Developing the Perfect IPA

[TastyMcD]

For me 7.3% ABV is a bit high for a house brew. I like to go for 6-6.5%

Yes, "perfect" implies that it's developed to and individual's taste. Luckily as homebrewers, we can do just that. Everyone else has to find one amongst the dozens of commercially available good ones.

Tasty

[TapItGood]

You lucked out. The last episode of the Jamil Show's "Can You Brew It" was Green Flash's West Coast IPA. Check it out.

[nahthan]

.....What has been most helpful to you in formulating your American IPA recipes?....

I've tried a lot of IPAs. I've brewed a lot of IPAs. Some pretty good.
For me it's the ABC rule: Attentuation, Balance, Cohumulone. I always try to formulate a balanced highly fermentable wort with an eye towards low cohumulone hops.

BTW: Don't forget the DE: Always Dry Hop and watch the Esters.

Tasty

I would fully agree with Tasty on this one. In addition to low cohumulone, also consider balancing the hop bill towards higher AA% content hops (above 10%). Great American style IPAs have lots of those oils dissolved into solution. Keep your hops as cold as possible and always use them as fresh as possible. Old/oxidized hops will have rancid/oxidized hop oils, and can quickly ruin the hop aroma.

[BDawg]

Here's my "house IPA"- I tried to make a cross between DFH & Pliny-

http://www.brewtility.com/ViewRecipe.aspx?RecipeID=50

[Chupa LaHomebrew]

I'm also very interested in the Low Cohumulone idea. However, I don't know how this fits into the whole subject, but I just really, really like Chinook hops (which has a high cohululone ratio)! I know this hop can be a problem hop for some people but I love the aroma. I've used it as a bittering addition and I would like to gather a little more info before using it as a later addition. Does anyone have experience with that?

Also, Centennial has a fairly high cohumulone but it's popular as a late / dry hop. Is this an exception because it is generally used in the last 15 minutes?

[Cuda]

I'm also very interested in the Low Cohumulone idea. However, I don't know how this fits into the whole subject, but I just really, really like Chinook hops (which has a high cohululone ratio)! I know this hop can be a problem hop for some people but I love the aroma. I've used it as a bittering addition and I would like to gather a little more info before using it as a later addition. Does anyone have experience with that?

Also, Centennial has a fairly high cohumulone but it's popular as a late / dry hop. Is this an exception because it is generally used in the last 15 minutes?

Now that I think about the Chinook hops and how most people refrain from using them as a late addition or dry hop. Two of my favorite IPA's use Chinook as a dry hop. Both AleSmith's IPA and Firestone Walker's Union Jack IPA.

This is from the Firestone Walker's web-page

Union Jack

The newest member of the Firestone family, Union Jack is the aggressive IPA that you’ve been searching for. Citrus, pineapple, and a full chewy malt profile finish clean on your palate. Over 70 IBUs and 7.5% alcohol by volume, Union Jack won’t have any problem competing with the big India Pale Ales. A beer true to its origins; deeply hopped and bolstered for a long voyage.
ACCOLADES:

* 2008 World Beer Cup Silver Medal - American Strong IPA

STYLE:
American IPA
* Alcohol By Volume- 7.5%
* Color - 8L (Pale)
* IBU- 72 (High)
FERMENTATION:
100% Stainless Steel Fermentation
MALTS:
* Premium Two-Row (Metcalf & Kendall varieties)
* Munich
* Cara Pils
* Simpson’s Light Crystal
HOPS: (4 lbs/BBL)
o Bittering - Warrior, Simcoe
o Late Kettle - Cascade, Centennial
o Dry Hops - Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Simcoe

[Chupa LaHomebrew]

I'll make sure to get my hands on that when I'm in San Diego next month!

[nahthan]

Now that I think about the Chinook hops and how most people refrain from using them as a late addition or dry hop. Two of my favorite IPA's use Chinook as a dry hop. Both AleSmith's IPA and Firestone Walker's Union Jack IPA.

This is from the Firestone Walker's web-page

Union Jack

The newest member of the Firestone family, Union Jack is the aggressive IPA that you’ve been searching for. Citrus, pineapple, and a full chewy malt profile finish clean on your palate. Over 70 IBUs and 7.5% alcohol by volume, Union Jack won’t have any problem competing with the big India Pale Ales. A beer true to its origins; deeply hopped and bolstered for a long voyage.
ACCOLADES:

* 2008 World Beer Cup Silver Medal - American Strong IPA

STYLE:
American IPA
* Alcohol By Volume- 7.5%
* Color - 8L (Pale)
* IBU- 72 (High)
FERMENTATION:
100% Stainless Steel Fermentation
MALTS:
* Premium Two-Row (Metcalf & Kendall varieties)
* Munich
* Cara Pils
* Simpson’s Light Crystal
HOPS: (4 lbs/BBL)
o Bittering - Warrior, Simcoe
o Late Kettle - Cascade, Centennial
o Dry Hops - Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Simcoe

I think they're on to something there, especially in the dry hop, not so much in the late boil. One of the guests on a really old brewing network show mentioned this as well (I forget who, it was during the first year of broadcasting back in 2005). I've done limited amounts of this and enjoy the complexity it can create, say at a .5 ratio vs. the other hops in the dry hop. It seems to add some additional rough/coarse piney character. I could see it going vegetal or harsh if done aggressively though. It's definitely worth playing around with. The cool thing with dry hop experiments is that you can always split the batch up into different vessels (carboys, kegs, etc. whatever works for your setup) and try entirely different techniques on each. So, you start with a known quantity, like a tried and true base IPA that you know you already like, and separate it out to do different dry hop techniques on each. You can even take that one step further and blend back the different dry hops into the final serving keg. This is possibly what Firestone is doing, at least to some extent. Matt talked about this a bit in his "Ultimate Hop Impact' article in New Brewer a few years back; blending the final product for consistency and complexity. Sounds good to me!! And, one taste of Union Jack and it shows..