Hoppy Together

With my parent's 30th Wedding Anniversary on the horizon
and my Dad being a HopHead who likes BIG beers, I brewed
this beer, called Hoppy Together....

Brewer:	Andy Greider		Email:	andygreider@comcast.net
Beer:	Hoppy Together		Style:	India Pale Ale
Type:	Extract w/grain		Size:	5.5 gallons
Color:	20 HCU (~12 SRM)		Bitterness:	129 IBU
OG:	1.048		FG:	1.012
Alcohol:	4.7% v/v (3.7% w/w)
Water:	Polar Springs Spring Water
Grain:	.5 lb. American victory 1 lb. American crystal 60L
Steep:	all in a muslin bag at 160° for 35 minutes
Boil:	60 minutes	SG 1.133	2 gallons
	6 lb. 8 oz. Light malt extract
	Added small packet of rehydrated Irish Moss with 5 min left in boil.
Hops:	2 oz. Columbus (13% AA, 60 min.) 1.5 oz. Centennial (10.5% AA, 45 min.) 2 oz. Cascade (6% AA, !!!DH min.) .5 oz. Centennial (aroma)
Yeast:	White Labs Calif Ale
Log:	Began brewing on June 24th, Bob Dylan's birthday. Listened to Blood on the Tracks...Chilled wort to 70° and pitched yeast, then let ferment til the 30th - bubbles has ceased, so racked to secondary, dry hopped with 2 oz of Cascade, and let sit until July 7th, when we bottled.
Carbonation:	3/4 cup priming sugar into bottling bucket, filled 49x12 oz bottles.
Tasting:	As wort, taste was strong, a little resiny for an IPA, and flat, as was to be expected. At the point of secondary fermentation, the taste had actually mellowed a bit. The day of bottling the dry hop had added a citrusy, floral bouqet to the beer, and the taste was lacking middle range. By the point 3 weeks had passed, the beer had aged nicely and now sports a few different layers to it's taste. Although not the best IPA I've ever had, it is pretty darn tasty and full in flavor, the strong bitter notes throughout the sip do not overpower the rest of the taste. Next time around, I may well add in more Columbus to begin (2 oz?), another pound of crystal grain, and 1 of British pale, 8 oz of malodextrin and another 2 pounds of dme (light). I'd like to have a beer slightly higher in alc content and a little fuller in body, plus with a little more front end and mid range hop-kick. May even think about doing a hop back with 1 oz of Centennial before chilling the wort. Who knows? Darn, I love this hobby!

Recipe posted 08/12/03.