UPDATE:
So this mambo-jambo sat in the primary for 15 days. The FG? A titillating 1.008. This mofo attenuated about 89% if my fuzzy math is accurate. The cobwebs drenched across my mind gently caress my on-alert nerves. And do you know why? Because our Imperial IPA is going to be a hair-raising 9.5% abv. Strike that. It's closer to 9.7%. Holy moses smell the roses. Of all that is good and holy, this behemoth will wreck your senses and destroy your pretense of innocence. Maybe you folks are not crazy. Maybe we are the crazy ones that we have been looking for. To top it all off, we dry hopped with mas o menos 2 ounces each of whole leaf Cascade, Centennial and Amarillo. This holy triumvirate should push this guy past the corner deli and immediately into the fast lane. So, while we didn't quite reach the pounder we were shooting for, 15 ounces ain't too shabby. We'll let those additional 6 ruminate on this heady monster for about 2 weeks before we bottle it up. Oh, the taste you ask? Did you ask? No? Okay, you'll get any answer anyway. The taste was delightfully bitter and hoppy. Unfortunately, we won't get a good taste of this guy until May. That's a hellishly long time to wait. I might just begin to gnaw on my kitchen table in the meantime. Until then, see you.
We ended up dry hopping this mofo for 13 days. After 1 week, we went and did the unthinkable; we added another ounce each of whole leaf Cascade, Centennial and Amarillo. That brings this to a beastly 9 ounces for our dry hop. Sufficiently sufficient, no? Anyway, this guy is resting comfortably in bottles, the FG settled at 1.008. Another couple weeks and we'll rip our shirts off, let out a ferocious roar, and crack one of these guys open. Until then, see you.
2.21.2011
You Folks are Crazy.
We turned our attention to an Imperial IPA this weekend, drawing our inspiration from San Diego's superb line of IPA's, distinct in their hoppy deliciousness and ready drinkability. Our recipe called for a SG of 1.065. With an addition of approximately 1.5 pounds of corn sugar at flameout, this was thoroughly researched to determine if this guy could flourish with such a large sugar addition without sacrificing body or taste (which it should), our original gravity measured a whopping 1.082. We're going to aim for a FG of 1.015. However, it should be noted that our measurement very well might not be entirely accurate. We had so many hops that seeped through the filtering process that may have added a touch of weight to the gravity reading. Either way, we're probably looking at something in the neighborhood of 7ish% on the low side and 8 and change on the high end. Holy balls! Now that's an IPA a San Diegen can be proud of.
Of course, the San Diego influence reared its burly head with our hops additions. Now, most IPA's call for, or as some weaker-kneed beer drinkers would prefer, an addition of 4 ounces or so of hops, be happy, and move along. We are not most beer drinkers, nor are we most IPA enthusiasts. Hops, hops and more hops. And did I mention even more hops than that? Well, this one was a nice collaboration in regards to hop additions. We added 1, instead of a possible 2, ounces of Yakima Magnum hops at 60 minutes for bittering. It was agreed that we wanted this monster to be appropriately bitter, our IBU's measured nearly 70, not too big, but neither is it too faint. But, and a very large but, we wanted our late addition hops to drive this beer to the finish line. It was in this vein that we added 1 ounce each of Centennial, Cascade, and Amarillo at 15 minutes, then again at 5 minutes. At flameout, we tossed in 2 ounces of Warrior. With a 4-gallon, boil, we're working with 9 ounces of hops. Now for the fun part. In about 2-3 weeks, we're going to move this guy into a secondary. At that point, we're going to add about 7 or 8 more ounces of our hops varieties, excepting the Magnum. Perhaps 1 ounce of each for week 1, then an additional ounce of each for week 2. All in all, we're looking at upwards of 17 ounces of hops in this 5-gallon batch. I'd attempt a mad scientist-type laugh here, but I'll leave that up to Holmestarr Brewing Coop.
The enjoyable part of the hops selection was the decision on the flavor/aroma profile. While we could approach nearly any number of aromas/flavors, we aimed for one that punches you in the face with a hard hitting bouquet of floral and citrus notes, perhaps hints of grapefruit. I'd like for your average Bud drinker to fall off his chair when opening up a bottle of this. But while most IPA's might call for an ounce of dry hopping, we're throwing caution to the wind and opting for a herculean 8 ounces. For the faint of heart? Not a chance. Bring your A-game for this mofo.
We haven't come to a decision on the name yet. Maybe we'll have to wait for the flavor profile before coming to said decision. Some names in the running include: Hop to My Lou IIPA and Ass-POUNDing IIPA. We'll see. It was suggested, and the idea is sound, to use the word "pound" in the name simply because we're working with a pound of hops. Until then...
Dancing Lou Brewery
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