Fly-P-A

Nothing too original in this one, it's a series of modifications I've made to prior IPA kits I've tried. My cohorts and I thought this to be an excellent American style IPA. I hope you do too.

Brewer:	Nogero N. Swerb		Email:	-
Beer:	Fly-P-A		Style:	India Pale Ale
Type:	Extract w/grain		Size:	5 gallons
Color:	20 HCU (~12 SRM)		Bitterness:	55 IBU
OG:	1.065		FG:	1.015
Alcohol:	6.4% v/v (5.0% w/w)
Water:	I have fairly soft water, so I utilized bottled spring water.
Grain:	12 oz. American crystal 20L
Steep:	Heat water to around 158°F. Added crushed crystal malt (in muslin bag), let steep for 20 minutes. Increased heat to 170°F and removed grain bag.
Boil:	60-75 minutes	SG 1.081	4 gallons
	6 lb. Light malt extract 2 lb. Amber dry malt extract
	1/2 tsp Irish Moss in the last 10 minutes of boil.
Hops:	1 oz. Columbus (11% AA, 60 min.) 1 oz. Centennial (11% AA, 15 min.) 2 oz. Centennial (11% AA, 5 min.) 1 oz. Centennial (aroma)
Yeast:	Used Wyeast #1187 - Ringwood Ale. (primed the smack pack about 8 hours prior) to make a starter (18oz water, 1/2 cup DME) about a day prior to boil.
Log:	Chilled wort to mid-70°, whirl-pooled and siphoned off to primary. Aerated and added additional water to 5 gallons. Pitched the yeast starter and had very active fermentation within 5 hours. Recommend a blow-off hose prior to using an airlock. Fermented out in 6 days @ 70-72°F ambient temp. Racked to secondary on the 8th day, dry hopped with 1.5oz Columbus hops(whole leaf). Kept at 70°F for first week, gradually dropping down to mid 60's second week. Racked to bottles somewhere in the third week. The high flocculation of the Ringwood yeast allows it to clear out very well - almost crystal clear in the primary, so one might be tempted to skip the secondary. If racking to bottles out of the primary, be sure give it an extra day or two to allow for a diacetyl rest.
Carbonation:	1.9 volumes	Dried Malt Extract: 4.22 oz. for 4.9 gallons @ 64°F
	I didn't weigh out the DME used for carbonation, it was roughly a 1 1/3 cup for just under 5 gallons (finished with 44 - 12oz. bottles). Carbonated out in 10 days @ 70°F.
Tasting:	This brew was a great drink at just 10 days in the bottle. Even after aging a case for a month in the cellar, any improvements in drinkability weren't enough to justify waiting. Though after aging, carbonation was a tad bit too bubbly for me, I'd scale back to 1 or 1 1/4 cup DME, or 4-4.5oz. of corn sugar.

Recipe posted 03/04/08.