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

Brother Benjamin comes in at 10.1% ABV and is brewed by Greenbush Brewing Company. It is an Imperial/Double IPA that has a strong taste of hops.

Heat 5.5 gallons (about 21 L) of brew water to ~168°F (76°C) to achieve a mash temperature of 152°F (67°C) when grain is added.

Heat Strike Water

Combine crushed 2-row, Golden Promise (or Munich), CaraMalt, Carapils and flaked oats in the mash tun. Target mash temperature 152°F (67°C). Hold for 60 minutes for balanced body and fermentability. Stir gently to eliminate dough balls.

After 60 minutes, perform a 10-minute mashout by raising the mash to ~168°F (76°C) to stop enzymatic activity and improve lautering.

Sparge with enough water to collect ~7.5–8.0 gallons of wort into the boil kettle (accounting for boil-off) using ~168°F (76°C) sparge water. Drain until runnings are clear.

Bring wort to a vigorous boil. Total boil time: 75 minutes. (Longer boil helps concentrate wort for higher OG and caramelization.)

At 75 minutes remaining (start of boil): add 1.0 oz Centennial and 1.0 oz Simcoe. If you prefer slightly lower IBUs, move these to 60 minutes. This provides a firm bitter backbone for the high gravity beer.

Bittering additions

At 20 minutes remaining: add half (3.0 oz) of Citra and 1.0 oz Mosaic and 1 tsp Irish moss or Whirlfloc. Add gypsum and calcium chloride to the wort at this stage (dissolved) for mineral balance.

Late bitterness & flavor

At 10 minutes remaining: add 1.5 oz Citra and 1.5 oz Mosaic. At 5 minutes remaining: add 1.0 oz Citra and 1.0 oz Mosaic. These late additions preserve hop flavor and aroma in the high-gravity wort.

Late flavor/aroma

After the boil ends, cool the wort to ~180°F (82°C), then add the remaining dry hopped-style aroma hops: 1.5 oz Citra, 2.0 oz Mosaic, 1.0 oz Amarillo and 1.0 oz Cryo (or T90) if using. Whirlpool/hop-stand for 20-30 minutes before chilling. This extracts intense hop oils without excessive bitterness.

Whirlpool/Hop Stand

Chill the wort quickly to yeast-pitching temperature: 66-68°F (19-20°C) for clean fermentation with ale yeast. Sanitize fermenter and transfer wort, leaving behind as much trub as possible.

If using a yeast starter, aerate or oxygenate the wort well (use pure oxygen ~8-10 ppm O2 or vigorous shaking) because an Imperial IPA at ~10% ABV requires a strong healthy fermentation.

Pitch 2 packs of dry yeast (or the prepared liquid yeast starter). Maintain fermentation temperature at 66-68°F (19-20°C) for the first 3-4 days, then allow a slight diacetyl rest by raising to 70°F (21°C) near the end of active fermentation.

Primary fermentation should be vigorous and may last 7-10 days. Gravity should drop substantially; target final gravity around 1.010–1.016 depending on yeast and attenuation (this yields around 10% ABV if starting gravity ~1.090–1.100).

When fermentation is mostly complete (about 48–72 hours after high krausen or around day 5-7), add dry hops: 1.5 oz Amarillo, 1.5 oz Citra, 1.0 oz Mosaic (or remaining amounts to total the listed hop bill). If using cryo, add that now as a smaller, more intense addition. Leave hops on for 3-5 days to capture bright hop aroma without vegetal character.

After dry hop contact, cold crash the fermenter to near 35-40°F (2-4°C) for 24-48 hours to help settle hops and yeast.

Rack to secondary or transfer to bottling bucket/keg. If kegging, force carbonate to 10-12 psi at serving temperature (or to preferred CO2 volumes). If bottling, dissolve 4 oz priming sugar in 8 oz boiling water, cool, mix into beer gently and bottle. Condition bottles at room temperature for 2 weeks, then chill before serving.

Allow the beer to condition for 2-4 weeks for flavors to marry; this Imperial IPA benefits from a short aging period to let hop oils integrate and alcohol warmth smooth out.

2-row pale malt (base)

Golden Promise or Munich (caramel/complexity)

CaraMalt / Crystal 40L

Carapils (dextrin for body/retention)

Flaked Oats (for mouthfeel)

Light Dextrose (corn sugar) — optional (to boost ABV/attenuation)

Centennial (bittering)

Simcoe (bittering/aroma)

Citra (flavor/aroma/late additions)

Mosaic (flavor/aroma/late additions)

Amarillo (late additions/dry hop)

Cryo or T90 hop powder (Citra or Mosaic) — optional (for intense aroma)

High attenuation ale yeast (e.g., Safale US-05 or Wyeast 1056 / White Labs WLP001)

Liquid yeast starter (if using liquid yeast)

Yeast nutrient (optional)

Brew water

Gypsum (calcium sulfate) — for hop accentuation

Calcium chloride — for fullness

Campden tablet (optional) — if using tap water

Irish moss or Whirlfloc (for kettle clarity)

Priming sugar (if bottling)

Brother Benjamin

Make Brother Benjamin Recipe in just 12h . Brother Benjamin comes in at 10.1% ABV and is brewed by Greenbush Brewing Company. It is an Imperial/Double IPA that has a strong taste of hops.

Brother Benjamin

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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