The Alchemist, Ninkasi Brewing Company, and Stone Brewing Company: More Brown Than Black IPA clone

The Alchemist, Ninkasi Brewing Company, and Stone Brewing Company: More Brown Than Black IPA clone

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.066   FG = 1.016
IBU = 100+   SRM = 19   ABV = 6.9%

This collaboration black IPA shows off a big fruity, spicy, herbal hop profile.

Ingredients
12 lbs. (5.4 kg) Maris Otter pale ale malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) light Munich malt
5.6 oz. (159 g) Carafa® Special III malt (525 °L)
4.6 oz. (130 g) Carahell® malt (9 °L)
0.34 oz. (10 mL) CO2 extracted hop extract (~100 IBUs)
1.9 oz. (55 g) Delta hops (0 min.)
1.9 oz. (55 g) Nelson Sauvin hops (0 min.)
1.9 oz. (55 g) Citra® hops (dry hop)
1.9 oz. (55 g) Galaxy hops (dry hop)
White Labs WLP090 (San Diego Super) yeast (2.75 qts./2.75 L yeast starter)
3⁄4 cup (150 g) dextrose (if priming)

Step by Step
You will need 4.25 gallons (16 L) of strike water. Infusion mash at 152 °F (67 °C) for 60 minutes, then raise temperature to 165 °F (74 °C) for mash off. Recirculate wort, then run off and sparge to yield about 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort. Use sparge water hot enough to maintain grain bed temperature at around 170 °F (77 °C), but not over. Boil wort for 90 minutes, adding hops at times indicated. Chill wort and transfer to fermenter. Aerate well and pitch sediment from yeast starter. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C). At end of fermentation, dry hop and hold warm for three days, then chill to 34 °F (1.1 °C) and age for a week. Bottle or keg as normal.

Extract with grains option:
Substitute the pale and Munich malts in the all-grain recipe with 2.25 lbs. (1 kg) light dried malt extract and 6 lbs. (2.7 kg) Maris Otter liquid malt extract. Place grains in a steeping bag and steep at 152 °F (67 °C) for 20 minutes in 2.7 qts. (2.6 L) of water. Begin heating at least 3 gallons (11 L) of water in your brewpot as the grains steep. Rinse grains with 1.5 qts. (1.4 L) of 170 °F (77 °C) water and add “grain tea” to water in brewpot. Stir in dried malt extract and bring wort to a boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at times indicated. Stir in liquid malt extract during the final 15 minutes of the boil. Follow the remaining portion of the all-grain recipe.

Tips for Success:
If you are unable to source the hop extract in this recipe, try substituting any neutral high-alpha hop that will get you to about 100 theoretical IBUs — for example, 1.6 oz. (45 g) of Summit™ hops, at 17.5% alpha acids (for 28 AAU total), boiled for 60 minutes. For this beer, adjust your water’s chemistry to an appropriate residual alkalinity (RA) for the color and the right amount of sulfates (and sulfate to chloride ratio) for a bitter or very bitter beer. When brewing this beer, gypsum is your friend.