Pinus Ananus Comosus IPA

I’m not big on IPAs, especially the newer style IPAs that resemble pulped orange juice. Cold IPA, however, is a fantastic expression of the style: American pilsner and adjunct malts fermented with clean lager yeasts, combining to make a super clean canvas to let hops fully express themselves. I cooled and racked this beer directly onto an Imperial L17 harvest yeast cake that fermented my previous helles lager. At 64C it took no time at all to ferment. My planning for this beer wasn’t phenomenal, but the end result was a wonderfully drinkable 6% IPA with a strong dank and pine/cedar hop aroma that leads to a pine and pineapple finish.

Notes

1. Pitched on existing L17 Harvest cake at 64C. Fermented very quick.
2. Color is light straw.
3. Mash efficiency sucked. 23% Flaked corn I don’t think explains 54% mash efficiency. Research.
4. Add a pound of sugar to bump the abv to around 7% and consider increasing both bittering and dry hop load.
5. Body is thin but I think it works. Another point in abv will help make the mouthfeel a bit more substantial.
6. This is the first IPA I’ve made with a strong hop aroma. FINALLY!
7. I really like the dank and pine/cedar aromas and tastes Sabro is throwing. It plays really well with the acidic (pineapple?) fruit flavours.
8. Water is perfect, don’t change it.
9. L17 Harvest attenuated way beyond the 72% expected. Bump attenuation to about 85% in Grainfather.

Mash at 62C for 30 minutes. Step to 68C for 20 minutes. Mash out at 76F for 10 minutes. 60 minute boil. Ferment at 64F for 10 days.

Changes

1. Drop pilsner malt a bit to 5 kg and add 0.5 kg sugar.
2. Decrease flaked corn a bit to maintain 20% ratio.
3. Add 0.25kg rice hulls to ensure mash doesn’t gum up.
4. Research changes to increase mash efficiency.