Today I decided to brew an IPA. It uses generous amounts of Centennial hops. This is my first IPA having brewed an English IPA and Belgian Pale so far. With my camping trip to Lake Umbagog at the end of the month, I wanted to brew something that my uncle would enjoy, really enjoy. His go-to beer is Harpoon IPA which is a solid, go-to beer for me as well when I don’t have any more preferred options. I have pushed him to try new beers and he is always eager to do so. This will be the first time I brew something myself with him in mind. Crisp, clean IPA.
3.3lbs munich
3.3lbs light
1lb wheat
.5lb crystal
.5lb toasted
SAF ALE S-05 American Ale yeast
2oz pellet Centennial @ 60min
.5oz pellet Centennial @ 10min
4oz whole-leaf Willamette @ 5min
.5oz pellet Centennial @ 1min
The Willamette hops were given to me earlier today by a friendly member of Brew Free or Die, the New Hampshire-based homebrewer club that I’m a member of. Originally not part of the recipe, but after poking around the web I figured I’d throw them in as a late aroma hop. I love the Centennial smell, it’s just so fresh and everything I love about hops. I figure I’ll rack into the secondary in 5 days or so and dry hop with another ounce of the Centennial pellets.
Update 9/3/09: The IPA was ready for camping after force carbonating it the weekend before I left. The flavor was pretty good, but nothing at all like I expected. I can do better, and will. In the meantime, the few people I’ve shared this with have really liked it. This is good, because it means I can empty that keg quickly and move on to new things.
