The IPA Showdown

So the time has come to compare the two Experiment IPA's.  On the left is the Experiment #2 (referred to as "Dry Hop IPA") and on the right is Experiment #1 (referred to as "Non-Dry Hop IPA").  To refresh you these were two IPA's made with the same grain and hop ingredients.  The only difference was the addition of the hops.  One was all added during the boiling stage and the second has less boiling hops and added some dry hops.  Same amount of total hops used of the same varieties.  So here's the results:




Aroma/Smell:
#1: Pretty basic IPA smell.  Not overpowering, but not too light either.
#2: Much more aroma.  I can pick up some floral and piney aroma's.  Much more robust in it's smell (if it's possible to have more robust aroma?)

Taste:
#1: Smooth, classic IPA taste.  Very similar to what you would expect from a larger micro-brewery IPA.  Good mouthfeel.  Can pick up some of the aroma flavors.  Enjoyable.
#2: Much more flavor.  While a little less bitter, it has much more flavor and mouthfeel.  Reminds me of a Lagunitas IPA.  The floral and piney flavors come through much more.

The Bottom Lines:
#1: This is a classic tasting IPA.  Something you would expect from Deschutes or Widmer.  Great flavor, very enjoyable IPA.  If you're looking for a cheap great tasting IPA that will appeal to the masses, brew this.
#2: This has much more the flavor and aroma of a smaller micro-brewery IPA.  Think of Lagunitas IPA or a lighter version of a Green Flash IPA.  This adds a lot to the aroma and flavor of the IPA.

Which do I prefer?
Between the two I really prefer the second because of the aroma and extra flavors that come through in the Dry-Hop process.  They're very similar, but side by side, you can really pick up the dry-hop process and the extra flavor that comes from that.  Ideally I'll add more hops to the boil and then even more to the dry-hopping to really max out the hop flavor!

Bonus Section:
I combined the two to see how they would taste.  They taste much more like #2 so the Dry-Hops really do stand up among the competition!

Cascade Pale Ale

I've had way too many IPA's brewing lately (wait, is that even possible?) so I decided to scale back and brew up a classic Pale Ale.  This is loosely based on a Mirror Pond (similar grain and cascade hops) but it's a made up recipe from my head.  I really love me some Cascade hops, especially when I'm using some of the 5 pounds worth I got for $30.  In case you're wondering, that's less than half of what normal retail is for these.

I switched from brewing on the side of the house after my buddy Scott (www.beanbotbrew.blogspot.com) noticed that the ceiling on my porch looked like it was probably high enough to brew under.  After check that out, I agreed and moved to the porch.  Way better.  Plus I can watch college football from there while brewing.  Talk about living large!

So here's the details that you're dying to know:



Grains:
10lb GW 2-Row
1.65lb Crystal 60L
1lb Carapils

Hops:
1.5oz Cascade @ 60m
1.25oz Cascade @ 15m
1oz Cascade @ 1m

Yeast:
Recent slurry of Wyeast 1056

Notes:
Brewing on the porch is awesome, other than having to haul the brew tree from the backyard.  Great weather that day as well.  One of my propane tanks is busted now, the top valve is somehow not functioning properly, so that's a real bummer.  I also created a new airlock for my bucket fermenter.  I hate the overflow of yeast and stuff on the tops of my buckets so I reverted to a hose in a bucket of water method.  I simply added a hose to the stem of a busted airlock and put that into a bucket of water.  Works much better for primary fermenting than a regular airlock or just a hose.  Keeps the seal tighter.

Update 11/20/11: This turned out great.  Good crisp flavor and a smooth body.  Quite a tasty pale ale.

The IPA Experiment, Part 2

So this was the second round of the IPA Experiment.  Luckily my good buddy The Stokska came by today to hang out and help me brew.  Everything went pretty smooth.  I'm still getting used to brewing with the new setup, setup being the side of my house.

Today was the aroma emphasis IPA.  Pretty much the same as the last recipe, I'm just adjusting the hop additions.  Here's the details.

Grain:
12lb GW 2-Row
1.5lb Crystal 40L
1lb Carapils

Hops:
1oz CTZ @ 60m
.5oz CTZ @ 30m
1oz Simcoe @ 1m

Dryhop 1oz Simcoe for 7 days in secondary

Yeast:
New pack of Wyeast 1056

Notes:
Smooth brewing.  OG was 1.064, which I think was right on target.