The idea behind this brew is an IPA with both European and west coast hops for a balance of citrus and piny qualities. It's backed up with phenols and esters produced from Belgian ale yeast that add more roundness to the beer than your run of the mill Californian Ale Yeast. The warrior hops are used solely for bittering. Warrior hops are clean and have a relatively low amount of co-Humulone which makes them perfect for IPAs.
The grains are mashed at a moderately low 151 degrees so that the beer is moderately dry with still a decent amount of body. I ferment for 3 days at 69 degrees then ramp up to 76 and hold until primary fermentation is complete. Total primary fermentation was 6 days. That may sound like a high temperature for starting fermentation, but in a beer this low of an O.G. there's not much of a chance of fusel alcohols.
Upon racking to secondary I added the dry hops and let them sit for 8 days. I racked off the dry hops into my bottling bucket. I had some trouble with bits of hops stuck in suspension so I added some fining's and cold crashed for 2 days.
O.G. 1.059
F.G. 1.010
IBUs 61
Grain Bill
5 lbs. Belgian Pils
1 lb. Torrified Wheat
1 lb. 60L Crystal
4 lb. Munich
Mash at 151 for 1 hour.
Hop Schedule
1 oz. Warrior Hop Pellets 15.8% AA - 1 hour
2 oz. Amarillo Hop Pellets 8.6% AA - 10 minutes
2 oz. Willamette Hop Pellets 3.4%AA - 1 minute
2 oz. Willamette Hop Pellets Dry Hop - 8 Days
1 oz. Amarillo Hop Pellets Dry Hop - 8 Days
Sacchromycese - WLP575 White Labs Belgian Ale Blend
This beer ended up a little dryer than I was hoping but overall very nice. Next time I'm going to mash it a little higher, around 153. The large amount of late hop additions provided for a very smooth bittering and bright hop character.
This beer was originally brewed for a friends wedding and was consumed very quickly and was met with great response... then again free beer always is.
