Med Bag of Chips

Ham, cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, and arugula.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard in a whole wheat wrap.

Fit Turkey Wrap

Heat ~4.5 gallons of brewing water to about 165°F to achieve a mash at 152°F. Add crushed grains to the mash tun, stir thoroughly to eliminate dry pockets. Hold mash at 152°F for 60 minutes.

Heat strike water and mash

Raise mash temperature to 168°F for 10 minutes (mash out) by adding 1 quart of 170–180°F water or applying direct heat, if your system allows.

Mash out

Recirculate (vorlauf) until wort runs clear, then begin lautering and collect runoff into your kettle. Sparge with ~2.5 gallons of 170°F water to collect approximately 6.5–6.75 gallons of pre-boil wort (accounting for boil-off).

Vorlauf and Lauter

Bring the collected wort to a rolling boil. Watch carefully to avoid boilovers.

Bring to a vigorous boil

At start of 60-minute boil add 0.5 oz Warrior (or substitute) and 0.5 oz Centennial. These provide the base bittering to reach an estimated IBUs ~60–70 for an American IPA of this size (adjust based on home system and alpha acids).

Bittering additions (60 min)

With 15 minutes left in the boil, add Irish moss or a Whirlfloc tablet (if using) to aid clarity.

Late boil flavor additions (10-15 min)

At 10 minutes remaining, add 2 oz Citra and 1 oz Simcoe (flavor). At flameout (0 minutes), add 1 oz Amarillo (or 1 oz additional Citra) to preserve volatile aromatics. Optionally steep for 10 minutes off heat to maximize aroma extraction.

Late hop additions (10 min and 0 min)

Cool the wort quickly to yeast pitching temperature (around 66–68°F) using an immersion or plate chiller. Target chill time under 20 minutes if possible to limit DMS and infection risk.

Chill wort

Transfer chilled wort to a sanitized fermenter, topping up to a total of ~5.25 gallons if needed with pre-boiled-and-cooled water to reach desired batch size. Aerate vigorously by shaking, splashing, or pure oxygen to provide oxygen for healthy fermentation. Pitch 1 packet of California ale yeast (rehydrated or direct-pitch per manufacturer's instructions).

Aerate and pitch yeast

Ferment at 66–68°F for 5–7 days until vigorous fermentation slows. Gravity should drop significantly; expect primary activity to finish in about a week depending on yeast and temperature.

Primary fermentation

After primary fermentation is mostly complete (around day 5–7), raise temperature to 68–70°F for 24–48 hours as a diacetyl rest. Add dry hop additions: 2 oz Citra and 1 oz Simcoe directly to the fermenter. Leave dry hops in contact for 3–5 days for peak aroma (avoid leaving longer than 7 days to reduce grassy notes).

Diacetyl rest and dry hop

After dry hop contact, cold crash the beer to near 35–40°F for 24–48 hours to help drop hop particulates and yeast.

Cold crash and packaging prep

If bottling, gently transfer beer to a bottling bucket avoiding trub. Dissolve 4 oz corn sugar in 1 cup boiling water, cool, and mix with beer for carbonation priming. Bottle and cap. Condition at ~68°F for 10–14 days, then cold condition and enjoy.

Bottling (if applicable)

If kegging, transfer beer to a sanitized keg, pressurize and carbonate to ~12–14 psi (or force carbonate to 2.4–2.6 volumes CO2 at 38°F). Chill and serve on draft.

Ballast Point Sculpin

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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