This post is one in a series of making small adjustments to a single recipe in order to improve it, learn more about the impact each ingredient has on the finished product, and the art of recipe creation. The rest of the comparison tastings in this series can be found here.
Going into this tasting, I knew that Iteration 3 and Iteration 6 of this red IPA were such vastly different beers that I wondered how worthwhile this comparison would truly be. That said, these beers are only three steps away from each other. Not that much is different between them in terms of malt and hops, but these three small steps have led to a drastically different outcome. I think that it’s worth noting how easy it is to make a few small steps and land at two absolutely different beers that would likely be classified as different styles by blind tasters.
Recap
The differences between these beers were:
- Iteration 3 used 0.5 lbs. of Special B and Iteration 6 used 1 lb. of Vienna.
- Iteration 3 used 0.75 lbs. of C120 and Iteration 6 used 1.25 lbs. of C120.
- Iteration 6 used 0.75 lbs. more malt total.
- The hop schedule for Iteration 6 used magnum at the 60 min. mark instead of Simcoe.
- Iteration 6 used Simcoe at flameout.
- Iteration 6 used 0.5 oz. more dryhops than Iteration 3 (adding Simcoe as a dry hop).
- Iteration 6 was a full 1% higher in ABV due to a 10 point increase in OG.
Appearance
Iteration 3 had a good off-white head with a dark red color, perhaps on the verge of brown.
Iteration 6 was amber in color and had no head whatsoever. The reason for this is my new bench capper (that I’m likely taking back to the point of purchase and asking for a new one). Unfortunately, I get improper seals on some bottles, and I noticed last bottling day that the bell is slightly misshapen—the likely culprit. I’ll say that other bottles I’ve opened from this batch have had proper carbonation and a decent head.
Aroma
Iteration 3 smelt of burnt sugar and raisin, with no hop presence to speak of.
Iteration 6 contained a citrus nose with a hint of cattiness (from the Simcoe I assume). It also had a tropical floral scent to it—not tropical fruit, but the kind of floral scent associated with the tropics.
Flavor
Iteration 3 tasted of raisin, cherry, and burnt sugar, with the tiniest hint of citrus.
Iteration 6 tasted of citrus, cherry, plum, and had a hint of dankness to it.
Final Thoughts
In light of the fact that this particular beer is so different from the desired outcome, this will likely be the last time I compare Iteration 3 to any future versions of this recipe. The purpose of these comparisons is to judge how this recipe is progressing towards the desired end goal, and I think that this comparison along with previous reviews of this recipe have proven that the malt profile has sufficiently advanced towards what my desired end goal is.