Grapefruit IPA Recipe #2

Brew Date: 22 May

45 min boil/5 qt water

1.5lb Maillard Malt Gold Malt Extract Syrup (@ 45 min)
7g FFC7 hops (@ 45 min - bittering)

0.6lb SuperStructure Syrup (@ 15 min)
7g Amarillo + 7g German Perle hops (@ 15 min)

Zest of 2 lg grapefruit (in a mesh bag) (@ 10 min)

7g Cascade + 4g Amarillo + 4g Jarrylo + 4g German Perle (@ 0 min - flame out)

Yeast: Safale US-05

Cool wort in ice bath to ~ 80 deg F.  Transfer to fermenter, aerate wort.  Pitch ~ 1/2 pack Safale US-05 yeast.

In about 10 days (~ 2 Jun), I'll check on it, and decide at that point to either let it go in primary for another week or so, or rack to secondary, with a dry hop of about 7 days.

Addendum, 1 Jun: Racked to secondary, dry hopped with 7g German Perle + 8g Amarillo.  I'll leave it there for a week.

Addendum, 8 Jun: Bottled today, got just a bit over 8 1/2 bottles.  Strong scent of grapefruit during bottling process.  May try a bottle around 22 June, but won't really expect this one to really be ready until 29 June.

Addendum, 22 Jun: Nice golden amber color when poured, moderate head.  Carbonation is persistent (doesn't go flat quickly), with a very small amount of lacing.  Citrus in the nose, followed by some complex flavors. Does not come across as super hoppy as you'd expect from an IPA, as if the hops is evened out by the malt.  Good citrus bitterness, not overly bitter.  Good mouth feel with a nice body, not a light beer at all; definitely a "bulky" beer.  Backing off a bit on the amount of extract syrup would definitely let the hops come out more.  This is a complex beer with a lot going on, so I'm going to name this one "Friday Evening Retreat Parade IPA", because at VMI, during our parades, there is a lot of activity, and a lot of moving parts.

For this one, I would definitely back off of the malt, and maybe even move some of the malt bill to a partial extract, depending upon what I was trying for.  I don't think that "dense" really describes the body well, as it's not so much "heavy" as it is "bulky".  I also need to keep in mind that backing off of the malt will bring out more of the hops, as a result.

Addendum, 2 Aug: Tasting notes similar to those noted on 22 June.  Persistent, mild lacing, good flavor, and good body.

Addendum, 7 Aug: I had another one of these tonight; mild head, excellent lacing.  I really enjoyed this one.