After a year of test brewing, we have finally made a Double IPA good enough to release as a William’s Kit. After trying different malts and hop combinations, we settled on a light European pilsner malt base accented with American Cascade and Simcoe® hops, and fermented with American liquid Ale yeast (Wyeast 1272). The idea behind the light pilsner malt base was to produce a dry, non obtrusive background for the balanced citrus/pine hop load to come through without distraction from caramelized flavors. This is not a hop bomb by any means; we leave it to you to judge the final outcome. Alcohol: 7.5%, IBU’s 75.
Includes 10 pounds of blended European pilsner malt and beet sugar, 3 hop additions, American liquid Ale yeast, and carbonating sugar. Makes 5 gallons with a starting gravity of at least 1.074. Ease of Brewing: Intermediate.
Click to download the instructions in pdf format.
This is a photo of our American IPA when it was in the bottle for 11 days.
Sep 25, 2021 by Dan Graham
Q: I'm wondering what the IBU for this brew would be.
A: 75 IBU
Dec 31, 2020 by Dan
Q: What are the hops used in this kit?
A: 1 oz. Cascade at the start, 2 oz. Saaz after 45 minutes, and 1.5 oz. Cascade in the last few minutes.
Nov 20, 2019 by Mark
Q: Double IPA has been the secondary fermenter for 10 days & is very cloudy. Should I extend the Recommended time of 14 days or is it supposed To be on the cloudy side?
A: We would recommend leaving it in the secondary for around 20 days, and then bottling regardless of how it looks.
Apr 19, 2018 by Kathi
Q: At 14 days, the finishing gravity is 1.012. This seems to be far off from your numbers. I should have take a starting one, but I relied on yours. My mistake. So I am trying to see if this is indicative of errors/problems on my end. Thanks for the help.
A: A lower number is actually more desirable. The numbers on the instruction sheet are listed higher in case people do not have a very strong or long fermentation (many things can affect this). 1.012 is great and not indicative of anything done wrong by you, it just means you had a good, healthy ferment. As long as it is not still dropping you can go ahead and bottle.
Good beer but rather hopless
The beer turned out well but it was more like a barley wine than a double IPA. It has a very nice body and good flavor but the hops are almost undetectable. With commercial double IPAs the hops are seriously in your face. Maybe the hops were old? They certainly went into the boil.
First Double IPA
This is my first double IPA that I have made. Just bottled an hour ago. I did dry hop it (just because), smelled really good. Great taste and flavor. I look forward to having a cold one when they are conditioned and ready to drink in 9 days.
Sneaky good and strong
This beer surprised me. Not only is it delicious after I underestimated the meaning of perishable but it's very strong. It's smooth and will calm you down after a long day. I love it.
Trouble with yeast!
Your write-up said to brew immediately. The yeast bag was partially inflated when it arrived so we waited two days to see if it would grow more. Got anxious when it didn't and decided to start brew anyway. Found that the inner bag had not been popped. :( Tried to get it going with some sugar and yeast nutrient. It never started. :( We had some dry yeast as backup that worked. Hoping this brew turns out ok, Won't bottle for another few days though. William's Brewing Responds: Yes, this one includes Wyeast 1056, which is unstable and usually swells up in the pack. Even if you did not smack it, as long as the yeast had a recent manufacture date, the beer should be fine. Let us know at 800-759-6025 or service@williamsbrewing.com if it does not turn on.
Classic IPA
I don't know whether I would call this a double IPA but it compares favorably with any of the commercial classic midwest IPAs like Bell's Two Hearted and Dark Horse Crooked Tree. Nice balance between the malt backbone and the hops.