All-grain · 20 L (5.3 gal)
American IPA Recipe
BJCP 21A · American IPA
Dry and bitter, with a tropical, resinous aroma that jumps out of the glass. Lots of hops at the end of the boil and in the fermenter.
American IPA recipe by the numbers
- Batch size
- 20 L (5.3 gal)
- Original gravity
- 1.065
- Final gravity
- 1.012
- ABV
- 6.9%
- Bitterness
- 55 IBU
- Color
- 7 SRM (14 EBC)
- Mash
- 65 °C (149 °F) for 60 minutes
- Boil
- 60 minutes
- Fermentation
- 19 °C (66 °F) for 14 days
- Bottling
- 6 g of sugar per liter (0.8 oz/gal)
About 200 kcal per 330 ml (11 oz) bottle, worked out from its original and final gravity.
American IPA recipe: ingredients and steps
Batch size
Recipe for 20 liters (5.3 US gallons) into the fermenter.
Malts
| Malt | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pale ale malt6 EBC (3 °L) | 5.25 kg (11.57 lb) | 89.7% |
| Munich malt15 EBC (6 °L) | 0.35 kg (0.77 lb) | 6.0% |
| Light crystal malt60 EBC (23 °L) | 0.25 kg (0.55 lb) | 4.3% |
Hops
| Hop | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Magnum13% alpha acids | 33 g (1.16 oz) | 60 minBittering |
| Citra12% alpha acids | 30 g (1.06 oz) | 10 minFlavor |
| Mosaic12% alpha acids | 40 g (1.41 oz) | Flameout, 15 min hop standAroma |
| Citra12% alpha acids | 50 g (1.76 oz) | Dry hop, 3–4 daysAroma (dry hop) |
| Mosaic12% alpha acids | 50 g (1.76 oz) | Dry hop, 3–4 daysAroma (dry hop) |
You will also need
Yeast: Dry American ale yeast, such as US-05: two 11.5 g (0.4 oz) packets (at this gravity, one isn't enough).
Water: About 30 L (7.9 gal): 17.5 L (4.6 gal) for the mash and 12.5 L (3.3 gal) for the sparge.
Priming sugar: 6 g of table sugar per liter of beer bottled (0.8 oz/gal), about 115 g (4.1 oz) for 19 L (5.0 gal).
Hops: pellets, kept in the freezer until brew day.
Step by step
- Heat 17.5 L (4.6 gal) of water to 71 °C (160 °F), add the crushed malt and stir until there are no dough balls. It should settle at about 65 °C (149 °F): hold that temperature for 60 minutes, covered. Mashing at 65 °C (149 °F) makes the wort more fermentable and the IPA drier.
- Lift out the grain and sparge it with 12.5 L (3.3 gal) of water at 76 °C (169 °F). You should collect about 24 L (6.3 gal) of wort with a gravity of 1.056–1.057.
- Bring to a boil and boil for 60 minutes, uncovered. Add the 33 g (1.2 oz) of Magnum when the boil starts, and 30 g (1.1 oz) of Citra with 10 minutes left.
- Turn off the heat, add 40 g (1.4 oz) of Mosaic and let it stand for 15 minutes before chilling.
- Chill to 19 °C (66 °F), transfer about 20 L (5.3 gal) to the sanitized fermenter and take a gravity reading: it should be around 1.065. Shake the wort well to aerate it.
- Pitch the yeast and ferment at 19 °C (66 °F). When the gravity is barely moving (around day 10), add 50 g (1.8 oz) of Citra and 50 g (1.8 oz) of Mosaic and leave them in for 3–4 days.
- Once the gravity holds at 1.012 for three days in a row, bottle with the sugar and let it carbonate for two weeks. Drink it fresh: the hop aroma fades over the months.
If your Magnum isn't 13% alpha acids, use 33 × 13 ÷ your percentage to get the grams and keep the 55 IBU. The Mosaic in the hop stand adds some bitterness the formula doesn't count.
Keep oxygen out when racking and bottling: it darkens the IPA and strips the hop aroma.
The style: American IPA (BJCP 21A), with its history, its numbers and other ways to brew it.
Different setup? Recalculate with the water calculator, the IBU calculator and the priming sugar calculator.
Rating recipes and keeping a brew log need an account, which is only available in Spanish for now. English accounts are coming soon.
Frequently asked questions
How strong will this American IPA be?
About 6.9% ABV: it starts at 1.065 and finishes at 1.012, and (OG − FG) × 131.25 gives that percentage.
How long until it is ready?
One brew day, fermentation at 19 °C (66 °F) for 14 days and about two weeks in the bottle: give it a little over a month.
Can I use a different bittering hop?
Yes. What matters is keeping the bitterness: if you use another hop instead of Magnum at 13% alpha acids, work out the grams from its alpha acids (or with the IBU calculator) to stay at about 55 IBUs.
What if my system does not get 72% efficiency?
Your gravity will come out different. Scale the base malt up or down (or add a little dry malt extract to the boil if you fall short) and recalculate the water with the calculator.
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Reference style: American IPA in the BJCP guidelines, 2021 edition. Original recipe by Hacer Cerveza Casera, designed for a homebrew setup.