Sorachi Ace and Simcoe IPA (For Beginners) Recipe

Updated August 09, 2018

This is an extract-style homebrewing recipe which is written for the beginning level homebrewer. This brew can be made using the basic homebrewing equipment setup, but you will also need a kettle that is at least 7.5 gallons due to the large amount of hops. A secondary fermentation vessel (bucket or carboy) for the dry-hopping process is also recommended.

As your beer cools, always keep proper sanitation as priority number one. Mix up at least three gallons of sanitizing solution in your sanitizing bucket (either Iodophor or Star San), and sanitize every utensil that comes in contact with the wort after the boil is complete. Before you transfer your wort to the fermentation vessel, pour the sanitizer into the vessel and swirl the sanitizer around so it touches every surface, then pour it back into the sanitizing bucket. There is no need to rinse the sanitizer or foam off of anything you use—there will be no residual flavor and the residue will actually help to keep everything clean.

Homebrewing: How to Brew American IPA

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Ingredients

9 pounds Light liquid malt extract
0.75 pounds Crystal 20L malt, crushed
1 ounce Magnum hops - 60 minutes
1 ounce Simcoe hops - 15 minutes
1 ounce Sorachi Ace hops - 15 minutes
1 ounce Simcoe hops - 0 minutes (flame out)
1 ounce Sorchi Ace hops - 0 minutes (flame out)
11.5 gram package Safale US-05
1 ounce Simcoe hops - for dry hopping in Secondary
1 ounce Sorachi Ace hops - for dry hopping in Secondary

Directions

Tie the Crystal 20L in a large mesh bag. Place the bag in 3 gallons of water in a 7.5 gallon pot and immerse the grain.
Begin to heat, making sure mesh bag isn’t sitting directly on the bottom of the pot. Remove the grain bag when the temperature reaches 170°F.
Add another 3.5 gallons of water. Bring wort to a vigorous boil. As water is heating, slowly add 9 pounds of light liquid malt extract, stirring constantly until completely dissolved. When the boil begins, add 1 ounce Magnum hops in a mesh bag.
After 45 minutes of boiling has passed, add 1 ounce Sorachi Ace and 1 ounce Simcoe hops in a mesh bag.
After total of 60 minutes of boil, add 1 ounce Sorachi Ace and 1 ounce Simcoe hops in a mesh bag, cover remove from heat. Warning: After wort cools below 180°F everything that touches it should be sanitary, and exposure to open air should be limited as much as possible.
Cool wort by placing pot in ice bath or using a wort chiller until it is below 70°F. Transfer to sanitized fermentor (either a carboy or a fermentation bucket). Top off to make 5 gallons using refrigerated water.
Use a sanitized auto-siphon racking cane to remove enough wort to take a gravity reading with your hydrometer. Make a note of this number, since you will be using it to calculate the actual alcohol content when it's done fermenting. The reading should be around 1.067.
Carefully pour yeast into cooled wort (it should be below 70°F), and agitate vigorously (or aerate). Cover fermentor with a sanitized stopper and airlock. Ferment in dark place, keeping ambient temperature consistent, preferably between 64° and 67°F.
After 2 to 3 weeks when primary fermentation is complete (take at least two consistent gravity readings), transfer to a secondary carboy for conditioning, add 1 ounce Sorachi Ace and 1 ounce Simcoe hops for dry hopping and store as cool as possible.
Bottle after another one to two weeks using enough priming sugar for a medium level of carbonation according to these instructions.