Rockit Cup India Pilsen Ale Brewday

One last hurrah for the Rockit Cup. But that last hurrah is a tasty one. Again, this recipe was provided by Jeffrey McElfresh, brewer extraordinaire at Yellow Spring Brewery and Rockit Cup co-founder. He also came over to hang out on brew day. How awesome is that? Long live the Rockit Cup!

184. Rockit Cup India Pilsen Ale

Mash:

10 lbs. Rahr Premium Pils

1 ½ lbs. Breiss White Wheat

Mash @ 150° F for 60 minutes w/ 4 ½ gallons RO water & 10 g. gypsum; collected 3 gallons

Batch sparge @ 168° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water & 5 g. gypsum; collected 4 gallons @ 1.028

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (60 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 2 oz. U.S. Magnum 13.5% AA 

w/15 to go: 2 oz. Amarillo leaf + 3 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

w/0 to go: 2 oz. Amarillo leaf

1 oz. Centennial leaf

1 oz. Mosaic pellet

Let stand for 20 minutes; chilled, racked to carboy, & pitched WLP001

Brewed: 9/24/2014

Secondary: 10/7/2014 @ 1.008; pulled one gallon and bottled w/ .6 oz. table sugar; dry-hopped rest of beer on 11/4/2014 with 4 oz. Amarillo leaf

Bottled: 11/20/2014 w/ 2 oz. table sugar (yes, the beer sat on the hops too long)

OG: 1.054

FG: 1.008

Tasting Notes: I was the winner. I was also the only brewer, although Chris Baumann asserted he made one, but was unable to come to the meeting. So I win. Again. The initial gallon was good; light body with excellent hop flavor and aroma to balance the bitterness. All of the intended pieces of this—the light body via the pilsen malt and the big hop presence—came together wonderfully. That said, the four gallons that got dry-hopped with 4 oz. of Amarillo was even better, even with leaving the beer too long on the hops (yes, there was a fair amount of grassiness, but it went well with the beer). Certainly worth revisiting: light, bright, and drinkable. Hooray Rockit Cup!