Fresh Hop IPA & DIPA

This month (November, 2025), Ian Cosier gave us a talk on “How I Brew… Fresh Hop IPA & DIPA”. This went into way more detail than that however and turned into a great conversation about many aspects of the brewing process and the hobby we love.

Transcript

1. A RAMBLING TOUR OF MY BREWERY PROCESSES London Amateur Brewers 17 November 2025 Ian Cosier
2. ▪ A bit about my brewing ▪ Recipe formulation ▪ Brew day prep ▪ Mash ▪ Boil ▪ Fermentation ▪ Serving & Packaging
6. Recipe Formulation ▪ Software and brewday notes – iterative approach ▪ Malts – single supplier ▪ Hops – Fresher, later – Survivables – Substitutions: AA vs oil content – Spiders and altitude
7. Recipe Formulation – Brew Notes AG146 Oxford Road – English IPA OG1060-1062 (Pill 1068) FG1.014 (Pill 1018) 6.1% 4.4pH (vs ales 3.9 to 4.2pH) Brewed: 22/7/25. Kegged: 8/8/25 Brew notes: Thoughts for next brew - adjust malts to match Green run. Whirlpool only, with a very large quantity of low alpha hop. This seems to result in a stronger hop flavour and a rich smooth bitterness - as with Green Run and Lille Pils. Awful efficiency - crush too coarse? Dry hopping done @ 7deg for 2 days rather than 2-4 deg. Potential oxygen ingress during kegging? Tasting notes: 1wk: bitterness has an odd character. Fresh orange flavours not discernable. 7 weeks in, pithy unpleasant bitterness 1. Mash 62 deg for 60 mins, 70 deg for 30 mins. 2. 5.2pH vs 5.4/5.5pH. 3. 5 mins sparge time! Crush too large 4. Pre boil: (a)35L hot (b) @1043H vs 34L (BS estimates hot) @1049! Boil off for 30 mins to make 33.4L @ 1048. After 30mins, 2L boiled off @1046. Looks like boil off rate is closer to 4L/hr. Another 20 mins to get to 31.5L @1050. 5. Post boil hot volume is 25.5L, so 6L loss 6. Post boil: (a) 24.5L (cool) minus 1L hops minus 0.75 BZ minus 0.75 trub dump = 22L (b) @1.060H vs 26L @ 1.060H 7. Post boil pH: 5.14 before whirl. (Aim 5.0-5.2) 8. 22L into FV 9. Rehydrated yeast. Add GF enzyme. 0 mins of O2. Jetted into FV. Pitched 22g @6pm 1g/L. Started sometime before 6am Water Treatment 2:1 s:c. Post boil 120 calcium 150 S 75 C. Assumed 27 alk no adj. BF record ID: THJWM7H 20L Mash Acid: 6.34 Gypsum 6g (c66% total) Calcium Chloride 4g (c66% total) 15L sparge - hold back 2L Acid 0.48ml Boil additions Gypsum 3g (c34% total) Calcium Chloride 1.5g (c34% total)
8. Mélèze DIPA Recipe (26L)
9. Recipe Formulation ▪ Mash profile ▪ Yeast ▪ Water Average recipe endpoint!
10. Brew Day Prep ▪ Milling grains & sparge speed ▪ Separate wheat and rye ▪ Re-weigh after milling ▪ Add mash salts ▪ Treat HLT
11. Mash ▪ Drill stirrer/Underletting ▪ Mash hopping/Pomegranate extract ▪ Measure pH
12. Mash ▪ Monococtions ▪ Overnight mashing ▪ Retain sparge and aim high ▪ Check gravity, revise hop schedule
13. Boil ▪ Spider recirculation ▪ Pump risks, unboiled wort ▪ Flex use and layering hops ▪ 10 minute additions
14. Boil ▪ Whirlpool additions ▪ Incognito ▪ Chilling ▪ Transfer options
15. Fermentation ▪ Cold side sanitation ▪ Oxygenation & antifoam ▪ Profiles and hydrometers ▪ Dry hops and Spectrum ▪ Dry hops and rousing
16. Fermentation
17. Fermentation - lagers 50% 75% 90%
18. Kegging ▪ Cold side sanitation ▪ Keg purging ▪ Transfers – Blockages – Purging lines – Keg fill level – Gelatine – Carbonation
19. Serving/Packaging ▪ Beer adjustment – IBUs, pH, CO2, hops ▪ Floating dip tubes ▪ Keg level indicators ▪ Manifolds and lines ▪ Counterpressure filling
20. Cheers!