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recipe

Imperial Stormtrooper IPA

Imperial Stormtrooper (IPA?)

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.090  FG = 1.024 IBU = 82  SRM = 15  ABV = 8.7%
While brewed to be an imperial IPA, the resulting beer tasted more like a hoppy, American barleywine than IPA when it was judged after 7 months of aging.

Ingredients

7.0 lbs. (3.2 kg) English Maris Otter two-row pale malt
7.0 lbs. (3.2 kg) Schreier domestic pale two-row malt
2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) home-roasted amber malt (using Randy Mosher’s recipe for roasting) (brewers can substitute Victory® malt or Belgian aromatic malt for this ingredient.)
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) light Munich malt
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) domestic wheat malt
0.25 lb. (0.11 kg) Special B malt
0.25 lb. (0.11 kg) Carastan malt
0.25 lb. (0.11 kg) Carapils® malt
7.2 AAU Chinook hops (first wort hop) (0.6 oz./17 g of 12% alpha acids)
6 AAU Nugget hops (first wort hop) (0.5 oz./14 g of 12% alpha acids)
10.4 AAU Columbus hops (30 min.) (0.8 oz./23 g of 13% alpha acids)
4.5 AAU Centennial hops (20 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g of 9% alpha acids)
3.0 AAU Nugget hops (20 min.) (0.25 oz./7 g of 12% alpha acids)
10 AAU East Kent Goldings hops (15 min.) (2.0 oz./57 g of 5% alpha acids)
0.68 AAU English Fuggle hops (15 min.) (0.15 oz./4.3 g of 4.5% alpha acids)
0.25 oz. Nugget hops (10 min.)
1.0 oz. (28 g) Centennial hops (dry hop at 7 days)
1.0 oz. (28 g) Centennial hops (dry hop at 17 days)
Wyeast 1968 (London ESB Ale) yeast

Step by Step

Start by toasting 2 lbs. (0.91 kg) of uncrushed American pale malt. Pre-heat your oven to 350 °F (177 °C). While the oven is heating up, soak the grains in water for about 15 minutes. Lay the grains out on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes or until smelling nutty. If you do not want to bake your own malt, you can substitute in Briess Victory® malt or a Belgian aromatic malt. This is a single infusion mash for 60 minutes at 153 °F (67 °C) with 6 gallons (23 L) of water treated with 1⁄2 teaspoon of each gypsum and calcium chloride. Sparge with enough water to collect approximately 6.5 gallons (24.6 L) of wort in your brewpot. Add the first wort hops during the sparge phase. Boil for 60 minutes adding the hops according to the schedule. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C), adding dry hops after seven days and again at 17 days. Keg your beer at 31 days or bottle and prime with 2 oz. (56 g) dried malt extract.

Partial mash option: Replace all the Maris Otter pale ale malt, American 2-row pale malt and Carapils® malt with 5 lbs (2.27 kg) Maris Otter liquid malt extract and 3.75 lbs (1.7 kg) light dried malt extract. Toast the 2-row pale malt using the instructions from the all-grain version. Mash the remaining grains in 1.75 gallons (6.6 L) water at 153 °F (67 °C) for 60 minutes. Wash the grains with 2 gallons (7.6 L) hot water. Add in the dried and liquid malt extract and top off the brewpot to 6.5 gallons (24.6 L). Stir to make sure all the malt extract is dissolved then add the first wort hops and bring to a boil. Follow the remaining instructions from the all-grain recipe. ct.

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