Kingsland Black IPA Brewday

I approached this brewday with some trepidation. Underlying currents tell me that the beer i wanted to brew might turn out to be too close to Porter for comfort. Another part of me speaks out about the mouthfeel of massive RIS's and how exactly do i go about balancing Roast Barley against Big Hops.

At this point i realised that 'It's only beer' so i chilled out and cracked on with the final recipe tweaks. I'd love to claim that there is an underlying subtlety going on within this recipe. Sadly there isn't! The recipe has been driven by my experience of darker grains & Mouthfeel within RIS's and experience of hopping regimes within IPA's Anthing else is either luck, blithe disregard for brewing tradition & style or possibly the fact that on opening my grain bins the realisation hit that i was short on Munich & Wheat malt.........

Kingsland Black IPA

Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 9.00 gal

Boil Size: 10.75 gal 

Boil Time: 110 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00

20ltrs mash liquor @79 degrees followed by 39ltrs sparge liquor @ 85 deg

Total Grain Weight: 7.05 kg

Ingredients

2.25 kg Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 28.30 %

1.50 kg Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain 18.87 %

1.00 kg Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 12.58 %

1.00 kg Wheat, Torrified (1.7 SRM) Grain 12.58 %

0.50 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 6.29 %

0.20 kg Black Barley (Stout) (500.0 SRM) Grain 2.52 %

0.20 kg Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain 2.52 %

0.20 kg Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 2.52 %

0.20 kg Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 2.52 %

50 grmms Gypsum

4.00 oz Hallertauer [6.80 %] (90 min) (First Wort Hop 66.0 IBU

2.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (120 minutes) (Aroma Hop-Steep) 

2.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (120 minutes) (Aroma Hop-Steep) 

0.90 kg Candi Sugar, Amber 11.32 %

3rd generation repitch US-05

Measured Original Gravity: 1.050 SG

Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol  4.95 %

1.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (Dry Hop 14 days)

1.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (Dry Hop 14 days)

Bitterness: 66.0 IBU
Est Color: 37.0 SRM 

I have excluded one ingredient from the list. While checking the fridge/freezer unit this morning i found a 9oz weight frozen box of chinook/simcoe,amarillo hops. My guess is that these hops would be around 4 oz when dry. They have been used as a dry hop for a few days(5) and then removed and frozen. I know of no way to calculate what they bring to the party but since we are going off piste with regard to beer style anyway i thought we'd bring them along for the ride.

Rather chilly in the garage this morning with 5 degrees showing on the HLT after running the elements for a couple of minutes.

I made up a stein full of Black, Choc & Roast Malt

This was added to a collection of lighter grains in the mash tun for no more reason that the photogenic opportunity that it offered!

It really is Baltic today, had to up the Liquor temp to a shade under 80 degrees to settle at 65ish for the rest.

I went for 65 degree mash to try and thin the body out slightly, this has been offset by my schizo grain bill but should come back into line with the use of Belgian Candi Sugar!

While waiting for the 90 minute rest to complete i weighed out the 4oz of Hallertau bittering hops.

These along with the frozen Chinook,Amarillo & Simcoe hops went into the kettle as the first wort hops

The recirculation of the first runnings went well with a Jet black hydro sample taken.

Love the smell off of these Hallertau Tradition Hops, i will have to use them in a single hop lager through the Winter.

I finished the sparge and run off quite quickly(45 minutes).

I then brought the wort up to the boil for 110 minutes. Sadly no pictures, too much steam as i go for a hard rolling lid off boil in dark beers. In the last fifteen minutes i pitched in two protafloc tablets and the Belgian Candi. I hope to retain some of the orange zest through to the finished product by minimising boil time on the candi.

I pitched in the 4 oz of steep hops and left to cool/settle for two hours. After that i transfered to the Conical.

I noticed an immediate difference in the head retention generated by the drop to the FV. The head dropped back into the wort quickly. This is i assume caused by the Oats fats. This is the first time i have used oats, we will see how it goes. Mouthfeel will have to be outstanding or this is their last time in this brewhouse!

Last thing to do was a yeast pitch. I have used a 3rd generation US-05 yeast. This is my favourite yeast as it consistently hits 1.012FG at 70deg mash temp. Pretty neutral in character but does bring a small something to the table. Drops out of suspension quickly and can be clear within 10 days in the bottle.

I'll leave it here until i can get a picture of the yeast in action in the morning. I enjoyed the brewday and think this beer will work out well. I could smell liqourice and coffee off of the wort so that's a good start. I'll leave you with a picture from the brewhouse this morning.