Homebrewed Triple IPA
intro
A bold, heavily hopped 9-10% ABV craft ale with bright tropical, citrus, and pine notes, balanced by subtle malt sweetness, ideal for cold sipping.
Ingredients
Steps
Pour 1.2 liters (5 cups) of filtered water into a 4L stainless steel stockpot, heat to a steady 68°C (155°F) over medium-low heat. Place crushed 20L crystal malt in a fine mesh brewing bag, submerge fully in the heated water, and steep for 20 minutes, maintaining temperature within 2°C of 68°C the entire time. Lift the grain bag out, let it drain fully over the pot without squeezing, then discard the spent grain.
Turn stovetop heat to high to bring the steeped wort to a rolling boil (100°C/212°F), which takes approximately 8 minutes. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium to maintain a gentle, non-overflowing rolling boil, then stir in 450g light dry malt extract until completely dissolved with no dry clumps. Add 14g of equal parts Citra and Mosaic hop pellets (7g each) for bittering, set a timer for a 60-minute steady boil, and monitor closely to prevent sticky boilovers.
When the 60-minute boil timer shows 15 minutes remaining, add 28g of equal parts Citra and Mosaic hop pellets (14g each) to the wort for core flavor extraction. Continue maintaining the gentle rolling boil for the remaining 15 minutes, leaving the pot uncovered to allow unwanted volatile off-flavors to evaporate.
When the 60-minute boil completes, turn off heat immediately, add 14g of equal parts Citra and Mosaic hop pellets (7g each) for hot aroma, and stir vigorously for 10 seconds to create a central whirlpool. Set the pot in a sink filled with ice water to cool the wort rapidly to 20°C (68°F), which takes approximately 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to speed even cooling. Pour the cooled wort into a pre-sanitized 2L glass fermenter, top up with remaining filtered water to reach 1.9L (2 quart) total volume, seal the fermenter and shake vigorously for 30 seconds to aerate, then add the full 11g packet of US-05 American ale yeast. Re-seal the fermenter, fill the attached airlock with diluted no-rinse sanitizer solution, and set the fermenter in a dark, temperature-stable 18-20°C (65-68°F) space for 14 days of primary fermentation.
After 7 days of primary fermentation, when rapid bubbling in the airlock slows to 1 bubble every 30 seconds or less, carefully open the sanitized fermenter and add the remaining 28g of equal parts Citra and Mosaic hop pellets (14g each) for dry hopping. Re-seal the airlock immediately to avoid contamination, and let the beer rest undisturbed in the same dark, 18-20°C space for 7 more days to extract bright, fresh tropical and pine hop aroma without adding harsh, grassy bitterness.
After 14 total days of fermentation, prepare priming solution by boiling 14g corn sugar in 60ml (1/4 cup) filtered water for 5 minutes over high heat, then cool the solution to 20°C. Add the cooled priming sugar to a sanitized food-grade plastic bottling bucket, then siphon the finished beer out of the fermenter into the bucket, leaving the thick layer of hop and yeast sediment behind in the fermenter. Stir gently to evenly distribute the priming sugar, then siphon the beer into 4 sanitized 473ml (16oz) amber glass beer bottles, crimp on sanitized metal bottle caps tightly. Store bottles upright in the same 18-20°C dark space for 14 days to naturally carbonate, then chill for 48 hours at 4°C (39°F) before serving cold.
Tips
2.Never squeeze steeping grain bags to extract extra liquid, as this pulls harsh, astringent tannins from the grain husks that create unpleasant dry, bitter aftertastes.
3.Avoid opening the fermenter unnecessarily during fermentation and conditioning, as oxygen exposure creates stale, cardboard-like flavors that dull bright hop notes.
OMG, I’ve been chasing that hazy triple IPA mouthfeel from my favorite local brewery for YEARS and this recipe nailed it? Total game changer. The 90 minute active time was way less intimidating than I thought, though I definitely overbought hops my first grocery run lmao. Brought the first batch to our neighborhood potluck last weekend and every single homebrew fan there was begging for the link. SO good, already planning my second dry hop addition for the next batch.
Okay full transparency, my first attempt was a total flop because I messed up the mash temp (forgot to calibrate my thermometer, oops) but I gave it another shot last month and wow. The grapefruit and pine notes are perfectly balanced, no weird boozy heat that a lot of homemade tripels have. Brought a growler to my sister’s football watch party and even the guys who only drink macro light beer were going back for refills.
Wait hold on, is 28 days total including bottle conditioning? I’m brand new to homebrewing, have only done a basic pale ale before, and this is my first big hard-mode recipe. Just wanna make sure I block off the right timeline before I drop cash on all the grain and hops!
Game. Changer. I’ve brewed probably 20 different IPAs over the last 6 years and this triple is hands down the best one I’ve ever made. The ABV comes in right where the recipe says, no weird off flavors, the dry hop schedule is perfect for that juicy, not-grassy vibe. Took a few bottles to my homebrew club meetup last night and took home first place in the strong ale category!
SO good! My husband has been bugging me to brew a triple IPA with him for literal years and I finally caved to use this recipe for his birthday brew day. We had a bunch of friends over for the boil, made a whole day of it with burgers and lawn games, and the final batch turned out even better than the $18 4-packs we grab at the liquor store. 10/10 would make again.
Heads up for anyone on a tight budget: the hop bill on this is NO JOKE. I ended up spending almost $50 just on hops alone, which is way more than I usually spend on a full 5 gallon batch. Taste was great, don’t get me wrong, but definitely sticker shocked when I checked out at the homebrew shop.
Wait, has anyone tried this with a smaller 2.5 gallon batch size for apartment stovetop brewing? My tiny kitchen can’t fit a full 5 gallon boil pot, but I’ve been dying to make this. Tried scaling down a different triple recipe last year and it came out way too bitter.
Brewed this for our annual college football tailgate and it was an absolute smash. We went through 3 full gallons in like 2 hours, people were filling up their solo cups before we even finished setting up the food table. Only downside is it’s so strong a couple of our friends forgot where they parked lmao. Will absolutely be a staple for our fall tailgates from now on.
Can we talk about how incredible the aroma is on this? When I popped the first bottle, my whole kitchen smelled like fresh mango and pine, I swear. I was worried the high ABV would make it taste like rocket fuel but it’s so smooth, I’ve been sipping a glass every evening after work while I grill. 10/10, zero notes.
Just transferred this to secondary today! Fingers crossed it turns out okay, the wort tasted amazing when I sampled it pre-fermentation, super juicy with that perfect hop bite. Already have a spot in the fridge saved for the first bottle, counting down the days till it’s ready.
I’ve been brewing since the 90s and I’ll admit I was skeptical of a recipe that called for this much dry hop, but my adult kid talked me into trying it and color me impressed. Way smoother than the old bitter triple IPAs I used to make back in the day, the wife even likes it and she usually hates hoppy beer. Great recipe, don’t change a thing.
RIP to my first batch, my airlock got clogged and I had a tiny blowout all over the side of my fermentation fridge on day 3. The little bit I was able to salvage tasted incredible though, so I’m picking up a new airlock this weekend and trying again next week. Don’t be like me, check your airlocks daily during active fermentation y’all!