ale

Hop Slam IPA (UK) Recipe

Apr 26, 2017

Hop Slam IPA (UK) (21 Litres)

As the name suggests, this is a beer jammed full of flavour and isn't one for the faint hearted. The hero hop of choice for this Hop Slam IPA is Bramling Cross, a variety dating back to 1927, which has enjoyed rejuvenation amongst hop growers of late. The spicy blackcurrant and lemon characters of Bramling Cross meld nicely with the Styrian Golding aroma hop, already in the can of Thomas Coopers IPA. Nottingham yeast gets the nod as the fermenting workhorse. It's a popular UK ale strain, known for low ester production and strong flocculation characteristics.

Ingredients

1.7kg Thomas Coopers IPA
2 x 500g Light Dry Malt
2 x 25g Bramling Cross hop pellets
11g Danstar Nottingham Yeast sachet and the 7g Thomas Coopers Yeast (under the lid of TC IPA brew can)
Dextrose Corn Sugar or Carbonation Drops

Features:

Colour: Copper
Body: Medium
Bitterness: High
Approx. Alcohol Level: 5%
Naturally Carbonated: Natural

Instructions:

Step 1: Mix

Place Coopers Light Dry Malt into a drained sanitised fermenting vessel and add 2 litres of hot water. Immediately pick the fermenting vessel up and swirl the contents until dissolved (approx 15 secs) - this method minimises clumping. Add the contents of the Thomas Coopers IPA and stir to dissolve. Top up with cool water to the 18 litre mark and stir thoroughly. Check the brew temperature and top up to the 21 litre mark with warm or cold water (refrigerated if necessary) to get as close as possible to 21C. Sprinkle both yeast sachets (the Nottingham supplied with the pack and the Thomas Coopers yeast found under the lid of the IPA brew can), add the Bramling Cross Hops (we recommend wrapping them in a mesh cleaning cloth, pulled straight from the wrapper) then fit the lid. Try to ferment as close to 21C as possible.

Step 2: Bottle

Fermentation has finished once the specific gravity is stable over 2 days. It should finish in the range of 1008 – 1012. Bottle the brew using 2 carbonation drops per 740ml - 750ml bottle (that is a priming rate of 8g per litre).

Step 3: Enjoy!

Store the bottles at or above 18C for at least two weeks to allow the secondary fermentation to take place. Expect the alcohol content to be around 5.0% ABV.