Great Tasting American IPA

I wanted to share a recipe of mine for an American IPA.  I entered this into a local “high gravity” beer competition and took first place for it.  The grain bill, with most IPAs, is pretty simple and really you are just trying to hit your mash temperature on it.  The hops used are Citra and Galaxy.  I know these can be hard to come by so I buy in bulk when I do find them.  Hope you enjoy this recipe or any IPA you may be drinking right now.  Cheers!

5.25 Gallon Batch

Grain Bill

12.75 lbs   2 Row

0.75 lbs     Crystal 60L

0.5 lbs       Carapils

Hops

Galena 1 oz (11% AU) for 60 mins.

Citra    1 oz (10% AU) for 30 mins.

Cascade  1.5 oz (6.6% AU) for 10 mins

Galaxy 1 oz dry hop (secondary 14 days)

Citra 1 oz dry hop (secondary 14 days)

Yeast

White Labs WLP001 Cal Ale

Specs:  OG 1.0716  FG 1.0179

                ABV 7%  IBU 60   SRM 8.95

Water: 5.25 gallons mashing at 152 F

                2.6 sparging at 170 F

Fermentation:

                Primary 68 F for 7 days

                Secondary 65 F for 14 days

                Cold crash to 40 F for 7 days (bottle or keg)

Pairing Beer with Food

It seems more and more you will find microbreweries recommending food pairings with each of their styles of beer.  I think that not only is this a great value added service to the customer, but also helps expand the perception of what beer is.  No longer is it just for hot sunny days and downing a 6 pack of your favorite light lager.  It really makes beer move more on par with its wine counterpart.  When you think about beer and what it is made out of it is much more closely associated with food than wine is.  Not every meal goes with fruit (grapes), but almost everything can relate back to beer and the grain it is made out of.  Below are some quick beer styles and what they pair best with.  I hope next time you cook up your favorite meal or go to your favorite restaurant you will think about what beer goes best with the meal in front of you.  Enjoy!

American Lager: Mexican or Asian food

Wit:  Salad with a citrus dressing, feta or goat cheese, smoked gouda

American Wheat: lighter foods like shrimp, scallops or seafood cooked with garlic

Pale Ale: Spicy food dishes, smoked meats, or a burger with blue cheese on top

IPA: Spicy foods like curry, or bold and sweet desserts (German chocolate cake), smoke cheeses

Amber Ale: Chili, bbq ribs, grilled chicken, sharp cheddar cheese

Porter: Bacon dishes, smoked brisket or sausages, or Chocolate dishes.

Stout: Salty foods, burger with caramelized onions, oysters