Mélèze DIPA

By Ian Cosier

Recipe is part of Recipe Index

BJCP 2021 Style - 22A Double IPA

This is a recipe named after the deciduous Mélèze (European Larch) which grows all over the French Alps and turns a golden-yellow in autumn.

The grist is designed to be relatively rich and bready, without any crystal notes. Any of the old school C hops work well, together with something like Citra/Galaxy to add a slightly more modern fruity touch.

Awards

West Coast Best Coast 2025 (Twickenham, London)

3rd - Strong

LAB Open 2025 (Queens Arms, Battersea, London)

2nd - Best of Show

1st - American and Speciality IPA

Measures

• IBU 93
• ABV 8%
• OG 1.077
• FG 1.017
• EBC 15
• Batch Size 24.5L

Ingredients

Water

Water treatment is 2:1 sulphate to chloride, with 120ppm calcium. I aim for a mash pH of 5.2 in order to compensate for the amount of hops later in the recipe, and target a final pH of around 4.4 in order to the beer tasting bright.

Malt

• 7300 g Pale Malt (Weyermann) (6.0 EBC)
• 840 g Munich I (Weyermann) (15.0 EBC)
• 280 g CHÂTEAU BISCUIT (50.0 EBC)

Hops

• 100 g Simcoe leaf [0.00 %] - Mash 60.0 min
• 9 ml Flex Hop Extract [65.00 %] - Boil 60 min
• 2 g Apollo [18.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min
• 20 g Centennial [9.30 %] - Boil 15.0 min
• 25 g Centennial [9.30 %] - Boil 5.0 min
• 20 g Chinook [11.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min
• 100 g Citra [13.40 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 27 min
• 50 g Centennial [9.30 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 27 min
• 15 ml Chinook Incognito
• 10 g Mosaic Spectrum x6 [12.25 %] - 4 days into secondary
• 100 g Citra [13.40 %] - 3 days into secondary
• 50 g Chinook [11.00 %] - 3 days into secondary
• 40 g Mosaic - 3 days into secondary

Yeast

• 2.8 pkg Nottingham Yeast

Other

• 1 pkg Clarity Ferm
• 1.25 gram Aromazyme

Process

Mash

• 60 minute infusion at 62C
• 30 minute at 70C
• 30 minute at 77C

Boil

I use extracts for a portion of the hopping at various stages in order to reduce the amount of vegetal matter. I have labelled these “x6” in order to remind me that they are roughly the equivalent of six times the amount of pellet hops when I do any g/L calculations. I also find that with my hop spider I need to increase the IBU’s by 10 in order to achieve an equivalent bitterness to loose hops, so you may need to reduce this depending on your process.

• 60 minute boil

Ferment

Given the OG, it is worth rehydrating the yeast and adding O2 for 2 mins. Fermentation is held at 18-19 deg for the first 5+ days until about 80% of attenuation is complete, and then raised to 22-23 deg in order to ensure a vigorous finish.

The Spectrum is added about 3-4 days after fermentation has started, once the initial high level of activity has dropped. Once fermentation has completely finished, the beer is chilled to 4 deg, yeast dumped, and the rest of the dry hop is then added. This is left in for 2 days and roused with CO2 a couple of times a day.

• 2 mins of O2 before pitching.
• Started fermenting at 19 degrees and held until 1.020 at which point raise to gradually to 22 degrees until FG is stable.