“German” IPA Beer Recipe (All-Grain & Partial Mash)

One of the fun things about homebrewing is mashing together different beer styles and creating something altogether new. After trying a “German IPA” at a brewpub in Atlanta, I knew I had to give it a shot. The beer had the wonderful, malty backbone and the in-your-face hop flavor of an IPA, but the hops themselves were not what you’d usually expect to find in that kind of beer. Instead of piney, citrusy American hops, this beer showcased the more spicy and floral character of noble hops.

Developing a German IPA Beer Recipe
A number of clues came from the beer menu:
Grain bill: Munich, Vienna
Hops: Magnum, Perle, Northern Brewer, Hallertau, Tettnang
Yeast: German ale yeast
These were my tasting notes: Balanced bitterness, medium to medium-full bodied, spicy notes in the flavor, but with assertive noble hop aroma.
Based on this information, I took a couple of stabs at the beer recipe, and this is its current iteration. Feel free to use it as a starting point for your own German IPA, or modify it to suit your tastes.
Good luck!

German IPA Beer Recipe – All-Grain
(5-gallon batch)
Specs
OG: 1.064
FG: 1.016
ABV: 6.3%
IBUs: 64
SRM: 11
Ingredients
9 lbs. German Vienna malt
4 lbs. German Munich malt (dark)
0.5 oz. Magnum hops at :60
1 oz. Perle hops at :20
1 oz. Northern Brewer hops at :10
1 oz. Hallertau hops at :5
1 oz. Tettnang hops at :5
1 oz. Hallertau hops dry hopped for five days
1 oz. Tettnang hops dry hopped for five days
Wyeast 1007: German Ale Yeast
Directions
The day before brewing, prepare a 2L yeast starter. On brew day, mash grains at 154˚F for 60 minutes. Sparge and lauter to collect about 6.5 gallons of wort in the brew kettle. Boil for one hour, adding hops according to schedule above. Chill wort and transfer to a clean, sanitized fermenting bucket. Ferment at 66˚F for about a week, then transfer to a secondary fermenter. Dry hop for five days, then bottle or keg.

German IPA Beer Recipe – Partial Mash
(5-gallon batch)

Specs
OG: 1.064
FG: 1.016
ABV: 6.3%
IBUs: 64
SRM: 11
Ingredients
2 lbs. German Vienna malt
2.5 lb. German Munich malt (dark)
6.6 lbs. Munich LME
1.65 oz. Magnum hops at :60
1 oz. Perle hops at :20
1 oz. Northern Brewer hops at :10
1 oz. Hallertau hops at :5
1 oz. Tettnang hops at :5
1 oz. Hallertau hops dry hopped for five days
1 oz. Tettnang hops dry hopped for five days
Wyeast 1007: German Ale Yeast
Directions
The day before brewing, prepare a 2L yeast starter. On brew day, do a “mini-mash” of the Vienna and Munich malts in 6.75 qts. of clean water. Hold at 154˚F for 60 minutes, then strain wort into the brew kettle. Add the malt extracts and enough water to make 3 gallons. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops according to schedule above. Chill wort and transfer to a clean, sanitized fermenting bucket, adding enough clean, chlorine-free water to make 5.5 gallons. Ferment at 66˚F for about a week, then transfer to a secondary fermenter. Dry hop for five days, then bottle or keg.

Have you ever brewed a “German” IPA before? What was your beer recipe like?
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David Ackley is a beer writer, homebrewer, and self-described “craft beer crusader.” He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder of the Local Beer Blog.