American IPA dry hopped with Cascade and tapped young

For my last brew of 2011 I decided to go with an American IPA.

From BeerAdvocate:

"The American IPA is a different soul from the reincarnated IPA style. More flavorful than the withering English IPA, color can range from very pale golden to reddish amber. Hops are typically American with a big herbal and / or citric character, bitterness is high as well. Moderate to medium bodied with a balancing malt backbone."

So I brewed this on Dec. 23rd with 1 oz. of Columbus for bittering and 2 oz. of Cascade for flavor and aroma.
My OG was 1.060 adjusted for the 73 degree reading.
Using an IBU calculator I found on the web, I got 77.3%, pretty average for the style.
According to BJCP I should have stayed between 40-70, maybe the calculator is wrong because I didn't overhop or use a high AA hop.


BJCP vitals:
OG: 1.056 – 1.075
IBUs: 40 – 70
FG: 1.010 – 1.018
SRM: 6 – 15
ABV: 5.5 – 7.5%

The cool down took about 20-25 min. from flameout. I pitched a vial of WLP001 that had an expiration date of Oct 2011 without a starter. I let it ferment for 2 weeks then moved to a 5 gal secondary and dryhopped with another ounce of Cascade. I tossed this in directly. Before I tossed I read the FG at 1.010.

I then let that sit for around 10 days and went to the keg.

Below are my notes, including updates on the kegging and taste of the brew.

Brew Specs:

OG	1.060 at 73
FG	1.010
ABV	6.55%
ABW
IBU	77.3%

Recipe:

8 oz.	2 Row Malt
4 oz.	Special B Malt
1 lb.	Crystal 60L Malt
8 lb.	Extra Pale LME
1 oz.	Columbus
2 oz.	Cascade
1 oz.	Cascade (Optional)
1	WLP001 California Yeast

Brew Schedule:

Brewed	12/23/2011
Secondary/Dry Hopped	1/6/2012
Kegged	1/15/2012
Cold Crashed	1/17/2012

Kegging Notes:

1/16/2011	Added CO2 to seal the keg. Bled 3 times and shook slightly. Decided to condition until at least the 20th.
1/17/2011	Couldn't wait until the 20th, shook up keg and pressured until head came out of pressure relief valve! Added to fridge to cold crash and drew a small sample to smell and taste. Aroma almost has grassy smell.

Pecan Pie a la Mode Porter

OG:	1.070
FG:	1.020
ABV:	6.5%
ABW:

Brewed:	7/26/2011
Kegged:	9/10/2011

Recipe:

Sugars

• 8 ½ lbs. Dark Malt Extract

Flavoring Malts

• ½ lb. Crystal 120 L malt

• 1 lb. Organic Brewers 2-row malt

• ½ lb. Chocolate malt

Hops

• ½ oz. Magnum hop pellets (bittering)

Germany

Magnum is a high-alpha variety and a very promising new breed used as a clean bittering hop. Typical beer styles using this hop include lagers, pilsners, stouts, and ales. 

Possible Substitutions: Columbus and Nugget.

Technical Specifications:

Aroma: No real distinct aroma character, so is viewed favorably as a clean bittering hop

Alpha Acids: Approx. 13.5%

Beta Acids: 4.5 - 5% w/w

Co-Humulone: 24 - 25% of alpha acids

Storageability: Very Good

Total Oil: 1.9 - 2.3 mls/100 grams

Myrcene: 30 - 35% of whole oil

Humulene: 34 - 40% of whole oil

Caryophyllene: 8 - 12% of whole oil

Farnesene: < 1% of whole oil

• ½ oz. Hallertau hop pellets (flavoring)

Germany

German Hallertau is the classic German aroma hop associated with Bavarian-style lager beers. Other beer styles appropriate for this hop include lagers, bocks, pilsners, weizens, Belgian-style ales, alts, lambics, kolsch, and Munich ales.

Possible Substitutions: Liberty and German Tradition.

Technical Specifications:

Aroma: Mild and pleasant

Alpha Acids: Approx. 6.2%

Beta Acids: 3 - 4% w/w

Co-Humulone: 17 - 24% of alpha acids

Storageability: 50 - 60% alpha acids remaining after 6 months storage at 20° C

Total Oil: 0.7- 1.3 mls/100 grams

Myrcene: 10 - 20% of whole oil

Humulene: 30 - 35% of whole oil

Caryophyllene: 7 - 10% of whole oil

Farnesene: < 1% of whole oil

• ½ oz. Fuggle (UK) hop pellets (aroma)

UK

Fuggle is a hop long associated with typical English ale brewing. This was once the predominant hop in England, but now it is usually reserved for aroma use in conjunction with high alpha hop types. It imparts a hoppy late-hop flavor that is usually described as being woody, earthy, and slightly fruity. Typical beer styles include all English-style ales, ESBs, bitters, lagers, and Lambics.

Possible Substitutions: Willamette and Styrian Golding.

Technical Specifications:

Aroma: mild, pleasant, and hoppy

Alpha Acids: Approx. 4.2%

Beta Acids: 2 - 3% w/w

Co-Humulone: 23 - 30% of alpha acids

Storageability: 70 - 80% alpha acids remaining after 6 months of storage at 20° C

Total Oil: 0.7 - 1.4 mls/100 grams

Myrcene: 24 - 28% of whole oil

Humulene: 34 - 40% of whole oil

Caryophyllene: 11 - 13% of whole oil

Farnesene: 5 - 7% of whole oil

Yeast

WLP001California Ale Yeast

Other Ingredients

• 1 oz. Pecan Extract

• 1 tsp. Irish Moss

Brew Notes:

Brewed on Yeast Cake of Full Moon Pale Rye Ale

Left about 1 pt to 1 qt in  fermenter.

Did not clean fermenter.

Noticed a lot of trub.

Added 1 cup. Brown Sugar at 30 min.

Keg Notes:

Added half of the vanilla extract pkg from AHS.

Pressure tested keg before siphoning.