Strong IPA

[Bobarian]

Hello all,

Just kegged my own recipe all grain IPA and it has finished it off at 6.9%. I was aiming for 6.5%. I am going to leave it to condition for four weeks but I hope it tastes nice and doesn’t end up tasting like special brew. Has anyone else brewed anything this strong and did it turn out ok?

Happy Brewing!

 

[strange-steve]

Hello all,

Just kegged my own recipe all grain IPA and it has finished it off at 6.9%. I was aiming for 6.5%. I am going to leave it to condition for four weeks but I hope it tastes nice and doesn’t end up tasting like special brew. Has anyone else brewed anything this strong and did it turn out ok?

Happy Brewing!

I have no doubt it'll be much better than special brew. One of the key things to brewing a stronger beer is fermentation temperature, lower is better at least for the first couple of days, that'll help prevent harsh alcohols. Last year I brewed a 16% stout and even that didn't taste like special brew

 

[Clint]

I got a kit IPA at the moment...6.3...tastes fine...but you have to be careful!

 

[An Ankoù]

Hello all,

Just kegged my own recipe all grain IPA and it has finished it off at 6.9%. I was aiming for 6.5%. I am going to leave it to condition for four weeks but I hope it tastes nice and doesn’t end up tasting like special brew. Has anyone else brewed anything this strong and did it turn out ok?

Happy Brewing!

When I were a wee lad and beer were ***** and Special Brew come in bottles, it were alright for them that could afford it. Has it gone downhill since?

 

[strange-steve]

Has it gone downhill since?

Last time I had one it tasted like cheap lager mixed with cheap vodka. Still drank it though.

 

[MyQul]

When I were a wee lad and beer were ***** and Special Brew come in bottles, it were alright for them that could afford it. Has it gone downhill since?

I have a client in his 80's who tells me he used to drink special brew before it was the rocket fuel of steet drinkers we know today

 

[Bobarian]

I have no doubt it'll be much better than special brew. One of the key things to brewing a stronger beer is fermentation temperature, lower is better at least for the first couple of days, that'll help prevent harsh alcohols. Last year I brewed a 16% stout and even that didn't taste like special brew

That’s mental! That must have been a huge amount of grain to start with. Interesting about the fermentation temperatures - I did not know that

 

[strange-steve]

That’s mental! That must have been a huge amount of grain to start with. Interesting about the fermentation temperatures - I did not know that

12.3kg of fermentables for 21L and an OG of 1.147. Turned out great, but never again. Was a pita every step of the way!

 

[dad_of_jon]

12.3kg of fermentables for 21L and an OG of 1.147. Turned out great, but never again. Was a pita every step of the way!

Whilst I do like a strong beer - I can only applaud you :hat:as my 12.86% was my high score and was a pain and most of the fermentables was extract & sugars!

 

[Ivan W]

I had been brewing from grain for some time, using a general home brew book for my recipes.
When I got my grainfather I found it was so efficient that it was pushing up the abv from what the recipes advised to expect. The beer still turned out very well, and added strength has not affected taste. Sometimes, though, I round-down the grain bill and achieve the abv the recipe suggests a bit of saving on grain stocks.

 

[Burlyman]

6,9% is spot on! English IPA has a profile of between 5% and 7.5% alcohol if I'm not mistaken, with 40-60 IBUs.
I always add a bit of caramel to my grainbill when I'm shooting for a higher abv or ibu and then also cold crash after fermentation.
I'm sure yours will taste great..

 

[Northern_Brewer]

6,9% is spot on! English IPA has a profile of between 5% and 7.5% alcohol if I'm not mistaken, with 40-60 IBUs.

Define "English IPA". In the heyday of the India trade it was only around 1.055 (but well attenuated). Skimming Ron Pattinson's site :
“Scottish Ale Brewer” (by W.H. Roberts, Edinburgh, 1847, pages 171 and 173) has analyses of forty Edinburgh-brewed IPA's brewed in the years 1844 to 1846. They're a mix of beers for home consumption and export, some specifically to India.

The average gravity of these Scottish-brewed IPA's was 1059º. The weakest was just 1046º, the strongest 1070º. One India export version had a gravity of only 1054º, much lower than you would expect.

The weaker IPA's had a gravity similar to Table Beer. That's the stuff they let the kids drink. Even the strongest, at 1070º, is way short of what was considered strong at the time.

IPA was not originally a strong beer. IPA was not originally a strong beer. IPA was not originally a strong beer. If I say it often enough, maybe people will start believing me. "

By the 1930s they were mostly in the 1.035-1.040 range in London.

 

[Burlyman]

Define "English IPA". In the heyday of the India trade it was only around 1.055 (but well attenuated). Skimming Ron Pattinson's site :
“Scottish Ale Brewer” (by W.H. Roberts, Edinburgh, 1847, pages 171 and 173) has analyses of forty Edinburgh-brewed IPA's brewed in the years 1844 to 1846. They're a mix of beers for home consumption and export, some specifically to India.

The average gravity of these Scottish-brewed IPA's was 1059º. The weakest was just 1046º, the strongest 1070º. One India export version had a gravity of only 1054º, much lower than you would expect.

The weaker IPA's had a gravity similar to Table Beer. That's the stuff they let the kids drink. Even the strongest, at 1070º, is way short of what was considered strong at the time.

IPA was not originally a strong beer. IPA was not originally a strong beer. IPA was not originally a strong beer. If I say it often enough, maybe people will start believing me. "

By the 1930s they were mostly in the 1.035-1.040 range in London.

I agree, but to answer your question;

according to 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines on which UK National Homebrew Competition getting judged..

more info could be found here:
https://dev.bjcp.org/beer-styles/14a-english-ipa/

 

[Burlyman]

I agree, but to answer your question;

according to 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines on which UK National Homebrew Competition getting judged..

more info could be found here:
https://dev.bjcp.org/beer-styles/14a-english-ipa/

https://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_Guidelines_Beer.pdf

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Thanks for the link added to home screen.

 

[Bobarian]

Thanks for all the replies. Love my new home brewing hobby and love this forum!

 

[Northern_Brewer]

The point is that the BJCP guidelines are no more than that - guidelines - but they are far from definitive, particularly when it comes to to British beers, although the 2015 version is better than what came before. But for instance something like Sarah Hughes Ruby would flummox them. Yes guidelines are helpful, but at the same time we shouldn't allow USians to redefine and rewrite our own history.