Batch 166, Guava IPA

This is a new recipe that I've been wanting to work on. I had a guava IPA in Chicago a few years ago, $18 for a 22 ounce bottle. I had two, they were that good. For this first attempt, I wanted to make sure there was enough malt backbone for the fruity flavors of the Citra hops and the guava, so I used some Munich malt. I also added a little Crystal malt to make sure there was some residual sweetness, which should help promote the guava. Wheat for head retention, of course.

The guava is actually a guava paste I found on Amazon. It's from Brazil, and comes in 1 kg blocks. The Brazilian name is "goiabada", and is actually a popular dessert there. In English speaking countries, it's also known as "guava cheese". The ingredients are just guava and sugar. It's pretty tasty as is. I thought it would be like honey, something to add at the end of the boil, but it didn't actually melt in a couple of quarts of hot wort. I put it in a blender with some hot wort and blended until smooth. I poured it back into the boil kettle through a strainer, but all I got was a few hops and a couple of pea-sized pieces of guava. Having never used guava paste before, this batch is really an experiment to see how it works. Pure guava nectar is almost impossible to find.

This is a 5 gallon batch.

Other notes --

I had meant to use Crystal 60, but I was out, so I used Crystal 10 instead.

Only Citra hops in this. As far as I can tell, that's all that the brewery in Chicago used in theirs. It's a real fruity smelling hop, so it should compliment the guava nicely.

The 158F mash temp is again to retain some residual sweetness. Hopefully, not too sweet.

Actual OG was 1.070.

Guava IPA - 5 gal - American IPA (14B)

Brewer
Date	4/9/15

Batch Size	5.576 gal	Boil Size	8.076 gal
Boil Time	90.000 min	Efficiency	70%
OG	1.071	FG	1.019
ABV	6.9%	Bitterness	74.8 IBU (Tinseth)
Color	8.3 srm (Morey)	Calories (per 12 oz.)	237

Fermentables

Total grain: 18.000 lb

Name	Type	Amount	Mashed	Late	Yield	Color
Pale Malt (2 Row) US	Grain	11.500 lb	Yes	No	79%	2.0 srm
Munich Malt - 10L	Grain	3.500 lb	Yes	No	77%	10.0 srm
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L	Grain	1.000 lb	Yes	No	75%	10.0 srm
Guava paste	Sugar	1.000 lb	No	Yes	82%	10.0 srm
White Wheat Malt	Grain	1.000 lb	Yes	No	86%	2.0 srm

Hops

Name	Alpha	Amount	Use	Time	Form	IBU
Citra	13.8%	1.000 oz	First Wort	90.000 min	Leaf	32.1
Citra	13.8%	1.000 oz	Boil	60.000 min	Leaf	27.3
Citra	13.8%	1.000 oz	Boil	10.000 min	Leaf	9.9
Citra	13.8%	1.000 oz	Boil	5.000 min	Leaf	5.4

Misc

Name	Type	Use	Amount	Time
Irish Moss	Fining	Boil	1.000 tsp	15.000 min

Yeast

Name	Type	Form	Amount	Stage
Wyeast - American Ale II	Ale	Liquid	0.528 cup	Primary

Mash

Name	Type	Amount	Temp	Target Temp	Time
Conversion Step, 68C	Infusion	5.313 gal	177.268 F	158.000 F	60.000 min
Final Batch Sparge	Infusion	4.897 gal	186.363 F	165.200 F	15.000 min

Notes

Guava paste didn't dissolve in hot wort, so put it in the blender with some hot wort until it was smooth. Poured it back into the boil kettle through a strainer, only caught some hops and a couple of pea sized pieces of guava paste.

Dry hop with 1 oz Citra in secondary.

Updates:
April 10, really violent fermentation! It's not often that I get a blow off with a 6.5 gallon fermenter.

April 11, fermentation has slowed, but is still quite active. I tasted a small sample, it's still somewhat sweet, but the guava and the hops seem to be in a nice balance.

April 20, finally down to 1.016, so kegged it. I think some adjustments are in order:

• Bump up the Munich. There isn't enough malt backbone. 
• Bump up the guava. There is some guava flavor, but not quite enough.
• Replace the 60 minute Citra with Magnum, and increase the amount. It's not quite bitter enough to offset the sweetness.
• Drop the crystal. I don't think it needs the added sweetness.
• Maybe go with London Ale III instead of American Ale II? I don't think the fruitiness from the American Ale II is needed, the London Ale yeast is more neutral flavored.