4. Chilli Double IPA

IPA, the most meaningless set of initials in brewing. Apart from that inflammatory sentence I won’t explore the etymology or history of India (Imperial) Pale Ale.

Putting chilli in an IPA seems to make sense to a degree as chilli is an important ingredient in some of India and Bradford’s most famous curries. The chilli in my Chilli Double IPA is genuine Indian chilli powder sourced from a genuine Indian grocer packed by TRS wholesale of Southhall Middlesex. I added the chilli with the late hops at a rate of half a gram per pint. Adding the chilli to the kettle was enough to make most of the brewing team cough and sneeze.

Malt was pale ale malt with a little crystal for sweetness to balance the brutality of the insanly high hopping rate. Hops used were Northdown, Hallertau Northern Brewer, Perle, Challenger and Tomahawk. At a sensible rate of hop utilisation I expect the E(I)BUs to be somewhere in the region of 100. The OG is 1085 so I expect an ABV of about 9%. I’m fermenting it warm in a closed fermenter under a slight top pressure. That should ensure none of the hoppiness is lost to the atmosphere.

Yeast wise I am using the Sharp’s strain which in wonderfully attenuatative and gives a nice dryness to strong ales.

I'm hoping that the heat of chilli will boost the already intense hop flavour even more, making for a mindblowing olfactory experience. We shall see. . . . . .