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Taste Notes

This beer is fantastic. Smooth. The oak flavoring is rich but not “bitey”. The dry hops really come through nicely. There is a slight sweetness that comes from the Summit hops and First Wort Hopping really gives the beer a nice mellow bitterness. 1. Add 1 gallon of boiling water to MLT while heating strike water and preparing for the rest of your brew day. 2. Empty the water from the MLT and fill with strike water volume at a temperature 15-17 degrees above your desired mash temperature. 3. Allow ten minutes for the cooler to absorb the heat of the water. I have found that my cooler will absorb about 3-5 degrees of heat depending on the temperatures in my house. Furthermore, when I mash in my grain willI steal about 12 degrees of heat (this number has been very consistent for me). Try to shoot for a slightly higher temperature. If I am above my temperature, I can stir the water around to cool it without having add any additional water. (After a ten minute rest and a few spins of the spoon, I am ready to mash in)

Notes

Gravity of 1.072 = Brix 19.0 http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f77/stonehedge-oak-aged-ipa-5-gallon-ag-64522/ I was turned on to two of the best beers I ever had in two different swaps. Edwort and I exchanged some beers back in August-07 and he sent me a bottle of his Stone clone. My first foray into the world of IPA’s and it was absolutely awesome. Then in November, Orpheus sent me a bottle of his “Ambrosia”, a wood aged IPA using oak chips. Ambrosia was a perfect name for that beer. Rich, well balanced bittering and a nice rustic oak flavor and aroma. I thought “so this is what the original IPA’s coming out of the British Empire headed for India tasted like.” For me, a good IPA is about a rich and malty profile supported by a health dose of hops flavor and aroma…and no excessive bitterness. Aging the beer on oak chips is a natural. The flavor blend is fantastic. I knew I had to create something. I used Edworts Stone clone as a base to begin with. Modified the grains just a bit to get a bit more malt profile. Blended a bit more complex hops schedule and moved everything to FWH and late additions only. Dry hopped with 2 ounces of “C” hops for 10 days. Added one handful of medium roast oak chips to the keg to age for 1-month. ( I fond that smaller amounts of oak chips aged longer, provide a much richer smoother flavor than a larger amount added for shorter periods of time. This is not a process that can be rushed.) At any rate, I brewed my recipe back on March 1st. It was three weeks in the primary and right to the keg with an ounce (+/-) of oak chips. It’s been gassed up, chilled and in the keezer now for about 6 weeks and I plan on bottling the entire batch in about another month. (I really want to get all the flavor I can out of those oak chips.) In the meantime however, I find myself pouring larger and larger samples in the evening and fighting hard not to just move this beer to the upstairs kegerator. If you’re looking for a nice rich 7% IPA that is a little different, this is a winner. My only regret is not doing a 10-gallon batch of this beer. I give you… StoneHedge IPA