It's Brew Day: German IPA

Last week I did a super basic pale ale, but I didn't take photos or document the process. Today I did another brew (Sunday's are my brew days) and did a German-inspired IPA.

Sometimes I'll do a BIAB (Brew In A Bag) where I mash the grains and boil them for 60 minutes. And other times when I want to do a quick beer when I haven't got much time, I cheat and buy a pre-hopped extract (Coopers make great pre-hopped extracts).

I am starting a new job tomorrow and finishing up some freelance work, so I'm only doing a quick extract brew today because I haven't done a hop/grain order in a long time.

The can I am using is the Coopers Brew A IPA which I've used before, throw in some different hops and it can make a tasty and versatile beer.

_{Hop pellets kind of look like something else that's green when you look at it through a plastic bag, heh}

One tin of Brew A IPA, two 1kg of Light Dry Malt (2 x 500g), 50g Mandarina Bavaria Hop Pellets, 100g Caramel Pilsner Grains and most importantly US-05 yeast (throw the Coopers tin yeast out).

First, we need to crack the grains. Sometimes you'll buy grain that is already "cracked" where the outer husk is broken open, but for the freshest grains you can get from your local homebrew shop, they will need to be cracked.

You are seeing the result of the grains already being cracked. Simply leave them in the bag they come in and roll a heavy rolling pin over the top to crack them.

Now we've cracked the grains, we steep the 100g Pilsner Grains in 2 litres of water overnight in the fridge. I am using a Chux cloth to strain the grains so I can dispose of them later on once I've extracted the flavours.

The next day when you're ready to brew, place the pot on the stove and bring the strained grain liquid to a boil (don't boil the cloth), then remove it. Once brought to the boil, place 16.5 grams of the hops into the pan and let it sit for ten minutes to extract the oils.

While you're letting you hops impart aroma and slight bitterness into the grain extract, take the Brew A IPA tin and turn it upside down and set it in some hot (preferably boiling) water in a sink for a few minutes to loosen the wort inside the tin and make it easier to pour.

Once ten minutes is up, pour the Coopers tin into the fermenting vessel, then the two bags of light dry malt and finally pour in the boiled stovetop liquid.

Then get some cold water and fill the fermenting vessel up to the 23 L mark, sprinkle the US-05 yeast over the top and let it ferment for about 7 days.

_{Sorry for the sideways photo, Steemit keeps on rotating it}

After the primary fermentation, I'll throw in the remaining hops and dry hop it for another 5 days before I bottle it and let it sit for a couple of weeks. I'll write a follow-up to this once the beer is done and ready to taste.