Amarillo IPA

[tribs]

Here is a recipe I formulated for a single hop IPA using amarillo pellets purchased from H&G. The recipe uses exactly one 85g tub. I pulled out all the stops to get as much hop character as possible and it works a treat.

1) First Wort Hop with 20g to get lots of hop flavour (chuck the hops in when the run-off from the mash is filling the boiler - equivalent to a 20 min bittering addition but with more flavour) .
2) Hop burst from 30 mins with additions every 10 mins to get different flavour and aroma profile from each addition.
3) Dry hop in the Keg for plenty of aroma.

I've been disapointed with the use of crystal malt so I decided to ditch it in favour of Carapils for body and head and Special B which I had used a small amount in the Challenger Summer Ale. I've taken to chewing grains :rolleyes: to get an idea of what they will contribute and the Special B is like chewing a raisin

I have brewed and kegged this baby and it is a fine fruity hoppy ale. Probably the best batch I've brewed. The aroma from the Dry Hop is incredible. I've not had results as good with whole hops.

I used a whirfloc tab (freebie from H&G) with 15 mins left in the boil and was very impressed with the results. There was a huge amount of cold break and the wort above it was almost completely clear. I fermented for 15 days in primary @ ~17C ambient temp and transferred straight to the keg and forced carbed adding the remaining pellets in a boiled hop bag. I also used my modified dip tube. I cut a little off the bottom and attached a length of beer line to create a U so it didn't suck sediment off the bottom. Its difficult to say if it has worked since the beer is still a little cloudy from the dry hop, but it has only been in the keg for a few days and it seems pretty clear already.

FYI: Amarillo is used in the excellent Rolling Hitch brewed by Darwin.

20L batch @ ~73% efficiency
OG 1.064
FG 1.015
IBU 42
SRM 8
ABV 6.5%


Malts
------
5kg Maris Otter Pale Malt
500g CaraPils Malt
100g Special B Malt

Hops
------
20g Amarillo (8%AA) FWH (First Wort Hop)
20g Amarillo (8%AA) 60 mins
5g Amarillo (8%AA) 30 mins
5g Amarillo (8%AA) 20 mins
5g Amarillo (8%AA) 10 mins
5g Amarillo (8%AA) 0 mins
25g Amarillo (8%AA) DH (Dry Hop)


Mash
------
@ ~67C for 90 mins.

Yeast
------
Safale US-56

[BitterTed]

Well done tribs!! That looks like a very nice recipe. I know Amarillo is different from Centennial and Cascade as far as flavor and aroma, the 2 C-hops being more grapefruit like, what do you pick up from the amarillo?

[mysterio]

Great looking recipe tribs. I've been wanting to try out Amarillo and I'm a big IPA fan so I reckon i'll brew this one!

I especially like the bold non-use of crystal!

[tribs]

Cheers guys :beer

I'd say its more orange and lemon and the bitterness is very smooth. In fact when I brew this again (which I will) I think I'll transfer 5g of the FWH addition to the bittering for a little more kick.

I'm a big fan of IPA's too. I reckon about 2/3 of the batches I've brewed have been IPA's :rolleyes:

[BitterTed]

QUOTE (tribs @ Sep 7 2006, 11:11 AM) Cheers guys :beer

I'd say its more orange and lemon and the bitterness is very smooth. In fact when I brew this again (which I will) I think I'll transfer 5g of the FWH addition to the bittering for a little more kick.

I'm a big fan of IPA's too. I reckon about 2/3 of the batches I've brewed have been IPA's :rolleyes:
Cool!! I like IPA an awful lot myself. I have heard the flavor of Amarillo compared to tangerine, so lemon and orange makes sense!!

[Matt]

I brewed this today, and I had a good morning. I hit the mash temp right and OG reading is 1062, so not bad at all. Well happy!

I did the 5g swap from the FWH to the bittering quantity. The FWH makes sparging a nice aromatic experience.

Cheers,
Matt

[Bryggmester]

Amarillo hops are great! I brewed a strongish bitter using whole hops from H and G which was kegged on 10/2. I intend to let the brew mature 3 weeks but I had a sample today and I was very impressed. Certainly one of my best.

[slurp the apprentice]

Hi Tribs thought i might try your recipe but substitute cascade whole hops as i have these already would you recommend increasing the hop weight if using whole rather than pellets ?

[SteveD]

Great looking recipe tribs. I've been wanting to try out Amarillo and I'm a big IPA fan so I reckon i'll brew this one.

I especially like the bold non-use of crystal!

CRASH!! Wheeow Wheeow Wheeow! HALT! IT'S THE IPA POLICE!!!! "What's in the bag sonny? Who supplied you with that crystal malt!"

Non use of anything else would have been bolder still IPA's were pale malt only - low colour pale, at that.

[maxashton]

No one expects the IPA Inquisition!
<incidental music>

[tribs]

slurp,

The finished product would be quite different using Cascade in place of Amarillo. I found the Amarillo pellets from H&G to have much more character than the UK grown cascade hops that are generally available (M&H & Youngs). That said it should still be a tasty brew though.

I would add 10-15% extra whole hops by weight over pellets but also bear in mind the Amarillo hops I used were 8%AA whereas the UK cascades are generally only 5%AA.

BTW after a few months of ageing this brew was amazing. The best I've brewed so far. None left now though . I'm looking forward to H&G getting these pellets in stock so I can brew it again.

Good Luck

tribs

[Matt]

I'm bottling my batch this weekend. It smells amazing - a real honey-like aroma.

I used whole Amarillo @ 9%AA, so the extra strength negated the extra weight required, as I figured anyway.

[monkey_doctor]

I botteled my amarillo pale ale last night - cant wait to give it a go in a couple of weeks.