It goes without saying that a large glass of water is a great thirst quencher after hard labour in the summer heat. But some jobs, like mowing the lawn, just seem to slip by quicker if you know there’s a cold beer waiting for you at the end. The kind of cold beer that stings your mouth with all of its spiky carbonation. Our perfect mowing beer is a session IPA, with a lower alcohol content of around 4 per cent, but still with everything you love about IPA – bitterness and fruity tones.
Facts
Style: Session IPA
Bitterness: High
Goes with: Recovery
Alcohol content: 4%
Ingredients
Malt
- 100 ml (3-1/2 fl oz/scant 1/2 cup) CaraRed
- 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) spraymalt
Hops
- 3 tablespoons Chinook
- 3 tablespoons Citra
Yeast
- 1/2 packet of Fermentis S-04
Primer
- 100 ml (3-1/2 fl oz/scant 1/2 cup) water
- 2 tablespoons caster (superfine) Sugar
Day 1 – Mash, separate and boil
In a large saucepan, heat 1.7 litres (4 pints) of water to 68ºC (154ºF). Stir in the CaraRed. Take the saucepan off the heat, put the lid on and leave to stand for about 15 minutes. Separate out the malt. For more instruction on mashing, check out the Basic Method.
Add cold water to bring the total volume of liquid in the pan to 4.5 litres (10 pints). Set over the highest heat and add the spraymalt. Stir until all the lumps are gone. Bring to the boil, then carefully add 2 tablespoons Chinook. Continue to boil for 27 minutes, then add 1 tablespoon Chinook and 1 tablespoon Citra. Leave to boil for a further 3 minutes, then leave to cool in the saucepan (see Basic Method).
Once the wort has cooled to 20ºC (68ºF), transfer it to the fermentation vessel using a strainer and funnel. Ensure that all equipment is disinfected. Add the yeast to the fermentation vessel and shake. Attach the fermentation lock to the silicone stopper, fill the airlock and push the stopper into the vessel. The yeast temperature should be maintained be 15–24ºC (59–75ºF).
Day 11 – Dry hopping
Disinfect your hands, gently remove the silicone stopper and add 2 tablespoons Citra to the vessel. Replace the stopper.
Day 14 – Bottling
Prepare a primer and follow the bottling instructions (see Basic Method). The beer will be ready to drink after another 14 days.
More from Kitchen Brewing
- Making Your Own Beer Recipes
- Coriander Saison Recipe
- What’s Kitchen Brewing?
- Basic Method of Kitchen Brewing
Excerpt from Kitchen Brewing by Jakob Nielsen and Mikael Zetterberg, published by Hardie Grant Books © 2017 by Jakob Nielsen and Mikael Zetterberg. All rights reserved.