Green Flash West Coast IPA

**kal** · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 8:01 pm Post subject: Green Flash West Coast IPA

Image (c) TheElectricBrewery.com

While not an official BJCP style, a West Coast IPA is an American style IPA that has been agressively hopped, almost to the point of being overwhelming and usually beyond what the BJCP style guidelines call for in a typical American IPA (40-70 IBU).

Originally created by various breweries on the US west coast, varieties can now be found across the US and even in other countries. American hops are used throughout, often double the levels of what you'd see in a 'normal' American IPA.

One of the most popular beers of this style is Green Flash West Coast IPA.

Image (c) American Homebrewers Association

I like a lot of Columbus hops in my West Coast style IPAs. It provides a strong earthy character with a unique pungent and dank hop-aroma. Some describe the aroma as being very similar to marijuana. It pairs extremely well with Simcoe hops which add piney qualities with a bit of fruitiness. The combination is intense, for hop lovers only.

Columbus is one of the three "C" hops, including Centennial and Cascade. It's a dual-purpose hop that can be used for both bittering and flavour/aroma. It goes by other names including CTZ, which stands for Columbus, Tomahawk, and Zeus. Tomahawk is the exact same variety sold by a different producer, while Zeus is very close that it gets lumped in.

Other beers which feature Columbus hops prominently include: Pako’s IPA by Snake River Brewing, Bear Republic Racer 5, and Green Flash Hop Head Red.

Note: I often prefer to brew IPAs that are high in hop flavour and aroma but not as over the top with bitterness so I've brewed this recipe by eliminating the 90 minute hop addition and increasing both 1 minute additions slightly from 1.0 to 1.5 oz. Try it both ways and see which you prefer.

MARCH 2013 UPDATE: Green Flash West Coast IPA is now available in my neck of the woods and it's surprising how close my beer is to this commercial variety.

JULY 2013 UPDATE: This recipe won first place at an American IPA brewing competition organized by my local homebrew club. Complete details here.

I've made this beer many times now and it always gets rave reviews from IPA lovers. If you enjoy Green Flash West Coast IPA, definitely give this recipe a try. I think you'll enjoy it. Brew up a batch and let me know how you like it!

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Green Flash West Coast IPA

Size: 12.0 US gal (post-boil @ 68F)
Mash Efficiency: 95.0%
Attenuation: 81.2%
Calories: 227.5 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.069 (style range: 1.056 - 1.075)
Terminal Gravity: 1.013 (style range: 1.010 - 1.018)
Color: 8.9 (style range: 6.0 - 15.0)
Alcohol: 7.3% (style range: 5.5% - 7.5%)
Bitterness: ~90 (style range: 40.0 - 70.0)

Ingredients:
20.75 lb Domestic 2-Row Malt (84.5%)
1.9 lb Carapils®/Carafoam® (7.7%)
1.9 lb Carastan or other Crystal Malt in the 30-40L range (7.7%)
1.0 oz Simcoe Hops (12.2%) - added during boil, boiled 90 min [19.0 IBU]
0.5 oz Columbus Hops (12.3%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min [9.6 IBU]
0.5 oz Simcoe Hops (12.2%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min [9.5 IBU]
0.5 oz Columbus Hops (12.3%) - added during boil, boiled 30 min [6.9 IBU]
0.5 oz Simcoe Hops (12.2%) - added during boil, boiled 30 min [6.9 IBU]
1.5 oz Columbus Hops (12.3%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min [13.8 IBU]
1.5 oz Simcoe Hops (12.2%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min [13.7 IBU]
1 Whirlfloc Tablet (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 15 min
2.0 oz Cascade Hops (6.0%) - added during boil, boiled 10 min [7.49 IBU]
1.0 oz Columbus Hops (12.3%) - added during boil, boiled 1 min [1.2 IBU]
1.0 oz Simcoe Hops (12.2%) - added during boil, boiled 1 min [1.1 IBU]
36 g Fermentis Safale US-05 dry yeast
1.0 oz Columbus Hops (12.3%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
1.0 oz Simcoe Hops (12.2%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
1.0 oz Centennial Hops (9.2%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
1.0 oz Cascade Hops (6.0%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
1.0 oz Amarillo Hops (8.2%) - added dry to secondary fermenter

