Kilted IPA Recipe

Apr 26, 2017

Kilted IPA (23 Litres)

Most brewers know of the India Pale Ale (IPA) story behind the style - being a strong beer, high in bitterness, alcohol and hop aroma (BJCP style guidelines 14A). However as much as we accept this story, there remains some possibility that IPA was supplied to the troops as a finished mid-strength beer while a higher alcohol beverage, in the form of Porter, was supplied to the Officers and gentry. This may account for the multitude of mid-strength commercial IPAs, many of which are award winning ales. This recipe is an attempt at emulating one such IPA, brewed in Scotland.

Ingredients

1.7kg Thomas Coopers IPA
1 bottle of Light Dry Malt
300g Crystal Malt grain
30g Fuggles Hop Pellets
One sachet of S-04 yeast
Dextrose Corn Sugar

Features:

Colour: Copper
Body: Medium
Bitterness: High
Approx. Alcohol Level: 3.8% ABV
Naturally Carbonated: Natural

Instructions:

STEP 1: Mix

Crack the grains by placing in a plastic zip-lock sandwich bag and using a rolling pin, add to 2 litres of just boiled water, steep for 30 mins, remove the grains then bring the liquid to the boil. Take off the heat and add 10g of fuggles pellets then let sit with a lid on for about 15 to 30 mins. Dissolve the Light Dry Malt as per the instructions on the top flap, using the boiled liquid rather than plain hot water. Add the contents of the IPA brew can and dissolve. Add cold water up to the 20 litre mark and stir vigorously. Check the brew temperature and top up to the 23 litre mark with cold or warm water to get as close as possible to 21C. Sprinkle the dry yeast and fit the lid.

STEP 2: Brew

Try to ferment as close to 21C as possible. After day 3, or once the foam has collapsed back into the brew, add the remaining 20g of the fuggles hop pellets (we recommend wrapping them in a mesh cleaning cloth, pulled straight from the wrapper). Fermentation has finished once the specific gravity is stable over 2 days.

STEP 3: Bottle

We recommend the use of PET bottles or reusable glass bottles designed for storing beer.

Priming

Bottle the brew with a priming rate of 8g per litre (2 carbonation drops per 750ml bottle).

STEP 4: 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 3.8% ABV.