# IPA Grain Bill



## indica86 (3/12/13)

Relatively new to this and love an IPA.
Hops I have my head around. Successful mashing is something I can do.
LHBS I have not. I need to order grains.
I'd like some ideas for a relatively simple grain bill for an IPA, I rather like Cooper's can so perhaps something along the lines of a deep brown.

Thanks in anticipation.


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## fletcher (3/12/13)

i love using about 80% pale malt, 15% munich, and 5% crystal. simple and great to start from.


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## indica86 (3/12/13)

Cheers.


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## smokenmirraz (3/12/13)

fletcher said:


> i love using about 80% pale malt, 15% munich, and 5% crystal. simple and great to start from.


I'd drink that... right now would be nice


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## dammag (3/12/13)

I agree. A bit of Munich is a nice touch.


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## Liam_snorkel (3/12/13)

100% Munich.


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## Yob (3/12/13)

Don't discount a good percentage of wheat


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## mje1980 (4/12/13)

Liam_snorkel said:


> 100% Munich.


I had one of the brew club members 100% Munich 10 minute IPA once. 200 grams in a single batch, was deliciously good.


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## Screwtop (4/12/13)

70% Pale
30% Munich


Screwy


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## indica86 (4/12/13)

Well looks like I'll have to put down a few - dammit - such a harsh hobby this one, the more I brew, the more I will need to drink.
So I'll order a heap of pale, munich, some crystal and wheat.


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## Kranky (4/12/13)

I'd keep it really simple whatever you do. This is pretty much my base for any US style pale ale or IPA:

94% Pale malt (I prefer Aussie or US pale malt)
4% Carapils - for mouth feel and head retention
2% Crystal - for body and mouthfeel

I've used munich and wheat malt in my IPA's and will again but if you are starting out I'd recommend keeping it very simple to start then adding a new malt, one at a time in a recipe you've already done so you can see what that particular malt does to your beer.

Whatever you do DO NOT use too much crystal or caramalt, it will kill of the the hop goodness you get from Pacific North West US hops.


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## Dan Pratt (4/12/13)

Hi Kranky,

What % of Crystal would be too much?


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## Kranky (4/12/13)

Pratty1 said:


> Hi Kranky,
> 
> What % of Crystal would be too much?


These days I would never use more than about 3%. I have brewed a lot of double IPA's and I've spent a lot of time reading and scouring the net for information on how to brew them. Vinny Cilurzo from Russian River - who is accredited with inventing the Double IPA style and brews some of the best beers on the planet - has said too much crystal hop in American IPA's are a wreck but he didn't nominate an amount.

A good way to help determine what will work in a beer is finding a recipe from a commercially brewed beer that you know is a great beer. You can find recipes for beers like Pliny the Elder, Kern River double IPA and Ballast Point Sculpin IPA (to name a few) on the net where the brewers have at some time released a recipe. Be careful to check the recipe came from the brewer though - a lot of home brewers guess a recipe and it's not accurate. The Brewing Networks "Can You Brew IT?" is an excellent source. Have a look at the various malt bills and see what ingredients they use and what they don't use. I'd actually recommend brewing those recipes a few times until you get them down, then start designing your own. Remember that little differences in brewing can make big differences to what you end up drinking.


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## Midnight Brew (4/12/13)

What mashing schedule do you fellas use for IPAs?


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## Kranky (4/12/13)

66C for 90 Minutes
76C for 10-15 min
Sparge at 76C


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (4/12/13)

I find a smidge (but not much more) of Rye is great to use as a spec malt.

I love Biscuit and Heritage Crystal for the spec malts and a good base I've always found is Bairds (or TF FM) Perle Ale Malt.


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## brewtas (4/12/13)

I'm with LRG on the biscuit. As others have said, Munich can be a good option. Generally I avoid crystal in these beers but if I use it, then normally 4% or less.

For mash temperatures, it's really a matter of personal taste. I like to mash low (62-64ish) so they finish nice and dry. Generally 1.010 is what I shoot for with APAs and IPAs, definitely no higher than 1.012.


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## Yob (4/12/13)

brewtas said:


> I like to mash low (62-64ish) so they finish nice and dry. Generally 1.010 is what I shoot for with APAs and IPAs, definitely no higher than 1.012.


I'll generally step mash, 63/30 66/20 72/10 78/15 I find that I can get any sweetness I want from increasing the higher steps... so no crystal at all for me anymore for IPA's.

My AAAIPA finished 1020 but you wouldnt think it to drink it, even had comments in Vicbrew about dryness... for an IPA with a serious malt profile and some in your face hops, 1014-1020 is perfectly acceptable. (defo 1010 for an APA)


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## brewtas (4/12/13)

Yeah, I should have mentioned that 62/64 would be a first step for me. Then 68, 72, 78. 

Fair call on the FG, Yob. It's definitely possible to balance them well with a higher FG, I just find the beers end up more drinkable in the 1.010-1.012 range.


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## Phoney (4/12/13)

5% sugar is a good addition to dry out bigger or Double IPA's.


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## QldKev (4/12/13)

For an APA I stay with Ale + heaps of Munich, but for an IPA I prefer to go into Golden Promise and even Marris Otter bases with up to 10% Crystal. Have a search for the Epic Pale Ale recipe and check out how many different Caramel/Crystals they use and the total % of it.


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## Thefatdoghead (4/12/13)

Here is the Meantime IPA recipe from the IPA book. The yeast is something I chose from reading the description. 

Meantime London IPA
14-A English IPA
Author: Meantime brewing IPA book
Date: 25/12/13

Size: 45.0 L @ 20 °C
Efficiency: 78.97%
Attenuation: 82.1%
Calories: 224.68 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.068 (1.050 - 1.075)
Terminal Gravity: 1.012 (1.010 - 1.018)
Color: 10.28 (8.0 - 14.0)
Alcohol: 7.35% (5.0% - 7.5%)
Bitterness: 73.4 (40.0 - 60.0)

Ingredients:
10.6 kg (84.0%) Maris Otter Pale Ale Malt - added during mash
1.14 kg (9.0%) Munich TYPE I - added during mash
0.12 kg (1.0%) Pale Crystal Malt - added during mash
.76 kg (6.0%) Candi Sugar Clear - added during mash
90 g (10.2%) East Kent Goldings (5.1%) - added first wort, boiled 75 m
100 g (11.4%) Fuggle (4.7%) - added first wort, boiled 75 m
200 g (22.7%) East Kent Goldings (5.1%) - added during boil, boiled 5 m
200 g (22.7%) Fuggle (4.7%) - added during boil, boiled 5 m
100 g (11.4%) East Kent Goldings (5.1%) - added during boil
100 g (11.4%) Fuggle (4.7%) - added during boil
45 g (5.1%) East Kent Goldings (5.1%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
45 g (5.1%) Fuggle (4.7%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
0.0 ea WYeast 1098 British Ale™

Schedule:
Ambient Air: 21.11 °C
Source Water: 15.56 °C
Elevation: 0.0 m


Notes
Mash
62/30
Ramp over 30 minutes to-72
72/20
mashout


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## wbosher (4/12/13)

Dr Smurto's English IPA. Really simple, I'll see if I can find the link.

Here - http://aussiehomebrewer.com/recipe/1481-drsmurtos-english-ipa/


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## indica86 (4/12/13)

Ahh yes, looks like a good place to start.


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