All-grain · 20 L (5.3 gal)

Double IPA Recipe

BJCP 22A · Double IPA

An IPA taken to the extreme: golden, strong and dry, with loads of tropical fruit and pine from the hops. The sugar dries it out so the alcohol doesn't weigh it down.

Double IPA recipe by the numbers

Batch size
20 L (5.3 gal)
Original gravity
1.081
Final gravity
1.012
ABV
9%
Bitterness
72 IBU
Color
6 SRM (12 EBC)
Mash
65 °C (149 °F) for 60 minutes
Boil
60 minutes
Fermentation
18-19 °C (64-66 °F) for 14 days
Bottling
6.2 g of sugar per liter (0.8 oz/gal)

About 245 kcal per 330 ml (11 oz) bottle, worked out from its original and final gravity.

Double IPA recipe: ingredients and steps

Batch size

Recipe for 20 liters (5.3 US gallons) into the fermenter.

Malts

MaltAmount%
Pale ale malt6 EBC (3 °L)6.40 kg (14.11 lb)89.5%
Carapils malt4 EBC (2 °L)0.25 kg (0.55 lb)3.5%
White sugar0 EBC (1 °L)0.50 kg (1.10 lb)7.0%

Hops

HopAmountWhen
Magnum13% alpha acids50 g (1.76 oz)60 minBittering
Simcoe13% alpha acids30 g (1.06 oz)15 minFlavor
Citra12% alpha acids50 g (1.76 oz)FlameoutAroma
Simcoe13% alpha acids50 g (1.76 oz)FlameoutAroma
Citra12% alpha acids60 g (2.12 oz)Dry hop, 4 daysAroma (dry hop)
Simcoe13% alpha acids40 g (1.41 oz)Dry hop, 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 30.5 L (8.1 gal): 20 L (5.3 gal) for the mash and 10.5 L (2.8 gal) for the sparge.

Priming sugar: 6.2 g of white sugar per liter bottled (0.8 oz/gal): about 120 g (4.2 oz) for 19 L (5 gal).

Hops: pellets, kept in the freezer until brew day.

Step by step

  1. Heat 20 L (5.3 gal) of water to 71 °C (160 °F), add the crushed malt and stir until there are no lumps. It should settle at about 65 °C (149 °F): hold that temperature for 60 minutes, covered. That's 6.65 kg (14.7 lb) of grain, so you need a mash tun of 30 L (7.9 gal) or more.
  2. Lift out the grain and sparge it with 10.5 L (2.8 gal) of water at 76 °C (169 °F). You should collect about 24 L (6.3 gal) of wort at 1.061; the sugar makes up the rest.
  3. Bring to a boil and boil for 60 minutes, uncovered. When the boil starts, add the 50 g (1.8 oz) of Magnum; with 15 minutes left, 30 g (1.1 oz) of Simcoe and the half kilo (1.1 lb) of sugar, stirring so it doesn't stick.
  4. Turn off the heat, add 50 g (1.8 oz) of Citra and 50 g (1.8 oz) of Simcoe and let it stand for 20 minutes with the lid on.
  5. Chill as fast as you can to 18 °C (64 °F), transfer about 20 L (5.3 gal) to the sanitized fermenter and take a gravity reading: it should be around 1.081.
  6. Aerate well, pitch both packets of yeast and ferment at 18 °C (64 °F); when activity slows down, let it rise to 19-20 °C (66-68 °F). After 10 days, with the gravity almost stable, add 60 g (2.1 oz) of Citra and 40 g (1.4 oz) of Simcoe and leave them in for 4 days.
  7. When the gravity stays at 1.012 for three days in a row, bottle with the priming sugar dissolved in a little boiled water, filling gently and without splashing: oxygen is what kills hop aroma fastest. Two weeks at room temperature, then into the fridge.

Drink it fresh: the hop aroma starts to fade within a few weeks. Move it to the fridge as soon as it's carbonated.

If your Magnum isn't 13% alpha acids, use 50 × 13 ÷ your percentage, in grams, to keep it at about 72 IBU.

You can swap Citra and Simcoe for Mosaic, Galaxy or Centennial, using the same weights.

The style: Double IPA (BJCP 22A), 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 Double IPA be?

About 9% ABV: it starts at 1.081 and finishes at 1.012, and (OG − FG) × 131.25 gives that percentage.

How long until it is ready?

One brew day, fermentation at 18-19 °C (64-66 °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 72 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.

More recipes

Reference style: Double IPA in the BJCP guidelines, 2021 edition. Original recipe by Hacer Cerveza Casera, designed for a homebrew setup.