Notes:
Add 500mg potassium metabisulphite to 20 gallons water to remove chlorine/chloramine (as required).
Water treated with brewing salts to: Ca=110, Mg=18, Na=16, Cl=50, S04=279
(Basically Randy Mosher's ideal Pale Ale numbers with slightly less Sulphate).
For complete details on how to adjust your water, refer to our step by step Water Adjustments guide.
1.5 qt/lb mash thickness. Single infusion mash at 150F for 90 mins. Mashout to 168F.
60-90 min fly sparge with ~6 pH water. Collect 14.9 gallons in the boil kettle.
Boil for 90 minutes. Lid on at flameout, start chilling immediately.
Cool wort to 66F and aerate well. Ferment at 66-68F until complete.
Add dry hops once fermentation is nearing completion (ie: below 1.015). Dry hop for 5-7 days total.
Rack to CO2 purged brite tank (secondary), crash chill to near freezing (if possible), add 1 tsp of unflavoured gelatin dissolved in a cup of hot distilled water per 5 gallons of beer, and let clear for 2-3 days.
Package as you would normally. I keg and carbonate on the low side (around 2 to 2.2 volumes of C02) to minimize carbonic bite and let the hop/malt flavour come through.

If you prefer to use liquid yeast, either of these is an excellent choice as they are the same clean fermenting Chico strain as US-05:

Wyeast 1056 American Ale
White Labs WLP-001 California Ale

You'll need to use 5 packs/vials or make an appropriate starter. For more information see Chapter 6 of How to Brew and Appendix A of Brewing Classic Styles. Also see the stirplate/starter equipment I use.

For complete brewing instructions, see our Brew Day: Step by Step guide.

Enjoy!

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Green Flash West Coast IPA @ The Ginger Man. Photo (c) Matt Jones at Foodspotting.com

Kal

ohararp · Joined: 30 Aug 2011 Posts: 29

I just wanted to say that I'll be brewing this up on the 4th of July. Looking forward to it.

ohararp · Joined: 30 Aug 2011 Posts: 29

I just wanted to say that this came out pretty awesome. 3 weeks after brewing and I am enjoying this great beer! It's got a great floral aroma and the hop bitterness is not very high. Granted I love DIPAs. Very good summer brew. 1.072 OG and 1.014 FG. Came out at 7.7% ABV so it'll catch up to you on a hot day!

I have a keggle setup and ended up using whole leaf hops with this and my false bottom for the boil kettle. I added a small stainless scrubby around the dip tube and solved all of my big IPA hop clogging issues.

I've attached a copy of the Beersmith bsmx file. Just rename and you can easily import this.

Thanks for the great recipe Kal!

**kal** · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 1:05 pm Post subject:

Glad you enjoyed it! I've made it a few times now and plan on making it again soon as I'm all out!

Kal

lostdruid · Joined: 02 Jan 2013 Posts: 6 Location: Johns Creek, GA

1) How much gelatin do you add?
2) Do you use pellets or leaves?

**kal** · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 2:13 pm Post subject: Re: Two questions

jclavel · Joined: 14 Aug 2012 Posts: 20

Brewed 10 gallons in this yesterday. Perfect numbers! Bubbling away at 65F. I'll post results later.

jclavel · Joined: 14 Aug 2012 Posts: 20

Absolutely spectacular. Great water profile suggestion! I love my brewery. Thanks Kal!

