Lagunitas IPA Clone

[MadBrewer]

This is what I ended up putting together and brewing a couple weeks ago, it was bottle conditioned and has been in the fridge for a couple days now. I had a sample bottle once they got cold but I need to let it get a couple weeks of cold conditioning. From the sample pour, color, aroma and malt flavor was all there. It needs to clear a bit and let it all come together but my initial impression is although it's nice and hoppy and the hop character is very similar the bittering "bite" is less than you will find in Lagunitas. That's not a bad thing, but with the mouthfeel from the malt bill, the high mash temp it could maybe use a few more IBU's on the bittering. I even adjusted my water for more Sulfate with a good dose of Gypsum. This is all based on one sample bottle, I will need to see how it's doing in a couple weeks. But overall I'm sure I'll be happy with it.


Lagunitas
American IPA

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (G): 3.25
Total Grain (lb): 7.250
Total Hops (oz): 5.50
Original Gravity (OG): 1.062 (°P): 15.2
Final Gravity (FG): 1.016 (°P): 4.1
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 6.09 %
Colour (SRM): 8.3 (EBC): 16.4
Bitterness (IBU): 71.0 (Tinseth)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 75
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
----------------
5.500 lb American 2-Row (75.86%)
0.500 lb Crystal 20 (6.9%)
0.500 lb Munich I (6.9%)
0.500 lb Wheat Malt (6.9%)
0.250 lb Crystal 60 (3.45%)

Hop Bill
----------------
0.25 oz Columbus Pellet (15% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
0.25 oz Columbus Pellet (15% Alpha) @ 30 Minutes (Boil)
0.50 oz Willamette Pellet (5% Alpha) @ 30 Minutes (Boil)
0.50 oz Cascade Pellet (6.5% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil)
0.50 oz Centennial Pellet (9% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil)
0.50 oz Cascade Pellet (6.5% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil)
0.50 oz Centennial Pellet (9% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil)
0.50 oz Cascade Pellet (6.5% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil)
0.50 oz Centennial Pellet (9% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil)
0.50 oz Cascade Pellet (6.5% Alpha) @ 5 Days (Dry Hop)
0.50 oz Centennial Pellet (9% Alpha) @ 5 Days (Dry Hop)
0.50 oz Willamette Pellet (5% Alpha) @ 5 Days (Dry Hop)

Single step Infusion at 160°F for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 66°F with Safale US-05

[Beer-lord]

I've not brewed any Lagunitas beer but I've read for years that they are some of the hardest to closely clone. Still sounds like you'll have a super beer though.

[RayF]

Mine is in the keg carbonating. I actually had the same impression from the taste tests I have done. It is hoppy but not as hoppy as I thought it should be. I'm thinking it will be a good drinker the way it is but I will not get the yuck effect from my BMC drinking friends that I always look forward to.

[Beer-lord]

Mine is in the keg carbonating. I actually had the same impression from the taste tests I have done. It is hoppy but not as hoppy as I thought it should be. I'm thinking it will be a good drinker the way it is but I will not get the yuck effect from my BMC drinking friends that I always look forward to.

Well, you could add some hops to the keg for a few days. While it really doesn't add much bitterness at all, it might be just enough to aggravate your friends. And the added aroma might just cause them to faint!

[MadBrewer]

I've not brewed any Lagunitas beer but I've read for years that they are some of the hardest to closely clone. Still sounds like you'll have a super beer though.

It is tasty and very easy drinking, I'm happy with it. I did substitute the bittering hops but used them to get the same IBU level but I can tell the character is different. Other than that, the color, flavor and aroma is in the ballpark of Lagunitas.

[RayF]

I really like this beer. I'm thinking this turned out to be more of a pale ale than an IPA which is fine by me. The appearance is a bit cloudy, could be chill haze. The aroma is similar to an American macro beer but bit stronger. I'd imagine my interpretation is based on the cascade hops that are in there. What do you think, Kenny?

[MadBrewer]

Ray, I havent had another bottle yet I have been giving it some time in the fridge to come together and it has cleared up so I have been thinking about popping another one soon. Maybe tonight and ill be able to have more input.

We had similar recipes but I noticed mine has a bit more late hopping and includes dry hopping. I suspect mine will cary more like an IPA but im dying to try another bottle. I wanted to give it a full 2 weeks of cold conditioning first.

[MadBrewer]

I really like this beer. I'm thinking this turned out to be more of a pale ale than an IPA which is fine by me. The appearance is a bit cloudy, could be chill haze. The aroma is similar to an American macro beer but bit stronger. I'd imagine my interpretation is based on the cascade hops that are in there. What do you think, Kenny?

Ray, I had a bottle after posting earlier. It has cleared up nicely. Pours a golden light Amber, a lot like Lagunitas. The aroma is there, not intense but hoppy for sure, again balanced like Lagunitas. I put a lot of hops in this beer, and like you mentioned it's not as hoppy as I expected it should be. The bitterness is very smooth but it does drink like an IPA, with a little less "bite". There is a nice smooth malt character, and even for mashing at 160* it doesn't taste much different than if I mashed say around 154*. Which is fine, but there is a nice mouthfeel to it. I can see where the yeast choice would make a difference, if I was to brew it again I would bump the bittering a touch, maybe do a hopstand with some of the late hops and I would try Wyeast 1968 yeast and that would bring this probably as close as I could come to a Lagunitas clone. I also dry hopped with a the leftover Willamette and I would probably drop that addition. I also think I taste some of the mineralization in the water profile. It's nothing bad, but I can tell since I usually do not do much with my brewing water except for hoppy beers and the opposite for dark malty beers. This in the likes of Lagunitas for sure, it will make you think Lagunitas and thats pretty cool.

But I'm very happy with the beer, I'm going to give a 6 pack to my sister in law who's 1st IPA kick was Lagunitas and see what she thinks. I haven't brewed a lot of hoppy beers that I have been happy with. I have only brewed an IPA a couple times, this is a recipe I can dial in for a nice go to recipe.

[MadBrewer]

A couple few more weeks in the bottle and I think this beer has peaked. This is probably the first hoppy beer that I am really pleased with. I do not brew a lot of hoppy beers and have only tried brewing an IPA a couple times but this is the best of my attempts. It has really smoothed out and came together well. This is going down in the recipe book for sure. A few tiny tweaks could only make it better.

Ray, how did yours come together?

[mashani]

I'm glad it turned out good! But I find your avatar amusing if you don't brew a lot of IPAs.

[MadBrewer]

I'm glad it turned out good! But I find your avatar amusing if you don't brew a lot of IPAs.

I know. lol I get that a lot. Just something I snatched up when I started brewing in 2009 and joined the forums.

[RayF]

A couple few more weeks in the bottle and I think this beer has peaked. This is probably the first hoppy beer that I am really pleased with. I do not brew a lot of hoppy beers and have only tried brewing an IPA a couple times but this is the best of my attempts. It has really smoothed out and came together well. This is going down in the recipe book for sure. A few tiny tweaks could only make it better.

Ray, how did yours come together?

The beer I brewed isn't hoppy enough. It has a good taste and aroma as is but I still can't call it an IPA. The beer turned out to be more of a pale ale than an IPA. I'm going to brew this again and raise the bittering addition next time or maybe use more hops for the whirlpool or both. I may just brew your recipe instead.