Chaos IPA

I named this beer the Chaos IPA because it was my first beer and nearly everything went wrong. It is a clone of Odell’s IPA (from Szamatulski’s Clone Brews) without two of the hop additions that I brewed February 26, 2012. I really like the maltier character of the beer and it ended up tasting really interesting after a few years. It had that somewhat spicy profile of Odell’s, but a little more restrained.

Grains

8oz Caramalt
8oz Extra Special Malt
8oz Carafoam
8oz Vienna Malt

Hops

1oz Columbus (13%AA) @ 60min
1oz Sorachi Ace (15.1%AA) @30min
1oz Cascade (8%AA) @ 5min

Malt

9lbs LME

SG: 1.078
1wk: *forgot, whoops
FG(2wk): *forgot, whoops. I told you, it was my first time.

Next time I would add back one of the hop additions (prolly 1oz Sorachi Ace @ 15min) to create a little more balance. I really like the somewhat funky flavor and smell that Sorachi Ace adds to the beer. After only a couple weeks in bottles it was a little too malty but 3 months later the sweetness was perfectly balanced with the hop profile. I know, there was probably oxidation and old hops, but I really enjoyed this beer and think the maltier base of the beer set it up to age nicely. Even for a couple years.

This was the beer where I learned the power of fermentation. Living with my parents at the time, I needed to find a stable temperature, dark room to store my newly precious first baby in. My mind first went to the closet in my sisters room since it was out of the way and she wasn’t living there at the time. We eventually decided it would be better in the bathtub of the bathroom connected to her Jack & Jill room. Lucky I changed my mind. I had no idea the krausen (the foamy head formed during fermentation) could get so thick, especially with such a malty beer. And for some reason, all the hoppy beers I have ever made had a more ebullient fermentation. Anyway, the krausen clogged the airlock and built up pressure inside the carboy until it fired the bung like a damn potato cannon, hitting the ceiling and spraying yeasty, smelly krausen over every inch of the bathroom. Literally, every surface. I went through 4 magic erasers and a couple rolls of paper towels to wipe down the door frame, the entire area of the ceiling (and have you ever cleaned a ceiling before? It is plain awful), toilet, shower curtain, … you get the picture. The bathroom smelled like beer for the next two years.

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