In some unlucky timing, both DIPA variants and the last kolsch all kicked within a couple days of each other this week. An empty kegerator is a sad thing. This is going to be a quick “what do I have on hand?” recipe. Happily, what I have on hand is a buch of citra.
After having NEIPA and DIPA on my hoppy taps for the last few months, I’m in the mood for something easier drinking.
I’m aiming for a nice light pale ale in the low 4% abv, moderate bitterness, and solid hop flavor.
I’m going to be pushing the grain to glass time a bit on this batch. I’d really like to get something back on tap again. I think it should work out fine though, since low gravity beers usually ferment fast and are drinkable quite quickly.
Recipe
I was originally thinking of making this 100% citra, but I ended up adding just 10 IBU worth of Columbus at 60 minutes.
The BeerSmith calculator says my flame out hops will contribute 25 IBU, but in practice I never perceive flame out hops to be as bitter as BeerSmith says they’re going to be.
Also noteworthy, I’m mashing a little higher than I normally do for hoppy beers. I’m hoping I can add some body to the final beer since it’s going to be so low gravity.
Batch size: 5.5 gallons
Target OG: 1.044
Target FG: 1.013
Calculated IBU: 50
Calculated SRM: 4.7
Grain bill:
7.5 lb US 2-Row (81.1%)
1.0 lb Wheat Malt (10.8%)
0.5 lb Crystal 20 (5.4%)
0.25 lb Honey Malt (2.7%)
Mash (Batch Sparge): 154 °F @ 1.5 qts/lb
Hops:
0.2 oz Columbus @ 60 minutes
1.0 oz Citra @ 10 mins
3.0 oz Citra @ Flameout (20 minute hop stand)
4.0 oz Citra @ Dry Hop (~4 days into primary)
Yeast:
2L stirplate starter of some Imperial A24 Dry Hop slurry I harvested in March.
Getting a bit old but there should still be enough cells in there.
I've been using A24 a lot lately and enjoying it. Fermentation temp 68 °F.
Notes
2020-05-31 - Brew day. Hit the OG right on the money, 1.044.
2020-06-03 - Added the dry hops 80 micron hop bags weighted with some glass marbles.
2020-06-06 - Into the keg it goes. FG 1.015, ~3.9% abv.
When I opened the fermenter I was dismayed to see the hop bag partially floating. I guess I didn’t weigh it down enough. In the past when this has happened, the final beer has come out a bit boring. I’ll see how it tastes once it’s chilled and carbed. I can always add more hops to the keg if it needs it.
2020-06-07 - Added a teaspoon of gelatin in 1/2 cup of 155 °F water. I wouldn’t normally fine an new england style beer, but gelatin doesn’t seem to affect hop haze, and I’d like to get any remaining yeast to crash out quickly since I hurried this batch into the keg.
2020-06-08 - First sampling. Carbonation is just about there. Hop aroma very muted. Damn that floating hop bag. Flavor is a bit grainy and rough around the edges. I knew I was rushing this to serving, but sometimes you just let impatience get the better of you.
Going to give it one more day and if it still seems off, I’ll let it condition warm for a the rest of the week. I think I’ll add some more dry hops too.
2020-06-09 - Going to give it a few more days to warm condition. Chill it back down and serve again on the 12th maybe.
2020-06-12 - Back into the kegerator in the evening. Got about 72 hrs at room temp. Added 2oz cryo citra to the keg since it was tasting pretty boring before.
2020-06-13 - Still at 1.015, but it’s definitely tasting better.
2020-07-19 - Starting to get low, time for some final thoughts.
This got a lot better after a little conditioning. A good reminder to not rush things, even if the kegerator is empty.
All of the unpleasant grainy flavors are long gone. It’s a little on the bitter side, but not unpleasantly so.
The hop aroma isn’t as intense as you’d expect for the quantity of hops I threw at it. I think I just got unlucky with the floating hop bag and maybe some minor oxidation.
Overall, an extremely drinkable hoppy summer session beer. I can’t imagine squeezing much more flavor out of 3.9% abv.
Changes for next time
More weight in the dry hop bag. Those floating hops really hurt things.
If I was going to make another 4% hoppy ale, I wouldn’t change too much. Move that 10 minute hop addition to flame out, and target slightly lower overall bitterness. I’m pretty happy with the grain bill and mash parameters.
But I don’t think I’ll make exactly this again. Next hoppy session beer, I’d like to go for a slightly higher OG, maybe around 1.050.