Big Sur IPA

Ingredients:

6lb Light Dry Malt Extract or 7.5lb Liquid Light Malt Extract

1lb Dextrose (table sugar will work)

3oz El Dorado Hops

-1.25oz at 60 minutes

-0.75oz at 5 minutes

-1oz dry hop on day 10

1 Package Imperial A07 "Flagship" or Omega OYL-004

Preparation:

To make your brew day easier, it's best to organize your ingredients so that you aren't scrambling at the last minute. In a large brew kettle or stock pot, heat 3 gallons of water to a rolling boil.

While you wait for the water to boil, divide your hops into three separate batches, 1.5oz, 0.5oz, and 1oz. 

Start chilling 3 gallons of water in a container to be added after you finish the boil. This will help bring the wort to a temperature suitable for pitching your yeast.

Add 5 gallons of water to your fermenter and add 1oz of Star-San or other acid sanitizer. Whether it be a bucket, carboy, or other vessel, it's important for your equipment to be sanitized to avoid unwanted infections to your beer. If you're fermenting in a brew bucket, you can leave the sanitizer solution in the bucket, just be sure to use the solution to sanitize your airlock, bung, funnel, and anything else that may touch your beer after the boil is complete.

The Boil:

Now that your water has reached a rolling boil, it's time to add your first hop addition. Add 1.5oz of El Dorado hops to your brew kettle and stir them in slowly. At this point, set a timer for 45 minutes, that's when we add the next ingredient(s). Be sure to keep an eye on your kettle as this could cause the liquid to boil over the top. To help prevent boil over, it helps to have a spray bottle that is filled with distilled water that you can use to knock down the foam.

After 45 minutes passes, briefly turn off your burner and add 6 pounds of dry malt extract or 7.5 pounds of liquid malt extract. Be sure to stir in the extract until it dissolves completely and then restart your burner. If you don't turn off the burner, there's a good chance that your extract will stick to the bottom and scorch. Set a timer for 10 minutes.

If you're using table sugar, add it at the same time as the extract.

After the timer sounds, you now have 5 minutes remaining in the boil. Add 0.5oz of El Dorado hops and set another timer for 5 more minutes.

After this 5 minutes, your boil is complete! Turn off your burner and add the 1 pound of dextrose and stir until dissolved.

Now that the boil is complete, everything that touches the wort should be sanitized.

Cool down your wort by carefully moving your boil vessel to a sink or tub filled with cold water. With a sanitized spoon, stir your wort to speed up the cooling. When your wort is cooled down to 90ºF, add the wort to your sanitized fermenter.

Add the 3 gallons of cold water that we set aside at the start to your fermenter. This should bring your wort down to about 80ºF or less. Now you can add your yeast.

Shake your fermenter, with the lid on, vigorously to add oxygen to the liquid to help promote a strong fermentation. After this point, it is important to minimize oxygen exposure to your fermentation. If you're taking an original gravity measurement, now is the time to do so.

Add your airlock to your fermenter and store in a cool dark place. Your airlock should be filled to the specified line with sanitizer to keep unwanted bacteria out of your fermenter.

Fermentation:

Within 6-12 hours, you should start to see gas bubbling through your airlock. You may see activity sooner depending on the temperature of your fermentation. Let the fermentation continue undisturbed for the next 10 days.

On day 10, slightly open your fermenter and add the remaining 1oz of El Dorado hops to the fermenter. Close the lid or replace the bung and let sit for another 4 days.

If you have the ability to add your fermenter to a refrigerator, do so on day 14. This is known as cold crashing and will help the beer to clarify. After 2-3 days in the fridge, you're ready to package your beer!