Krazy Kiwi IPA

[Befuddler]

This recipe sounds belting.. I really want to try something totally over the top with those huge alpha NZ hops.

@Barley Water - I'm interested in having a bash at a proper American style Imperial IPA once I get my AG setup sorted out, but the gravity levels intimidate me a bit.. What yeasts are people using over there to get to those insanely high alcohol levels? Does 1056 stand up to that kind of punishment and does it need to be nurtured in a certain way?

Personally, I absolutely love the hop monsters from Stone, etc.. I could drink Ruination (allegedly over 100 IBUs!!) all day... It costs £5.60 ($8.50) a pint when it appears round here though so it's a rare treat.

[adm]

To make sure the high gravity beers ferment out properly, you can just use a LOT of yeast. The best way is to brew a normal gravity beer first, then harvest the yeast slurry from the bottom of the FV and use that for the higher gravity beer. Or you can just rack from the FV of the first beer, and then pitch the new wort straight into it. Works a treat!

[Befuddler]

To make sure the high gravity beers ferment out properly, you can just use a LOT of yeast. The best way is to brew a normal gravity beer first, then harvest the yeast slurry from the bottom of the FV and use that for the higher gravity beer. Or you can just rack from the FV of the first beer, and then pitch the new wort straight into it. Works a treat!

Ah, good tip pitching onto the old yeast.. that's one almighty mother of a starter! I need to get more equipment sorted out sharpish. I've just got the one keg at the moment so I can't get ahead of myself pitching brews straight onto previous brews or I'll have a queue lined up.

[Barley Water]

Yeah, my understanding is that they are using the Chico yeast but as Adm correctly points out, you need to pitch a hell of a lot of yeast or you will have under-attenuation issues. I do not make Imperial IPA's, the last thing I need is a keg of 10% beer on tap and frankly, they are a little much for me. Besides running up against issues of scale when brewing something that big (and we are damn near talking about Barleywine strenght) all those hops in the boil kettle are also problematic. There is a picture in Randy Mosier's book "Radical Brewing" of all the hops in the bottom of a boiler after an Imperial IPA brewday, it looks like the pictures of the mess made by the Exxon Valdez up in Alaska. All the hop material soaks up quite a bit of wort so yield goes way down (your system needs to be designed to handle this problem from the get-go). Of course, anytime you are trying to ferment a beer that big, temperature control is vital to avoid a phenolic, estery soup due to the stress the yeast is under (and you want a fairly clean fermentation). I think if I were trying to ferment an ale that big, I would probably use many of the techniques the lager brewers employ to keep things going, big starter, oxigenate really well, maybe some yeast nutrients and very strict temperature control. Anyway, these styles are very popular over here, good luck with your efforts, let us know how it turns out.

[Fallen]

Dr Evil

How's your Krazy Kiwi IPA maturing?

I've just bottled something similar (NZ Cascade and Motukea) and tried the first bottle yesterday after 1 week in the bottle (couldn't control myself ).

WOW.....never tasted anything like it..........it was like a bitter tropical cocktail! The hops are almost overpowering. How does it mature? Does this fruity tropicalness die down over time in the bottle or should I just plough through it as soon as it's properly carbonated?

[Dr.Evil]

ummm, maturing? There isnt any left and hasnt been for some time . It was good to go after two weeks in the bottles. Over the 6 weeks or so it was in existence, the full-on fruity hop flavours moderated a bit, but the beer gained a greater complexity to compensate. I would get stuck in as soon as it drops bright, but don't feel you need to rush through it. IMHO, best served slightly chilled (8C or so) with curry.

[Fallen]

ummm, maturing? There isnt any left and hasnt been for some time . It was good to go after two weeks in the bottles. Over the 6 weeks or so it was in existence, the full-on fruity hop flavours moderated a bit, but the beer gained a greater complexity to compensate. I would get stuck in as soon as it drops bright, but don't feel you need to rush through it. IMHO, best served slightly chilled (8C or so) with curry.

Great description. 100% agreed on all fronts.