Dear beer drinkers, brewers and appreciators,
Similar to many beer drinkers before me, the first time I had a sip of beer I spit it out and said, “This tastes like crap!” But I “struggled” through and am now very glad I did. From that first sip of Silver Bullet, I’ve enjoyed a vast array of interesting and shocking beers.
One of my favorite types of beer is the India Pale Ale, or IPA. The name stems from the British occupation of India in the 18th century. On the long voyage from Britain to India, many of the normal beers British people drank would spoil because of wild yeast and bacteria that crept through the pores of the wooden barrels. To make a beer that would survive the long journey across the unforgiving ocean, brewers found the preservative and antibacterial qualities of adding a significant amount of hops to their ales.
From that beginning, Americans have taken the reins and have reinvented the style to encompass many glorious subcategories such as the floral and citrusy West Coast IPA the aggressive Imperial IPA, and the new American experiment that is the Cascadian Dark Ale (Black IPA).
Oh glorious hops! If you have ever rubbed a few fresh flowers in your hand or grabbed a pint of freshly hopped IPA only to thrust your nose into the wonderful floral, herbal, sometimes spicy and citrusy aromas, you will excuse my excitement.
Hops are green, cone-shaped flowers that grow from the climbing humulus lupulus plant (the only sibling of marijuana in the cannabaceae family). Hops contain two substances that are important to the brewer and beer drinker. The first are wonderfully bitter resin compounds that dissolve into the beer at higher temperatures when boiled. Second is a variety of aromatic oils that contribute their magic to the nose of the ale. The level of resins and oils are what separate the light spicy bitterness of the German noble hops from the resinous candy-light character of the English hops from the intense floral citrus qualities of our American hops.
Hops are mainly added to the boiling stage of the brewing process. The breakdown of the hop resins (isomerization) and oils occurs in a very distinct progression. When hops are added to the beginning of the boil (60+ minutes left) they will impart mostly bitterness. When hops are added to the middle of the boil (10 to 20 minutes left) they add mostly flavor. When hops are added late or at the end of the boil (0 to 5 minutes left) they will impart mostly aroma. Also, adding hops to the finished beer (dry hopping) can give an extremely fresh aroma.
With the very wide style parameters of IPAs, the brewer has total control of what he or she wants to create.
The recipe for the week is a late-hopped West Coast IPA that I made in January called “Simtra.” Once you take a look at the recipe, it is pretty easy to see how I came up with the name. This beer has an almost identical recipe as the Citra IPA at Creekside Brewing. This beer has a very strong resinous, floral and citrus aroma reminiscent of grapefruit or mango. The flavor begins with that very crisp grapefruit citrus hop flavor, and to balance the hop bitterness, a very light malt backbone. The beer finishes with a dry, clean and mild bitterness that begs for you to take another sip. I don’t know about you, but I subscribe to the Czech proverb, “A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it’s better to be thoroughly sure.”
Reminder: If you are a homebrewer, don’t forget to enter your beers in our annual Cal Poly Cup competition for a chance to win prizes and get your beers evaluated by nationally certified judges. Entries are due May 16, and the event will be held at Creekside Brewing Company on May 23. For more information, check out our website at cpbrewcrew.calpoly.edu
Happy Brewing,
Greg Exline
Cal Poly Brew Crew Vice President
Simtra IPA (All Grain):
10 lbs American 2 Row (For extract brewers this equates to 7 lbs of liquid malt extract or 6 lbs of dry malt extract)
1.0 lb Caramel Malt 20L
1.0 lb Victory Malt
Hops:
0.5 oz Simcoe (60 min)
1.0 oz Citra (20 min)
0.5 oz Simcoe (10 min)
1.0 oz Citra (5 min)
1.0 oz Simcoe (0 min)
1.0 oz Citra (dry hop in secondary fermenter)
Other:
Whirlfloc Clarifier (20 min)
SafAle California Ale (DCL Yeast #S-05)
Brewing Instructions:
Heat water and mash grains at 154°F. Bring wort to rolling boil and add first hops. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops according to above times. Recipe is designed for 6 gallon batch at 70 percent brewing efficiency. Original gravity should be ~1.074 and final should be ~1.012.