India Black Ale - Black IPA - Brewing Craft Beer

This is a personal adaptation of a recipe I got from the guys at Ballast Point Brewery which turned into not only the best beer I have ever brewed but the best beer I have ever had the pleasure of drinking. Rather than just post the beer recipe, I am going to go into a little more detail than normal... answering some of the the questions I had when I first started brewing.

  1. 2 gallons of tap water into a brew kettle - tap water is critical for the mineral content to feed the yeast.
  2. Into a steeping bag...
    1. 24oz 10L Crystal
    2. 16oz Carapils
    3. 8oz Carafa II
  3. With steeping bag submerged but off the bottom bring almost to a boil.
  4. At 170f rinse grain over kettle with 2 pints of tap water - do not wring bag out!
  5. Add 1oz Centennial Hops and 9 lbs of Coopers Light Malt Extract into kettle and bring to a boil.
  6. Once a boil is reached add 2oz Columbus Hops.
  7. After 30 minutes add 1oz Centennial Hops.
  8. After 15 mire minutes add 3 teaspoons Irish Moss for clarity.
  9. After 15 more minutes add 1oz Simcoe Hops
  10. Pull off burner and immediately add 1.5 gallon of purified water - to dilute the tap water for correct balance.
  11. Wash your carboy with low sud detergent then rinse and wash with iodine and rinse.
  12. Pour 1.5 gallons of purified water into the carboy to keep it cool followed with your wort (un-fermented beer).
  13. Once the temperature drops to 80f add...
    1. 1oz Simcoe Hops
    2. .5oz Amarillo Hops
    3. White Labs California Ale Yeast
    4. White Labs Burton Ale Yeast
  14. Ferment for 10-14 days at 60-70 degrees ferenheight.
  15. Rack into your keg and chill for 24 hours with no pressure.
  16. Apply 30 pounds of pressure then tip keg back and fourth till you don't hear it taking any more CO2.
  17. Let rest a week or more gradually reducing the pressure for the CO2 to fully absorb into the beer for the proper mouth feel.
  18. Dispense at 6 pounds of pressure (my preference) and Enjoy.

I know this could be improved on with all grain or using a wort chiller but I wanted to balance quality with simplicity, but if you do want to go all grain trade the malt extract for 14lbs Domestic 2 row. Please let me know what you think!

  • Posted on   11/21/08 at 07:15:00 PM   by Dana  | 
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Posted in Cooking & Brewing

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