Pannotia White IPA

During my European travels last year, I sampled a heavenly brew called Vergött White IPA, brewed by Birrificio Artigianale Lariano of Dolzago, Italy. It was my first time encountering a White IPA, which is essentially a Belgian wit ramped up with hops. In my memory, the brew was crisp, tart, and citrusy--a really fun combination of flavors and aromas. Upon my return to the United States, a little more research turned up additional information on this burgeoning style. I tracked down some bottles of Deschutes Chainbreaker White IPA, which was good, but just a little heavier and sweeter than my own tastes and as compared to my memories of the Italian beer. So, I set off to create a new recipe that would bring together the best of all worlds. I have no idea how it will turn out, and I suspect it may get iterated through a few batches.

This was the first batch where I used yeast cultured on my new stir plate. The yeast was culturing for around 24 hours when I pitched it, looking to be at high krausen. Also, it was my first time working with pilsner malt.

Per my usual custom, I am naming this IPA after a supercontinent--Pannotia this time around.

Pannotia White IPA

• 7 lbs. Pilsner (Weyermann) malt
• 3 lbs. white wheat malt
• 1 lb. flaked wheat
• 8.10 g gypsum (added to boil)
• 1.73 oz. whole Cascade hops (first wort hopping and 90 minute boil; 2014 crop, estimated 4.29% alpha acid)
• 1 oz. whole Cascade hops (first wort hopping and 90 minute boil; 2013 crop, estimated 2.61% alpha acid)
• 0.35 oz. bitter orange peel (added for last minute of boil)
• 0.15 oz. coriander seed (lightly crushed, added for last minute of boil)
• 3 oz. Citra hops pellets (added at flame-out; 13.2% alpha, 3.7% beta)
• 1 oz. whole Cascade hops (added at flame-out; 2013 crop, estimated 2.61% alpha acid)
• Belgian Wit ale yeast (WLP400), prepared 24 hours in advance with 1.5 L starter
• 3 oz. Citra hops pellets (14 days dry-hop, 13.2% alpha, 3.7% beta)

Anticipated statistics

• 1.059 o.g., 1.010 f.g., 6.5% abv
• 50.2 IBU
• 3.7 SRM

Procedure

• I mashed in with 3.5 gallons of water at 159°. The mash stabilized at ~147° within 5 minutes, which was a little on the cool side for my taste. So, I added 1 gallon of ~185° water, stirred it a bit, and got the mash  to 151° within a minute. The mash still measured 151° after 10 minutes and 149° after 40 minutes.
• I drained the mash tun, collecting ~3 gallons of wort with a gravity of 1.064. The hops were in the kettle starting at this point. Note that I adjusted the alpha acid for the calculations based on the age of the hops, using the hops aging tool in BeerSmith.
• For mash-out, I added 3.5 gallons of water at ~185°.
• All told, I collected 7 gallons of wort with a gravity of 1.045. This works out to ~74% efficiency.
• I added the gypsum and brought the wort to a boil. Because I used pilsner malt, which is supposed to have a higher susceptibility to DMS production, I boiled for a total of 90 minutes.
• One minute before flame-out, I added the coriander and bitter orange peel. At flame-out, I added the Citra hops pellets (contained in a mesh bag) as well as the whole Cascade hops.
• I cooled the wort down to ~70°, transfered to the carboy (aerating with the Venturi pump along the way), and pitched the yeast (starter and all).
• This beer was brewed on Monday, April 6, 2015. Starting gravity was 1.057, just a touch below my predicted gravity (1.059). This is likely due to a slightly lower boil-off rate. Total volume was 5.25 gallons. I placed the carboy in my fermenting chamber, and set the temperature controller for 70°.
• In less than 12 hours, the fermentation was proceeding quite vigorously. Score one for using a starter!

Pannotia White IPA at high krausen