Wow, looking back to the last time I brewed, I found that I haven't brewed for well over two months. Part of the reason I haven't brewed for such a long time was a ruptured disk in my back. I'm doing much better, and feel that it's time to get back to brewing. Before going into the hospital though, I had gone down to The Witches Brew to buy ingredients for my next two batches, but I never had a chance to brew either. The two batches are this one - the Imperial IPA - and a Scotch Ale. I chose to do the Imperial IPA first, so here are the ingredients:

I added the AAU numbers because I was trying to figure out the bitterness of this brew, but I'm not sure if I'm doing it right. I came up with 58.4 for my final number, so if anyone reading this comes up with something different, please let me know. I also tried my hand at calculating the SG and came up with 1.096, but when I took the reading, I came up with 1.088. I could be wrong on the math, or the hydrometer isn't correct, but I'm happy with the number either way.

As I normaly do, I placed the grains in a couple of grain bags, placed them in the pot with 2.5 gallons of water, and brought the temperature to around 154ºF. I then let them steep at that temperature for 30 minutes. I then removed them, added the LME, and brought to a boil. The quantity of LME I used is a lot more than I normally use, and I was afraid that I was going to boil over, so I heated it slowly. Once it came to a boil, I added one ounce of the Millenium hops, and set the timer for 30 minutes. I stirred frequently at first to try preventing a boil over, but it seemed to settle into a steady boil for the entire 90 minutes, even after each hop addition. After the timer indicated that it's time for the next addition, I added the ounce of Chinook hops and set the timer for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, I added the other ounce of Millenium hops and set the timer for another 20 minutes. For the final addition, I added two ounces of Northern Brewer hops, and boiled for 20 minutes more.

After the boil, I cooled the wort in my usual way by placing the pot in an ice bath. I then poured through my filter funnel into the carboy, took my hydrometer reading, and brought it down to the basement. I hadn't started the yeast early enough, so I have to wait for it to be ready to pitch. I'm hoping that this is a good, hoppy, and heavy beer that will finish out the winter months, though the high gravity may make it take longer to finish. Either way, I'll update this article at each step.

Until then, happy brewing.

Update - 3.12.09: I racked to the secondary, and the gravity stands at 1.022 for an ABV of 8.66%.

Update - 3.24.09: I kegged this today, and though there isn't much of an aroma, the flavor suggests that this will be a nice beer. I think next time, I'll add another ounce of hops at flame out. The FG is as it was when I racked to the secondary.