I’ve been interested in brewing a milkshake style IPA for some time, so I decided to give it a shot! The milkshake IPA style usually has fruity hops, milk sugar (lactose), fruit, and vanilla. This beer has been described as a sub-set of hazy NEIPAs, but it oftentimes has more mouthfeel & the hops have to mesh well with the fruit and/or vanilla.

It appears that Omnipollo were the first to put out these kind of beers when they came out with a “smoothie IPA” in 2014. In 2015, Jean Broillet IV of Tired Hands teamed up with Omnipollo to release the first “milkshake IPA”, which has turned into a growing series, including: Rose Panna Cotta Milkshake IPA, Bananas Foster Double Milkshake IPA, Raspberry Green Tea Milkshake IPA, and many more.

Jean Broillet IV didn’t only want to use lactose but, “[gobs of] oats, apple puree, vanilla, and fruit.” Brewing with oats increases viscosity due to the high content of beta-glucans, while the apple puree is used for pectins to create a luscious, thick mouthfeel. The beer is then conditioned on fruit & vanilla beans to round out the flavor profile. These are culinary focused beers and I’ve seen versions without fruit, without vanilla, and even without lactose. They’re more popular now and since they’re in such high demand and are damn tasty, I don’t see them going anywhere soon.

For my iteration (milkshake style), I didn’t use any fruit or apple puree (next time). I fell in love with enigma hops last year when I had Other Half‘s All Enigma Everything and I’ve been hooked (kind of obsessed) since. I wanted to get all that enigma goodness, and I added a vanilla bean after primary fermentation to get some Nilla warmth that I think will pair well with the sweetness from the lactose, and the earthy fruitiness of enigma hops.

For my base I used 60% 2 row and went heavy with the oats at 40% (hell yea). 30% of those oats are Fawcett oat malt (which I’ve never used before). Oat malt is described as, “a unique malt that adds a distinct texture and smoothness to your brews similar to flaked oats.” I’d heard Tired Hands uses Fawcett oat malt in their beers so I was excited to give it a shot!

Enigmanilla

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV 3 gal 60 min ~85(not really) IBUs 5.29 SRM 1.079 1.020 7.79 %

Fermentables Name Amount % American 2-row 6 lbs 60 Fawcett Oat Malt 3 lbs 30 Flaked Oats 1 lb 10

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha % Co2 hop extract 2.5ml 60 min Boil extract 61.6 Enigma 1oz 5 min Boil pellet ~16 Enigma 2.28oz 20 min Whirlpool (150) pellet ~16 Enigma 1.5oz 12 days Dry hop pellet ~16 Enigma 2oz 8 days Dry hop pellet ~16

Other

Name Amount Time Use Form Lactose 2 oz 15 min Boil Non-fermentable sugar Vanilla Bean 1 each 8 days Secondary Spice

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature A38 Juice Imperial Yeast 72-76% 64°F – 74°F

Mash Step Temperature Time Mash 154°F 50 min

Fermentation Step Time Temperature Primary 8 days 65 Secondary (same vessel) 8 days Ambient (~70)

Notes

Brewed: 8/27/18 | OG: 1.074 | FG: 1.015 | Bottled: 9/12/18 | ABV: 7.74%

Minneapolis tap water(4.5 gal): 2g gypsum | 6.1g calcium chloride | campden | yeast nutrient/whirfloc @ 15

Added vanilla bean to primary (split, scraped, & soaked in vodka for 1 week)

8/30- bumped temp to 67.

Tasting notes to follow.