**kal** · Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 5:39 pm Post subject:

Update: I've made some changes to the recipe to turn this into an actual clone of Green Flash West Coast IPA. The changes were very subtle:

- Replace the Vienna malt with slightly less Carapils malt
- Increase the amount of Crystal 30-40L malt slightly
- Add a 90 min hop addition to bump up the bitterness a bit
- Tone down the 1 minute hop additions slightly
- Add Cascade to the list of dry hops

Enjoy!

Kal

felon · Joined: 20 Aug 2012 Posts: 1 Location: Sydney, Australia

Thanks for a great recipe Kal. I am drinking your older West Coast IPA version with the Vienna and love it. It certainly is a great big beer with loads of aroma and hop flavour without being overly bitter. Seems very well balanced.

**kal** · Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:16 pm Post subject:

I'm glad you like it felon!

I brewed the updated recipe ~5 weeks ago (without the 90 minute hops however) and it's been on tap now for a about 2 weeks so I had a pint of it last night. This is definitely one of my favourite recipes and the chages are extremely subtle compared to the original version. This beer's all about hops!

Kal

**kal** · Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 5:24 pm Post subject:

JULY 2013 UPDATE: This recipe won first place at an American IPA brewing competition organized by my local homebrew club. Complete details here.

Kal

jim@gsp · Joined: 09 Dec 2014 Posts: 8 Location: Gig Harbor, WA

Hi,

Can someone tell me if this recipe is calling for dry hopping in the primary fermenter or in the secondary?

Thanks

**kal** · Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 12:54 am Post subject:

Up to you but I usually do it in the fermenter as fermentation nears completion. From the recipe:

jim@gsp · Joined: 09 Dec 2014 Posts: 8 Location: Gig Harbor, WA

Thanks, Kal!

I don't use a secondary fermenter. I rack from the primary to a bright tank.

What had be confused is this from the recipe:

1.0 oz Columbus Hops (12.3%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
1.0 oz Simcoe Hops (12.2%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
1.0 oz Centennial Hops (9.2%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
1.0 oz Cascade Hops (6.0%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
1.0 oz Amarillo Hops (8.2%) - added dry to secondary fermenter

jim@gsp · Joined: 09 Dec 2014 Posts: 8 Location: Gig Harbor, WA

I have not had good results with dry hopping to the primary, but I believe that may be due to errors in my previous method.

I use a conical in a closed system.

My plan is to experiment with dry hopping with pellets after the gravity drops to -1.015. I will disconnect the blow-off tube tri-clamp and add the pellets through that opening. I will not re-connect the blow-off, just use a tri-clamp block-off plate.

Do you purge the headspace with CO2 after you dry hop?

Do you add CO2 at any point after dry hopping using a bottom port?

Thanks.

**kal** · Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 2:23 am Post subject:

jim@gsp · Joined: 09 Dec 2014 Posts: 8 Location: Gig Harbor, WA

Thanks much!

rvklein · Joined: 17 Jan 2011 Posts: 20

This is shockingly similar to my house IPA differences being the C Hop portion is more heavily Centennial & Cascade and I like MO as my go to base malt.

I won first place in our club's IPA competition this year after two years of 2nd place finishes with the same beer

Dan Cook · Joined: 14 Jan 2015 Posts: 12 Location: Seattle

Kal, I see a WCIPA clone recipe at BrewersFriend.com (http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/221865/green-flash-west-coast-ipa-clone). Not sure if it was you who created the BrewersFriend recipe or somebody else did and simply referenced you as the inspiration / source, but in any case the recipe calls for a pre-boil gravity of 1.048 and a target OG of 1.069. A 21-point (43%) rise in gravity seems like a lot. Do you ever plan for that much concentration, and if so do you boil for more than 90 mins to accomplish it?

I listened to the original podcast just this morning of The Jamil Show / "Can You Brew It?" for cloning this beer, and the brewer (I think it was Tasty McDole?) mentioned a concentration from pre-boil = 1.054 to OG = 1.069. That seems more in line with my own experience.