Back to Brewing 10 Gallons of American IPA, Again

You may be saying to yourself, "I've already read a blog of this title from Matt".  And with the exception of the ", Again" you'd be correct.  But the truth of the matter is that this is my first brew session since I damaged my foot back in mid-November.  It's been a lot of sitting around on couches, eating more than I should, sleeping with my foot elevated, and being patient while my wounds heal.  I had a doctor appointment last week and he was happy with the progress.  Gave me the green light to essentially resume normal activity.  Let's brew.

This recipe is very similar to the IPA I brewed nearly a year ago.  My local HBS doesn't offer floor malted Marris Otter so I got creative there and the only other subtle differences are from changes in hop availability and AA%.

16# American 2-row
8# Golden Promise
1# Carapils

Target OG was 1.060 but I only hit 1.055.  Whatevs.  I didn't adjust my hops to account so this batch of IPA will likely be a little more bitter and hop-forward than my last batch.  Of course the golden promise may bring the final gravity up or at least the perceived maltiness.  So it may all be a wash.

2oz Northern Brewer  9.6%AA at 60 min
0.3oz Chinook 11.6% at 60 min

1.7oz Chinook 11.6% at 15 min

1oz Willamette 7.8% at 5 min
1oz Mosaic 11.6% at 5min

2oz Simcoe 12.7% at 0min

Had my first ever hop boil over!  It was exciting too!  Gotta picture down below.

Groundwater is still really cold so had no issue getting my 10 gallons to 62F in about 20 minutes.

23g (2 packets) of S-05 Safale American Ale Yeast rehydrated per Dr. Clayton Cones advice.

Every good brewday involves drinking previous batches of homebrew.  I'm still working through the porter and mild I brewed for Christmas.  Wish I had some brewthers nearby that could help.  This is the Mild and I think it's delicious.

My janky sparger.....does the trick though.

More of a background photo than a foreground photo.   The camera doesn't do justice to the view.

Holy Hops, Batman!

My first boil-over with my 60 minute addition.  Pretty crazy....

I will dry hop this baby with another 2oz of Simcoe 12.7% after primary has finished.  Can't wait to try this one on the first day of Spring!  I shall call it 'Fussy IPA' in honor of Budweiser.

Up next is a brew I know will be an annual tradition.........Zwickel!