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Recipe: Rip Current Hop Wine Quadruple IPA
Pushing IPA to its furthest physical limits requires close attention to fermentation and a lot of—well, a lot of everything. Thanks go to Paul Sangster and Rip Current Brewing for this unusual recipe.
Paul Sangster, cofounder of Rip Current Brewing in San Marcos, California, first brewed this over-the-top IPA in 2014 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of O’Brien’s Pub in San Diego.
This beer demands special attention to fermentation to ensure that it gets dry enough to have that dangerously drinkable West Coast quality. “All the credit for this amazing beer went to the yeast doing their job in a crazy-challenging environment,” Sangster says. “If you try this at home, watch things closely, as the beer won’t be great if the FG is much over 1.015. Be ready to re-pitch a starter or top-cropped yeast from another fermenting beer.”
For more from the pros on brewing extra-big IPAs, see Brewing Triple IPAs and Beyond: Battling Against Nature.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.126
FG: 1.008
IBUs: 150+
ABV: 16%
Paul Sangster, cofounder of Rip Current Brewing in San Marcos, California, first brewed this over-the-top IPA in 2014 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of O’Brien’s Pub in San Diego.
This beer demands special attention to fermentation to ensure that it gets dry enough to have that dangerously drinkable West Coast quality. “All the credit for this amazing beer went to the yeast doing their job in a crazy-challenging environment,” Sangster says. “If you try this at home, watch things closely, as the beer won’t be great if the FG is much over 1.015. Be ready to re-pitch a starter or top-cropped yeast from another fermenting beer.”
For more from the pros on brewing extra-big IPAs, see Brewing Triple IPAs and Beyond: Battling Against Nature.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.126
FG: 1.008
IBUs: 150+
ABV: 16%
[PAYWALL]
MALT/GRAIN BILL
14.6 lb (6.6 kg) two-row
10 oz (283 g) Carafoam
9 oz (255 g) acidulated malt
9 oz (255 g) caramel 15
7 oz (198 g) white wheat malt
5.5 oz (156 g) caramel 45
4.1 lb (1.9 kg) dextrose (in primary)
HOPS & ADDITIONS SCHEDULE
2 oz (57 g) Chinook at FWH [62 IBUs]
1.2 oz (34 g) Citra at 30 minutes [32 IBUs]
0.75 oz (21 g) Columbus at 30 minutes [21 IBUs]
1 tablet Whirlfloc at 15 minutes
1.25 oz (35 g) each Galaxy, Nelson Sauvin, and Simcoe at 10 minutes [45 IBUs]
1 oz (28 g) Columbus at 10 minutes [12 IBUs]
1 tsp (5 ml) yeast nutrient at 10 minutes
1.25 oz (35 g) each Amarillo and Centennial, and 1 oz (28 g) Citra at flameout
1 oz (28 g) each Centennial, Nelson Sauvin, and Simcoe; and 0.75 oz (21 g) Citra at first dry hop
1.25 oz (35 g) Galaxy, 1 oz (28 g) Centennial, and 0.75 oz (21 g) Columbus at second dry hop
1 oz (28 g) each Amarillo and Nelson Sauvin, and 0.75 oz (21g) Citra at third dry hop
0.75 oz (21 g) each Centennial and Citra at fourth dry hop
YEAST
White Labs WLP001 California Ale
DIRECTIONS
Prepare a large yeast starter the day before brewing. Mill the grains and mash at 148°F (64°C) for 75 minutes. Run off into the kettle with first wort hops, sparging and topping up as necessary to get about 7 gallons (27 liters) of wort—or more, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops, Whirlfloc, and yeast nutrient according to the schedule. Chill to 68°F (20°C), aerate well, and pitch the healthy yeast starter. Ferment at 68°F (20°C) for 5 days, then allow the temperature to rise to 72°F (22°C). Add the dextrose toward the end of primary fermentation. Add another fresh yeast starter if the fermentation lags.
Once the gravity is low enough and fermentation is complete, drop to 62°F (17°C) and remove yeast or rack into secondary. Add the first dry hops; after 7 days, remove the first hops and add the second dry hops. After 7 more days, add the third dry hops, then add the fourth dry hops after 4 more days. After 3 more days—21 days since the first dry hop—crash, package, and carbonate to 2.4 volumes.
