Embryo-Faced Assassin

Grist
3.5kg Maris Otter (97%)
75g Crystal 40L (2%)
50g Amber Malt (1%)

Hops and Additions
15 mins - 30g Citra leaf 13.8%AA
10 mins - 10g Protafloc granules
5 mins - 40g Citra leaf 13.8%AA
1 min - 70g Citra leaf 13.8%AA

Yeast
Rehydrated Safale US-05

Method
Mash at 66 degrees for 75 minutes
Collect 25 litres
Boil for 75 minutes, making additions as above
Cool to 25 degrees, splash aerate and pitch yeast

Target Specifications
OG: 1.041 (actual 1.048)
FG: 1.010 (predicted 1.015)
ABV: 4% (predicted 4.5%)
IBU: 40
SRM: 7
Mash Efficiency: 75%
Batch Size: 20 litres

Comments

I think I undercollected on this one - I lost a bit in the boil, and didn't top-off enough. Also, I think I lost a fair bit to hop absorption, yielding about 17 litres to FV, hence the higher than expected OG.

This is my attempt to turn Tom Fozard's (now of Rooster's Brewery) near-legendary Baby-Faced Assassin, a strong IPA with a metric shedload of very late hops, into a more sessionable beer, hence the slightly odd name.

It's a really wasteful way of using hops to make beer, but the results can be amazing if done right. Tom's latest homebrew exploit (and I hope he won't mind me saying this) has taken late hopping to it's illogical conclusion, with 400g of Chinook added at 1 minute before flame out. I hope he'll be good enough to share the recipe and results with us soon.

Thanks also go to Tom for the loan of the boiler.

Contributor
Zak Avery