Big fan of two hearted ale. Any comments on this kit or suggestions on hop profile would be appreciated.
MaSheriff
I haven’t tried Belle’s 2-hearted but this was the first IPA I brewed. It’s one of only two beers that I will keep on hand at all times. I’ve brewed a Sinistral Warrior IPA and Chinook IPA. Neither can hold a candle to this one! It’s all Centennial hops, five oz total. The last time I brewed it, I added an extra oz of dryhop which did not disappoint. Next batch I will DH with more or possible add another oz at 5 minutes. It’s a deliciously sweet beer which lends the ability to hop it up some more!
Enjoy!
:cheers:
Depending on current Alpha Acids I would suggest running it through the Garetz calculator or promash etc… to make certain your not shooting the moon regarding IBU. I would say 60 IBU would be a target for this recipe.
http://realbeer.com/hops/bcalc_js.htmlAlthough I enjoy some two hearted on a regular and dig the NB offshoot they never change the hops included in recipes from year to year so you have to make certain the AA% didn’t change by a large margin, So as stated around 50-60 IBU will be primo but 80-100 etc… would be a touch too bitter for balance. So if you have to adjust somewhere just use extra hops at the flameout or dryhop stage as extra aroma never hurts this recipe.
Great news. I usually secondary for 2 weeks, but this recipe says up to 4 weeks on the secondary. What did you all decide to do when you brewed this recipe?
MaSheriff
Are you bottling or kegging?
Well anyway. Two weeks primary is right on if you saw complete ferment in 7 days which is typical, let condition on the cake for 7 days more. Dry hop in the primary for 4 days max and if bottling you may want to transfer to a secondary and cold crash for 3-4 days just to drop extra yeast and hop material then bottle up. If kegging I will many times leave in the secondary for 1-2 weeks in the cold or room temp depending on space in keezer to drop out most all material as you dont need the yeast to carbonate.
If not already remember to use a large starter. 1 yeast pouch/vial will need about a 2L starter for this gravity. Without going into great detail here a ample starter helps to reducing fermenting and conditioning times.
Just help my “IPA Release Party” with my first batch of Dead Ringer. My third batch of beer ever. I too added an extra ounce of hops to dry hop. I think this beer is very, very good. For better or worse - most is gone ready. My friends really liked it too and the party was a big hit. I will be brewing it again real soon.
Next up NB’s Black IPA.
I have brewed it all-grain 4-5 times. My favorite basic IPA recipe. The only thing I have ever done different is the hops. I have brewed it a couple times with all centennial. But have also brewed it as follows for a 6.5 gallon batch:
1 oz. centennial first wort hop
1 oz. centennial 60 min.
1 oz. cascade 20 min.
1 oz. cascade 0 min.
1 oz. citra 0 min.
2 oz. citra dry hop for days 16-21 in the fermenter.
This has become my standard hopping with this recipe.
As for time in fermenter - I just go 3 weeks in primary, dry hopping the last 5 days and then I bottle/keg it.
It is a great basic IPA recipe and it is a good one to brew exactly as is once or twice, and then tweak one thing in it on some different batches - maybe a different yeast, or maybe a different hop profile, etc.
[quote=“MaSheriff”]Great news. I usually secondary for 2 weeks, but this recipe says up to 4 weeks on the secondary. What did you all decide to do when you brewed this recipe?
MaSheriff[/quote]
I don’t secondary but I do keep it in the fermenter for 3 weeks before bottling. 7 day DH at 2 weeks, 2 weeks in bottle, 1 week in the fridge. After 6 weeks, it’s ready to drink.
:cheers:
[quote=“ITsPossible”]
If not already remember to use a large starter. 1 yeast pouch/vial will need about a 2L starter for this gravity. Without going into great detail here a ample starter helps to reducing fermenting and conditioning times.[/quote]
I, too, just ordered this extract kit as well as my first 1000 ml Yeast Starter Kit from NB.
Never used/tried a starter so I’m a little nervous about doing it right for a brew with a higher OG. Is the 1000 ml Yeast Starter large enough? Based on the description I thought it sounded right for 5 gal batches.
It depends
You probably want to make something closer to 2 liters ideally, check out the yeast pitching rate calculator at mrmalty.com
[quote=“ITsPossible”]Are you bottling or kegging?
Well anyway. Two weeks primary is right on if you saw complete ferment in 7 days which is typical, let condition on the cake for 7 days more. Dry hop in the primary for 4 days max and if bottling you may want to transfer to a secondary and cold crash for 3-4 days just to drop extra yeast and hop material then bottle up. If kegging I will many times leave in the secondary for 1-2 weeks in the cold or room temp depending on space in keezer to drop out most all material as you dont need the yeast to carbonate.
If not already remember to use a large starter. 1 yeast pouch/vial will need about a 2L starter for this gravity. Without going into great detail here a ample starter helps to reducing fermenting and conditioning times.[/quote]
I usually make a 1.5 L starter for high gravity beers. But a 2L will be fine. Thanks for the tip.
Hmmmm. I hope my first foray into going with a yeast starter for Dead Ringer - with my new 1000ml kit - will be enough. I only ordered one yeast pack…
Yes.
You’ll be under pitching but not by as much as if you just used the smack pack. 1L will get you close enough for government work.
:cheers:
2L starter, I better get my blowoff tube ready.
Recommended dryhop time? I usually go 7 days.
MaSheriff
[quote=“MaSheriff”]Recommended dryhop time? I usually go 7 days.
MaSheriff[/quote]
I like 14 better on dead ringer, but you don’t have to take my word for it 
As stated I go 4 days typically, but 7 is not a stretch from norm. I have found that all the aroma is extracted in under one weeks time and anything past this just extracts vegetative aromas/flavors.
Edit* Per your comment below S.S, I just wanted to clarify that I have always used fresh pellet hops, Hopsdirect is the only way!
Well not exactly, NB had pretty reasonable prices at Grand ave on pounds of the dank hops last fall at harvest time and due to shipping cost, I pretty much washed on price for pounds and was able to support local business. I knew the hammer was coming down though, I sure wish I would’ve listened to my first thoughts and bought that second pound of Amarillo. OH well…Nov will be here soon.
interesting… many dry hop in the keg, and leave it, until the keg is kicked.
I’ve DH in the keg several times with no vegative flavors. also i regularly DH in the primary for 10 days with no vegative flavors.
on the other hand. I have experienced vegative flavors in a dry hopped batch. But considering how many times i have dry hopped, i attributed the vegative-ness to something else. possibly the age of the hops? maybe something else? I didn’t consider time being the issue because I’ve done much longer than 10 days with no ill effects (and read a lot about keg dry hopping)… it’s a mystery to me
