Home Brew Volume III: Double Hop IPA.

13 lbs of malt extract. A sticky mess. 

Not even a fourth of the hops used! 

Yum.

Partner in crime, Zoe. 

Zoe chilling the wort/dreaming of a wort chiller.

Well, I ventured into my very own home brew recipe last night and what an adventure it was! $80 in materials, $35 in malt extract alone.... had me gulping in apprehension before the stove even heated up. The idea was to make a heavy double hop imperial IPA... nearly 10% ABV and 100IBU. Using thirteen pounds of liquid malt extract, 1 pound of various grain, and 5 different hop varieties totaling ten ounces, this was no cheap beer. After sanitation was complete, the seeping of the grain began and off to the races we were! We started at 6pm and by 9pm, my kitchen finally smelled of hops as the low power range got up to speed with the boiling of the wort. By midnight, the wort had finally chilled in our extremely unreliable ice bath and the liquid yeast strain was added with gusto as the primary fermenter was sealed tightly closed with the airlock and wrapped with my sleeping bag to stay between 70-75 degrees through these cold January nights. I learned a few things with this brew most definitely. The amount of hops used was overwhelming. Of course, this is fantastic! I love hops and high IBU but the aeration of the wort proved to be difficult with whole leaf hops slushing back and forth. I'm not sure if a hop sack would've been beneficial in a circumstance like this but it is definitely a question I'll be directing at the brew supply shop in town. Along with the hop sack, there is always room for improvement as far as precision is concerned. Little challenges always arise while making beer and it is vital to always remember the sanitization of all equipment, hands, etc. coming into contact with the brew. As a beginner in the art of brewing, I am always striving for improvement here. For now, the IPA sits in primary fermentation for the next two weeks before being transferred to the carboy. My fingers are crossed for an awesome result!