Wyeast 1450 | happily hopped

We’re almost a month into 2012 and I’ve yet to enjoy anything I actually brewed in the new year. The waiting game is always the hardest part. A couple of weekends ago I got started on a new batch. Since the well is running dry and the winter months are upon us, I attempted my biggest brew to date. I decided on an imperial IPA with a target OG of 1.077.

The mash tun I use is only a five gallon igloo cooler, so capacity is a concern. Surprisingly I had tons of room to spare with 11.6 pounds of grain and almost 3.5 gallons of water. To boost the sugar content (aka fermentables… OG) 1.5 pounds of turnbinado sugar was added to the boil. Melanoidin and Caramunich II were chosen as speciality grains and comprised right around 18% of the fermentables. These grains along with Wyeast 1450 (Denny’s Favorite) were a few more firsts for me. Given the role of the dice with the new ingredients, the target OG of 1.077, and a target IBU of 70, I thought “Lucky 7’s” would be a fitting name.

It was smooth sailin’ all day: Mash temp hit, perfect sparge, steady rolling boil, and a fast chill. I was even able to prepare a great meal while brewing thanks to the crock pot and a pork butt. You’d be surprised how easy it was to make homemade BBQ sauce, kimchi and roasted beats throughout the brew day when the meat can cook unattended. Everything was well worth the effort.

If cooking a full meal and one five gallon batch wasn’t enough, I also tried another experimental batch with the final runnings. Unfortunately, I should have added some more DME since the batch ended with 1.030 as a starting gravity. Next time I’ll remember to use the refractometer. Live and learn… Last night I transferred the IIPA and the Citritine ale (brewed earlier in the year) to dry hop both with some additional Citra. Good brews are right around the corner. Here’s the recipe and some pics:

Lucky 7’s IIPA
Brewed January 14, 2012
Yeast: Wyeast 1450
Starter: No
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Target Original Gravity: 1.077
IBU: 70
Efficiency: 78%
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60 minutes
Color: 10 SRM
Mash: Single Infusion @ 153F (70 minutes) – Batch Sparge

Grain Bill:
10 lb American Pale Ale (2 Row)
14 oz Melanoidin Malt
8 oz Caramunich II
1.5 lb Turnbinado Sugar

Hops/Additions:
FWH 1.5 oz Centennial (7.6%)
30 min 0.25 oz Centennial (7.6%)
15 min Irish Moss
10 min 1 oz Citra (12%)
0 min 1 oz Citra (12%)

Fermentation
Primary 10 days (ambient temp around 62F)
Transferred to secondary on 1/23 with 1.25 oz Citra (1.018 gravity)
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Experimental Batch #2
Yeast: Safale US-05
Starter: No
Batch Size (Gallons): 2+
Target Original Gravity: ???
IBU: ???
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60 minutes
Color: ??? SRM