Black IPA..Help Wanted

[Uncle Joshua]

I have been wanting to brew a black IPA for a while but was lacking a few bits and bats, I now have all the ingredients but need help.

So far I have...


Pale malt 3600g
Vienna Malt 400g
Carafa Special III: 500g (cold steeped overnight then strained into the boiler, or sprinkled over while sparging)

Now I need help hoping it. I want to use some of..

Citra (=100g)
Cascade (200g)
centennial (83g)


I want a nicly hopped beer, not something crazy that uses hundreds of grams of the stuff.

[Befuddler]

A black IPA is, by definition, something crazy that uses hundreds of grams. Have you actually tried any commercial examples of this style? It's really not something where subtlety is a virtue.

[Uncle Joshua]

Maybe then, I want a good IPA using my hop list that happens to be black?

[alix101]

Your on the ball ..I would add some munich or vienna to give it more body ..it's a style people are starting to dislike because they think it has no place ..it does! and if you look at magic rock or thornbridge they do it very well

[Uncle Joshua]

Your on the ball ..I would add some munich or vienna to give it more body ..it's a style people are starting to dislike because they think it has no place ..it does! and if you look at magic rock or thornbridge they do it very well

Changed it a bit.....


viewtopic.php?f=5&t=53687

[Wolfy]

I want a nicly hopped beer, not something crazy that uses hundreds of grams of the stuff.

Here is my hoppy black beer that I'm currently drinking: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=52659&p=553477 (it has 150g hops in 24L batch).
It's quite enjoyable, but has a little more roast-malt character and little less hop-character than I was aiming for - which is common in black IPA's but not my preference. So next time I brew it I'll move the 60min Cascade addition to 30, slightly decrease the specialty malts but keep the Midnight Wheat for the black colour - and it should be spot on.

[darkonnis]

Recipe Specs--- Aurora Porter
Batch Size (L): 23.0
Total Grain (kg): 4.270
Total Hops (g): 100.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.048 (°P): 11.9
Final Gravity (FG): 1.012 (°P): 3.1
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 4.72 %
Colour (SRM):13.5 (EBC): 26.5
Bitterness (IBU): 35.2 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 82
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill----------------
4.057 kg Maris Otter Malt (95.01%)
0.128 kg Crystal 60 (3%)
0.085 kg Black Malt (1.99%)

Hop Bill----------------
10.0 g Aurora (9.3% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (0.4 g/L)
15.0 g Aurora (9.3% Alpha) @ 30 Minutes (Boil) (0.7 g/L)
25.0 g Aurora (9.3% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil) (1.1 g/L)
50.0 g Aurora (9.3% Alpha) @ 1 Minutes (Boil) (2.2 g/L)

Misc Bill----------------
Single step Infusion at 66°C for 90 Minutes. Fermented at 20°C with WLP001 - California Ale

The estimated colour is well out, its almost black even with a lightbulb upto it. I'd increase the black malt a touch or use darker crystal, and up the hops to around the 200 - 300g mark (including dry hops) as this was malty and not hoppy at all which is a let down because I had hoped the 50g addition would have just left flavour over bitterness. But there didn't appear to be either.
Just some more ideas, thats all.