I am and very limited real life experience, the SP was the first and ONLY hops that I ever smelled! Bought some Amarillo over the weekend and it is almost the same, so now I know that most citrussy hops smells almost identical with slight nuances in taste and smell...

Note to myself: Don't be a bloody idjit! Get some more experience before commenting on things..

[SimonB Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close SimonB]

Hey Dewald.. don't be too hard on yourself

[SimonB Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close SimonB]

Here's my Dark IPA recipe, which if I say so myself was pretty bloody good.

Probably not as hop forward as many IPA's but that's the way I prefer it.

Mashed at 67*

Simon's Darth Vader Black IPA Clone.jpg

[Dewald Posthumus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dewald Posthumus]

Hi Simon,

Looks awesome. Thanks for sharing.

I brewed over the weekend and followed my original recipe, and decided to use Amarillo hops (25g at 60, 15 and flame out), will use the left-over 25 grams combined with 25grams of Southern Passion for dry hopping from day 5-10. THe British Ale yeast started off pretty slow, but bubbling away nicely after 36 hours in the fermenter.

Will give feedback once bottled, next batch will definitely be something along the lines of a Cranberry Blonde Ale - trying to brew for summer months.

[CapeTownBrew Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CapeTownBrew]

Looks good! If all goes according to plan, will try to brew a Brewdog Libertine Black Ale clone over the weekend! I tasted one for the first time last week at Beerhouse and was blown away! Will let you know how it goes!

[kingcur Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kingcur]

Hops are something you get feel for once you've used them. I have only used about 7 or 8 hops since I started. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of what is available. I don't like to recommend anything I haven't used myself.

I believe a hop tea is a good way to test hops without putting them in a beer. It should also help bring out the subtle differences so you can compare two or more.

[StevenD (Slainthe) Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close StevenD (Slainthe)]

I believe a hop tea is a good way to test hops without putting them in a beer. It should also help bring out the subtle differences so you can compare two or more.

I think that's a great idea! Never thought of it, but will certainly give it a go sometime. Thanks!

[Dewald Posthumus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dewald Posthumus]

I bottled this brew last night after 11 days in the primary fermenter and I must say I was dissapointed with the taste of the beer, more especially the lack of hops in the aftertaste.

I hopped with 25g Amarillo 30, 15 and 5 minutes, and then dry hopped with 25g Southern Passion after 5 days and added another 25g of Amarillo after 7 days.

How do I get more hops into the taste of the beer? I thought my additions would do the trick?