Admiral IPA No.2
After brewing a run of American pales it's now time for something different and I've decided that I'll kick things off with a repeat of my Admiral IPA that I enjoyed so much back in 2022.
The recipe will be largely the same but this time the yeast I'll use will be Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale instead of the Brewlab Yorkshire that I used last time.
Starter
As is always the case I got my starter going on the Tuesday evening before Sunday's brewday. I made it up to 1.5 litres with 0.5 litres being earmarked to be stored in the fridge for next time and the remaining litre to be pitched into the wort on Sunday.
Brew day
Recipe Specifications
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Date: 7 July 2024
Batch Size (fermenter): 24.00 L
Estimated OG: 1.046 SG
Estimated Color: 15.4 EBC
Estimated IBU: 39.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 75.6 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Water profile: Ca:87 Mg:12 Na:9 SO4:105 Cl:108
Ingredients:
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Amt Name Type %/IBU
29.87 L Tesco Ashbeck Water -
3.70 g Calcium Chloride (Mash) Water Agent -
2.50 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash) Water Agent -
2.50 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash) Water Agent -
0.80 ml Lactic Acid (Mash) Water Agent -
4.750 kg Crisp Plumage Archer (4.0 EBC) Grain 95.0 %
0.250 kg Simpsons Medium Crystal (180.0 EBC) Grain 5.0 %
0.80 g Calcium Chloride (Sparge) Water Agent -
0.50 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Sparge) Water Agent -
0.50 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Sparge) Water Agent -
0.20 ml Lactic Acid (Sparge) Water Agent -
15.00 g Admiral [11.60 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 19.6 IBUs
15.00 g Admiral [11.60 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 7.1 IBUs
15.00 g Progress [8.10 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 5.0 IBUs
15.00 g Willamette [5.20 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 3.2 IBUs
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 7.0 mins) Fining -
20.00 g Admiral [11.60 %] - Boil 2.0 min Hop 2.2 IBUs
20.00 g Willamette [5.20 %] - Boil 2.0 min Hop 1.0 IBUs
15.00 g Progress [8.10 %] - Boil 2.0 min Hop 1.2 IBUs
1.0 pkg Scottish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1728) [124.21 ml] Yeast -
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body
Total Grain Weight: 5.000 kg
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Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 24.87 L of water at 70 C 67.0 C 90 min
Sparge: Dunk sparge with 5L
The recipe is very much the same as the first time except it'll be a little darker because I've decided to use 5% medium crystal to round off the flavours and balance the hops.
There's the hops for today's brew. All supplied by Crossmyloof as usual. The Progress hops are the oldest of the bunch at 2021 (it's July 2024 now) but should still be OK if they've been stored well since the 2021 harvest.
The OG was 1.046, exactly as planned. This is a relief because in my previous brew - the first using Plumage Archer - I fell short by an inexplicable four points. I'm putting that down to being lazy with the dunk sparge and only giving it about 3 minutes or so. This time I gave it a full 10 minutes, poking and prodding the bag to ensure that it got fully rinsed in the sparging bucket.
I got it down to 23C with the immersion chiller (it's summer here), pitched the yeast immediately and set the brew fridge to 20C. If everything is as predictable as usual then I can expect to see fermentation tomorrow morning and the final ABV will be around the 5.3% mark.
Kegging day
I kegged this one after 14 days in the fermenter.
I was a bit surprised by the FG because, at 1.010 it is the highest finish that I've ever had. I'm much more used to a range of between 1.004 and 1.007.
It's also much cloudier than usual, though this may clear up in the keg. The big change here is the use of the Crisp Plumage Archer malt and so far I'm not at all impressed although the proof will of course be in the tasting.
Tasting
This photograph is from about half way down the keg when it finally decided it was going to clear up. Before this it was quite a lot cloudier.
The flavour is great, I love the orangey flavour and bitterness of the Admiral hops that set off the sweetness of the crystal malt perfectly. There was a fuller flavour when it was cloudy and now that the keg has cleared the mouthfeel is slightly more crisp. I like the beer in both its clear and cloudy states but I also like to look at my beers and admire the clarity so I'm going to be taking steps to remedy this issue.