Westover IPA – American IPA Recipe

This recipe is for a hop forward and easy drinking American IPA that combines characters from classic American hops with modern preferences for lighter malt bills and loads of hop flavor and aroma. This is a moderate ABV IPA that provides an excellent base recipe for showcasing hop combinations. A batch won a Gold medal in the 2021 Dominion Cup competition.

Westover IPA – American IPA Recipe

Recipe Motivation and Options

Feel free to brew the recipe exactly as written, but I suggest you interpret the above recipe as more of a template than a detailed blueprint. Adjust the recipe and steps for your brewing equipment and process; adjust the ingredients based on availability and your personal experiences. This section describes my motivations and ideas to tweak the recipe for fit your goals.

Grain Bill

The initial recipe was inspired by research into commercial American IPAs and was heavily influenced by information I could find on Racer 5 from Bear Republic. North American Pale/2-Row provides a blank slate, the malted wheat gives a boost of creamy mouthfeel and head retention, and the small amount of light Caramel/Crystal provides a touch of color and sweetness.

Options

• Base Malt: The 2-Row can easily be swapped out for your favorite base malt. That could be malt from a craft maltster, a good quality pilsner malt, an English pale ale malt or a blend.
• Wheat or Oats: I enjoy the contribution from the wheat, or at least what I think it adds. I am sure the wheat could be dropped or swapped with malted or flaked oats.
• Crystal Alternative: A dark Munich in place of the Crystal 20 might be a good tweak especially if you use a less attenuative yeast. Golden Naked Oats might be interesting substitution for the Crystal and/or Wheat.

Hops

The hop combo listed in the recipe is one I have used a few times and it makes a very nice American IPA. While it is based on classic American hops, the resulting beer has a modern feel. I tend to think that hop additions in the 10-15 minute range are important to provide the hop characters in a classic American IPA.

Options

• IBUs: Feel free to reduce initial addition to lower the bitterness, though I don’t find this recipe to be overly bitter. I suspect the calculated IBUs are higher than the actual IBUs.
• Boil vs Flameout vs Whirlpool: If you want to push more of the fruity character of modern IPAs, you could move the boil hops into flameout or whirlpool additions. This would also lower the bitterness. The flameout additions could be moved to a whirlpool/steep addition at a lower temperature (around 180°F/82°C or a little lower).
• Hop Combos: Just about any two or three hop combo can be used to make a excellent beer and learn about hops: Simcoe + Cascade, Idaho 7 + Citra, El Dorado + Columbus, etc.

Yeast

I use the various “Chico” strains often (WLP001, WY1056, US-05, etc.). To me, this yeast makes an excellent American IPA or Pale Ale. One batch with Cellar Science Cali Ale was a bit harsh.

Options

• Other American Ale: I have brewed this batch with WLP051 with excellent results. There are a few other American Ale yeasts that I am sure would make an excellent option.
• English Yeast: I would be curious to try out some English strains. I did make an excellent bath with Mangrove Jack M36, but I am not sure if this one is more of an American or English ale yeast.
• Kveik: Kveik strains are an interesting option, especially for those that do not have fermentation temperature control. I mostly have experience with Voss fermented hot, but Voss closer to room temperature or a “clean” strain like Lutra might make a good IPA.

Water Profile

I am starting with my base tap water. My primary goal of water adjustments is to boost the Sulfate level up to around 200 while boosting the Calcium level up and I also need to make acid additions to drop the pH down to the 5.4 range.

Options

• No Adjustments: If you are not adjusting your water for mineral levels or pH, I suggest you add that to your list of topics to dive into. Proper levels of Calcium and Sulfate are important for an American IPA and pH adjustments are often needed for these light colored grain bills. Feel free to brew with your unadjusted tap water if you are happy with that approach.
• RO/Distilled: If you are starting with RO/Distilled, focus on getting the Sulfate level in the 150 to 200 ppm range, Chloride in the 30 to 50 ppm range, and pulling the Calcium up above 50 ppm. Adjust pH as need to target the 5.3 to 5.4 range.