Gotta come up with something quick and good

[FedoraDave]

I didn't get a chance to get to the LHBS this past weekend, so I'm going to make every effort to get there Saturday to pick up ingredients to brew on Sunday.

But I don't want anything real involved. So I'm thinking an extract brew with steeping grains and a simple hops bill. An IPA comes to mind. Light DME, maybe 3 pounds of it. Maybe a pound or 1/2 pound of Dark, or Amber DME, for color and a little more flavor. Steep 1/4 pound of 10L or Carapils for body and head retention. Maybe even steep a couple ounces of flaked rye, for a little bite.

Some Centennial and Citra, and some standard ale yeast, and I'm on my way.

Sound good?

[JimH]

I like the idea of a little bit of rye. I love centennial and think it would be good for an IPA. Sounds pretty simple. I think half or one pound of amber DME over the dark, but that's just me. I did have an IPA recently with chocolate malt in it. Just enough to make you go "hmm, that's unique." So, if you want to do something just a touch different, the dark may work.

I would drink it. Nice and simple but good flavors in there!

[jimmypirate]

It just blows me away how you can come up with something like that off the top of your head. Sounds great.

[FedoraDave]

I ran it through QBrew and decided to use Warrior and Centennial. I'm just in the mood to make a nice, bitter beer. And I'm going to use 2.5 pounds of Light DME (I'll save the rest for yeast starters) and 1 pound of Amber DME. Quarter pound each of flaked rye and 10L.

Even though IBUs fall 1 point over the style guidelines, everything falls within QBrew's style guidelines for an American IPA. So this will be nice and quick, and I should have a simple, yet aggressive IPA out of it.

[FedoraDave]

It just blows me away how you can come up with something like that off the top of your head. Sounds great.

It's really not that hard once you get to know what certain ingredients and combinations will work together, and in what amounts. The more you brew, the more you know. I just figured these ingredients would work, and then I ran it through QBrew to verify and refine my basic idea.

I've always been more of an intuitive brewer, though. Same with cooking. I rarely make the same dish twice, because I just grab whatever seasonings seem good to me, and throw them on without measuring. Again, that kind of confidence comes with experience. And I wouldn't attempt too many all-grain recipes in this manner. But a quick, LBK batch using extracts and steeping grains is pretty easy to throw together.

[Banjo-guy]

It must be the cold weather or the build up of ingredients but I was thinking the same thing today.
I've got some fresh Maris Otter,light extract, some odds and ends of various crystal malts, Falconer's Flight and Citra hops. Those ingredients seem to be crying out to be an IPA.

I might just make a quick gallon batch with steeping or partial mash.

[MadBrewer]

When I seen the title I had a different idea come to mind. An Ordinary Bitter (English Pale Ale) is a nice easy quick turnaround beer. I have a great All Grain recipe but if you are looking to use extract sounds like you are already on your way.

[FedoraDave]

MadBrewer, I have a nice AG Ordinary Bitter recipe, and I will definitely be making it later, to have it on hand during the summer BBQ season. Right now, I just wanted something with a real bite to it, combined with a relatively short brew day.

Banjo, those ingredients do, indeed, cry out to be made into an IPA. Get to it, man!