Advice on IIPA hop combos

[Mark Weusten]

I have some hops in the freezer that I would like to use up before they get any older and I was thinking a couple of big beers would do it quick. I have 400g of riwaka, motueka, amarillo and simcoe. The bittering hops I favour for this style I have 100g cascade and warrior. I was thinking 2 brews warrior bitter then amarillo/simcoe and cascade motueka/riwaka. For IIPA's quantities I have been using 25 @ 60, 30 of each @15, 60 of each@10 and 60 of each @5. Dry hopping with 60 each of the aroma hops. Can you see any more interesting combos in there?

[Cain Harland]

I recon Simcoe would go nicely with rewaka. Anyone done that?

[Crusader-Rob]

I've done Citra riwaka, works really well, but use Riwaka Sparingly, it'll somehow overpower citra. lol
that Kelly Milligan Recipe is good. Mine turned to crap, but before It overcsrbed and became overly carbonic. It was absolutely stunning. If you want an IIPA, look up Pliney the elder, and you can probably swap out the Cascade hops for Riwaka...

[Peter Smith]

We gave a mate at work a Grainfather for a retirement present , we are doing Kelly's Simcoe / Amarillo IPA recipe as a first brew...    lucky bugger got the keggerator as well he is totally setup now... way better then a gold watch

have a bottle of below beer in fridge....

Dogfish Head's best-selling product is its line of India Pale Ales (IPAs), which are offered in three varieties: 60 Minute, 90 Minute, and 120 Minute IPA. Their names refer to the length of the boil time of the wort in which the hopsare continuously added. The longer hops are boiled, the more hop isomerization takes place, and the more bitterness is imparted to the beer. The 60 Minute is described by the company as "a session IPA brewed with Warrior, Amarillo and Simcoe" and rated at 60 IBUs. 

[Mark Weusten]

Interesting, hadn't thought to bitter with Riwaka. Worth a crack

[David R]

Would seem like a bit of a waste to me as it's a low alpha variety, better off using one of the high alpha ones to reduce the amount of green stuff in the kettle.

[Mark Weusten]

Hey David, I use a hop spider so not too worried about the green stuff. Amazing what comes out, was the size of a kids soccer ball last big beer.

[David R]

I haven't, bit it does sound good! Amarillo and Citra is a good combo, so I'd say Amarillo and Riwaka would work well too.
How quickly are you cooling it after coming off the boil? Instead of a five minute addition (or as well as!) You could do a flange out addition and let it steep for fifteen before chilling.

[Mark Weusten]

I havent tried the Simcoe/Riwaka or Amarillo/Riwaka combo, it should be done. I have been cooling at flame out but did get good results on a black IPA from a decent steep so will try that this time.

[Peter Smith]

Mark in his recipe which won a gold soba (only ipa not iipa) Kelly mentions using some cascade in his amarillo / simcoe combination, I know he spent a lot of time playing with that mix, I also like cascade as a background hop in us hopped beers so I am biased to begin with...      see here http://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/forum/topics/soba-nhc-2013-recipes

[Mark Weusten]

I also hadn't thought to bitter with Simcoe, that's a nice looking recipe. I have some options to play with.

[Crusader-Rob]

Simcoe is quite a good Bittering hop. Its quite smooth.

[Peter Smith]

I reckon this maybe Simcoe/Amarillo with Nel Sav/Riwaka  late.....     it has a distint ipa vs iipa taste tho, some residual sweatness which I like, some dont...    could even be some columbus in there, def the focus is on the us not nz side of the hop equation

Bach Brewing IPA

Kingtide is described as a ‘Pacific IPA’ as it “is brewed with a caravan full of five character hops from the NZ and US coasts of the Pacific Ocean”. That is to say it combines the flavour profile of the already well established APA with the emerging New Zealand Pale Ale style. Of the development of Kingtide Craig Cooper says that he and Kelly brainstormed two recipes for the pilot batch; one with more of a focus on NZ hops, the other with the focus on US hops. Kelly then brewed trial batches of the beer and they decided on the US hop dominant beer as Craig wanted something “distinctively different than Hopsmacker”.

 

I see the beer as combining elements of Kiwi and US brewing styles both in terms of the flavours and aromas of the hops used but also style in general. One of the things I love about many bigger Kiwi brewed pale ales is their ability to hide their weight well. Liberty Citra is probably the best example of this but examples can also be found in the beers of Epic, Hallertau and 8 Wired. This is opposed to the US brewed beers (which, admittedly, I have only ever tasted in New Zealand) that seem to favour a richness and sweetness of malt body that boarders on cloy. Being a bit of a beer snob I now almost exclusively buy beer imported by Beer Without Boarders who ship and store their beer cold so in theory I am drinking them in the best possible condition. This beer is broad and relatively sweet but still has a clean, focused finish so does not stray into tasting cloy. This beer is massively hoppy but rather than the dominance of US hops that Craig Cooper refers to, I see a seamless weave between the piney, orange, lemon and grapefruit aromas of the US hops and the more focused bitterness, passionfruit flavours and floral aromatics of the Kiwi hops. In two words: Full + Focused