“Kiss My Black" IPA

Brew date: Sept. 30, 2012
#10
3 gal

A thrilling brew day! Packers are on (they won) and brewing a black IPA with brand new equipment: A 10 gallon Megapot and wort chiller.

It took some adjusting. The megapot rests over two burners. This allows it to heat quickly, but given the size of the pot and that I was trying to do a full wort boil, it was difficult to reach a rolling boil. I was forced to keep the lid partially on. I did my best to open it up from time to time to keep too much evaporated water condensing and falling back into the boil. I hope that this helps reduce any potential for off-flavors later on.

The wort chiller was a BIG help. I was able to get the wort down to pitching temp within about 20 minutes. I'm glad I went with the hose attachments, but the male/female adapter on one end still leaks a little. I wrapped it with some teflon tape, which helped, but it's not perfect.

Using the ball spout was great! Easiest wort transfer to my carboy ever. And I know that it aerated the wort well before pitching -- another bonus.

Ingredients:

Steeping Grain

• 5 oz Amber Malt
• 5 oz Crystal 60L Malt
• 5 oz Debittered Black Malt
• 2 oz Chocolate Malt

Malt Extract

• 1.875 kg Golden Light LME
• 455 g Amber DME
• 363 g Light DME

Hops

• ½ oz Warrior hops (60 min)
• ½ oz Centennial hops (60 min)
• ¼ oz Mt. Hood hops (10 min)
• ½ oz Cascade hops (5 min)

Yeast

• Wyeast 1187 Ringwood Ale*

*Yeast starter two days before. Boil 2 c water. Remove from heat. Add ½ c light DME. Boil 5-10 min. Cool and pitch yeast. Aerate on and off.

Instructions:

Two days before brew date, make yeast starter.

Add amber, crystal, debittered, and chocolate malts to 4 gal cold water. Heat to 150-160 'F and steep for 30 min. Strain. Bring water to boil. Remove kettle from heat and add all malt extract. Bring to boil. Add Warrior and Centennial hops. Boil 60 min. Add Mt. Hood hops 10 min before end of boil. Add Cascade hops 5 min before end of boil. Chill wort to 72 'F. Add to fermentor. Top off fermentor with cold water to 3 gal if needed. Pitch yeast. Hold temp between 65-75 'F.

Observations:

OG: 1.083

Color: Deep brown

Smell: Not much, slight roasty chocolate, slight bitterness

Taste: Rich, thick, bitter