Brew 2: Plague IPA

Plague IPA doesn't just put hairs on your chest; it makes them grow an inch and turns them grey. 

IPAs: the more I drink them the more I like them. I've discovered hops are like heroin. If you're a junkie you always want more. Your palate becomes numbed (or accustomed) to the bitterness and complex hop flavours and aromas. It's an addiction. An infection. Ahhh and then there's the IPA glow.

So it was only natural that on my second attempt at brewing I'd throw kilos and kilos of hops into the boil. I got a bit excited. Mosaic and Citra. My two favourite new age hops. They are both hops on steroids. Did I mention I got a bit excited?

Anyway, what I have created is another mongrel. But this one knows exactly who his parents are: a desperate Liverpool scouse-wife and an American used cars salesman. They're not good stock. Plague IPA fills your mouth with cotton, gives you a left jab to the jaw and then picks you up and throws you out onto the street.

I was actually meaning to get the original gravity up to around 1.060. But I forgot the extra Dry Malt Extract I was planning to add. Hence my balance value is pretty out of whack and this beer has a leering dry bitterness, like an old and weathered gambler with no friends, no money and nothing but bad memories.

The gambler: an immature Plague after 2 weeks in the bottle. Couldn't resist a sample!

Recipe:

Volume: 23 Litres 

Yeast: Coopers IPA Kit 
Kit: Coopers IPA
LME: Coopers Light Malt Extract 1.5kg
DME: 500gs Light Malt Extract
Adjuncts: 100gs Dextrose
Specialty Malts: 250gs Medium Crystal Grain 

Hops: Mosaic 10gs - 20min 
         Citra    20gs - 10min 
         Mosaic 10gs - 10min
         Citra/Mosaic 10gs - Dry 

OG: 1.052 
FG: 1.010 
Estimated IBU: 60 
Estimated ABV: 6%


With this brew I used my copper coil wort cooler for the first time. Worked a treat. I highly recommend purchasing some copper pipe to make one. 

The sink and the new copper wort cooler.

Plague was bulk primed with 155gs of dextrose. On bottle day I dissolved the dextrose in a little water and poured the sugar water into a sanitized secondary fermenter. I then racked the brew to the secondary fermenter, leaving the last few litres of yeast and hop scum behind. I let the transported brew sit for about half an hour to settle. I then bottled straight from the secondary fermenter.

Thoughts & Tasting:

Plague IPA is a sweeter, more pleasant beast than I expected. Sweet passionfruit and grapefruit aromas. Clear amber to golden colour with decent head retention. 

The first sip was a big fruity passionfruit explosion and a deep full flavour. There is actually a nice bit of sweet malt character and the balance is a lot better than I expected. A lingering bitter finish that is actually not too overwhelming.

I reckon this beer could do with even more aroma and fresh hop flavour. If I had my time again I'd throw in 20-30gs more dry hops. I'd keep the same amount of finishing hops but I'd add them all a little later in the boil.

Pretty happy with this one. It's tasty for an extract beer and a nice step up from good ole Pond Scum Golden Ale!