We brewed this Citra hopped double IPA with our 10 gallon 240 volt system. We used 18.2 pounds (8kg 255.4g) of grain for this beer, which showed once again that a 10.5 gallon (39.7 liter) kettle is versatile enough to brew beers on the larger end of the ABV spectrum. We used a good amount of Citra hops- so if you're a fan of that variety, and you like bigger beers, this one is for you. Our brew day video is below, but keep scrolling for full recipe details and step by step instructions.

Water

We filled the kettle with 8.5 gallons (32.2 liters) of Asheville, NC city water. Once the water was heated to 150 Fahrenheit (65.6C) we removed 2 gallons (7.6 liters) of water into a smaller pot leaving 6.5 gallons (24.6 liters) left in the kettle.

Removing water to sparge with later

We removed the 2 gallons (7.6 liters) of water in order to fit all of the grains and the water into the kettle. The reserved 2 gallons (7.6 liters) of water will be used after the mash as sparge water.

Grains (18.2 pounds) / (8.3 kilograms)

Here's the detailed grain bill for this recipe.

Pale Malt (2 Row) - 15 lbs (6.8 kg)

Cara-Pils/Dextrine - 12.8 oz (362.9 g)

Caramel/Crystal Malt 10L - 12.8 oz (362.9 g)

Munich Malt - 12.8 oz (362.9 g)

Honey Malt - 6.4 oz (181.4 g)

White Wheat Malt - 6.4 oz (181.4 g)

Mash

We mashed at 150 degrees Fahrenheit (65.6C) for 60 minutes.

Mashing in

Stirring the mash - do this to break up any clumps

We heated the reserved two gallons of water to 170 degrees Fahrenheit (76.7C) and used that to sparge over the grains. 

Sparging through the spent grain at the end of the mash

Hops

We used the following hops at the amounts and times listed.

• Nugget:  0.8 oz (22.68g) at 60 minutes
• Citra:      0.8 oz (22.68g) at 30 minutes
• Citra:      0.8 oz (22.68g) at 15 minutes
• Whirlfloc Tablet at 15 minutes
• Citra:      0.8 oz (22.68g) at 10 minutes
• Citra:      0.8 oz (22.68g) at 05 minutes

Our 30-minute hop addition, all the others looked about the same

Yeast and Fermentation

This beer came to life with White Labs WLP051 (California Ale Yeast). We fermented at 68F (20C) for 7 days and then let the beer come up to room temp (70F / 21.1C) and then sit for another 3 days. 

Dry Hops

We used 2 ounces (56.7g) of Amarillo hops for the dry hop addition. (feel free to use Citra)

We added the two ounces (56.7g) of Amarillo hops to a mesh bag and then added the hop bag directly to the keg. We used a mesh bag to make removing the hops easy. We added the hops Friday afternoon and removed them the following Monday afternoon.

Tasting

This is an IPA with complex malt flavors that are well matched by tropical and fruity aromas and flavors from the additions of Citra and Amarillo hops. Once this beer was fully carbonated it had great head retention and clarity.

Emmet said it's, "Not boozy, definitely balanced, and definitely has a good amount of bitterness to handle the alcohol content in it."

Is This Really A Double IPA?

We were expecting this to finish at 1.012 but it ended up finishing at 1.014. Had this beer finished at the expected 1.012 it would have been a true double IPA. This IPA finished at 7.35% instead of the expected 7.61%. In order to brew this as a true double IPA you could increase the starting gravity above 1.070 or try and get fermentation to finish below 1.014. At the end of the day the beer tasted great and I still called it a double IPA.

Original Gravity: 1.070

Final Gravity: 1.014

ABV: 7.35%

BJCP 22A. Double IPA Vital Statistics

OG: 1.065 - 1.085

FG: 1.008 - 1.018

ABV: 7.5% - 10%