My first original beer recipe came out wonderful. A big double IPA at 8.2% ABV with about 70 IBU and great citrus and grapefruit aroma and flavor from the hops — Citra, Galaxy, and Simcoe.
Despite some incredible slip-ups during brew day, which had me juggling two pots and a pasta strainer while trying to avoid the overflow of hot liquid spilling all over the kitchen stove, I’m already planning to brew a double batch with some minor tweaks to the recipe soon.
Unfortunately I brewed this batch for a friend and only managed to snag a 6-pack out of it. After sharing two of those with other friends I was down to four. They were gone quickly.
Everyone seemed to enjoy it. Even a fellow homebrewer. So while my opinion may be biased, I did get some validation. It’s something I was really proud of and wanted to share with as many people as possible. But I also wanted to drink it. What an internal struggle!
When the next batch is brewed I will be taking it to my homebrew club to share, entering it into a competition or two, and get more experienced opinions. I will also be drinking a lot more of it. I’m pretty excited.
False Start
I let my friend pick the name that was going on his case — Double Mother Trouble. But I love coming up with names for the beer. I get a lot of joy out of it. Sometimes I have to think about a clever name. Other times fate throws me the perfect name.
On two separate occasions I pulled the beer out for bottling only to have to put it back.
The first time, I realized after getting everything ready that I trashed my autosiphon, the tool used to transfer the beer out of the fermentation container. The last few batches had some funky flavors caused by wild yeast stuck somewhere. To help fight it I got rid of anything plastic. So the beer got put away for a few more days.
The second time, I placed the carboy of beer on the kitchen counter in the afternoon to leave it for a few hours. That way any of the sediment that was kicked up during the move could have time to settle before bottling. Evening came and I had work that needed to be done elsewhere. Back in the fridge.
Third time was the charm. Before getting the beer out I made sure I had everything in order and my schedule cleared.
The Recipe
Details
| Batch Size | Boil Time | IBU | Est. OG | Est. FG | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 gal | 60 min | 69 | 1.074 | 1.012 | 8.1% |
Fermentables
| Name | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Maris Otter Pale | 10 lbs | 91.3% |
| Carapils (Dextrine Malt) | 0.5 lbs | 4.3% |
| Cane Sugar | 0.5 lbs | 4.3% |
Hops
| Variety | Amount | Time | Use | AA % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centennial | 0.5 oz | 60 min | Boil | 9% |
| Simcoe | 1.0 oz | 20 min | Whirlpool | 12.7% |
| Galaxy | 2.0 oz | 20 min | Whirlpool | 14.25% |
| Citra | 2.0 oz | 20 min | Whirlpool | 11% |
| Simcoe | 1.0 oz | 5 days | Dry Hop | 12.7% |
| Galaxy | 2.0 oz | 5 days | Dry Hop | 14.25% |
| Citra | 2.0 oz | 5 days | Dry Hop | 11% |
Yeast
| Name | Attenuation | Temperature |
|---|---|---|
| US-05 | 81% | 65°F |
Mash Guidelines
| Type | Temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Infusion | 149°F | 60 min |
If you’re a homebrewer and happen to brew my recipe, please let me know what you think!
Dan Hauk 
2 thoughts on “False Start Double IPA”