Black Mamba the Fourth – A Black IPA
Back before I moved to the farm I grew Cascade hops on the side of my house in the city. Every year I had a tradition of brewing a fresh hop black IPA. These Black Mamba series of beers were my annual celebration of my small hop garden. Now that my redvine hops are established I figured it was time to restart tradition…sort of. Hop picking time last fall was insane, so doing a fresh hop beer was out of the question. But I did dry down a huge amount of the redvines, and using these, I’ve resurrected this brew.
Overall this is a straight-forward black IPA recipe. 7.1% ABV, 70 IBU, made with a mix of golden promise, rye, carafa special III, and victory malt. Bittered with CTZ, with 50 g of redvines added 15 min before the end of the boil, 50 g in a 30 min hopstand, and 100 g as a dryhop. All-in-all a simple IPA, but with one error made – I forgot to let the wort cool to 75C before starting the hopstand, so my 70 IBU beer is quite a bit higher than that. None-the-less, this is a good renewal of this tradition, and I hope to do a fresh version this fall.
Recipe – Black Mamba the IV, Black IPA
Stats:
- OG:1.066
- FG: 1.012
- ABV: 7.1%
- IBU: 70 (est)
- SRM: 40
| Ingredient | Amount/IBU | Time/note |
|---|---|---|
| Water | Sufficient for 23L finished beer | |
| Golden Promise Malt | 4 kg | Malt |
| Rye Malt | 1.5 kg | Malt |
| Carafa Special III | 350 g | Malt |
| Victory Malt | 150 g | Malt |
| CTZ hops (14.3%) | 35 g/55 IBU | 60 min boil |
| Redvine hops, homegrown | 50 g/13 IBU (est) | 15 min boil |
| Redvine hops, homegrown | 50 g/3 IBU (est) | 30 min hop stand @ 75C |
| Redvine hops, homegrown | 100 g | 3 day dry hop |
| US-05 Yeast | 20 g |
Brewday:
- Adjust water sulfate:chloride ratio to 250:50 mg/L.
- Mash at 63C for 75 min.
- Mash-out at 76C for 10 min and sparge.
- Boil for 60 min, adding hops at the indicated times.
- After the boil, chill to 75C, add hop stand addition, and hold for 30 min.
- Chill and pitch yeast.
- On day 11 of the fermentation add the dry hop addition.
- Keg on day 14.
Tasting Notes: Black Mamba the IV Black IPA
Appearance: Dark black, with a course tan coloured head. This head is rocky and lasts until the pint is consumed.
Aroma: Intense citrus and pine.
Flavour: When I first started serving this beer the hop bitterness was intense, course, and somewhat vegital – likely due to my mistake of operating the hop stand at near-boiling temperatures, which likely added an additional 15 IBU. This has faded over the past ~1.5 months, and while still intense, is now pleasant instead of challenging. Following the bitterness is the characteristic cherry/berry and pine notes of redvine hops. The aftertaste is a lingering bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Not as dry as was planned, with the intense hop levels providing a thicker, almost oily, finish.
Overall: Not my best Black Mamba brew, but not the worst either. Due to my mess-up with the hop stand it is overly bitter and slightly vegetal. But that character has faded with time, leaving room for the unique flavour of the redvines to shine through.
