Brooklyn Brew Shop – Elvis Juice IPA Review
There are few things more satisfying than homebrewing, and if it hooks you, the excitement grows and grows till your house is full of more tubes and glassware than a chemistry laboratory. But if you’re new to the game, or still not sure if you like it enough to turn your home into a lab, the best option is a kit—such as Elvis Juice IPA from Brooklyn Brew Shop.
A kit is where we started years ago (Brooklyn Brew Shop, in fact), and we like to return to them to try new recipes for inspiration and, I cannot lie, because they are easy. And Elvis Juice from Brewdog out of Scotland is a famous brew they’re not shy about giving the recipe out for. We’ve recently tried it from Pinter and really enjoyed it. Now, we’re curious how it stacks up in a homebrew version.
This recipe comes with 30.5 oz. of malt, Citra, Amarillo, and Simcoe hops (⅓ oz. each), and yeast. You’ll have to provide your own sanitizer and priming sugar (Brooklyn Brew Shop suggests honey) if you just bought the recipe, but sanitizer will usually come with the first starter kit. For the Elvis Juice recipe you’ll also need the juice of a whole grapefruit, and they’re ripe in Texas right now so the timing is perfect.
If you care to read the process of brewing this beer, go to Brooklyn Brew Shop’s website. I’ll spare you all the gritty details and get on with the final product, of which we used corn sugar (0.82 oz.) over honey to prime our beer, which is supposed to come out at about 6.5% ABV.
First Impressions:
On the Eyes--Light golden, slightly hazy, and topped with a cream-colored and tight-pored head that diminishes quickly.
On the Nose--Slightly sweet, but mostly grapefruit citrus and more than a touch of pepper.
On the Palate--Medium-bodied, citrusy, dry finish, but really it’s a whole lot of pith and pepper. I was concerned about adding so much Simcoe and Amarillo at thirty minutes into the boil. That can sometimes pull the peppery notes out of the Simcoe, known for offering that flavor and aroma, which we also used in a dry-hopped dose. I also believe the fresh grapefruit juice was added too early. The juice was wonderful, sweet and fresh, but I got none of that in the final product. With some experience brewing with citrus, I know the later it is added the better, even sometimes right before bottling if you’re sure of the sugar content. Heat turns citrus bitter, so at least wait until the wort has cooled before adding the citrus.
But, of course, this is a kit, and the recipe is not really made to be tampered with. You may have better luck, but it was too peppery and pithy for us and lacked the fresh grapefruit quality we love (especially Mrs. Brew) in grapefruit specific beers. That being said, Brooklyn Brew Shop is a great company that has been easy to work with in the past. They were amazingly helpful when we started out and they do have some products I’ve really enjoyed.
A note on the Pinter:
The Elvis Juice IPA from Pinter is wonderful. It’s fresh and tastes very much of grapefruit. It’s also easy to brew, but takes up a lot of space. Its one downfall is that it is not homebrewing in the traditional sense, and of course the Brooklyn Brew Shop version beats it outright in that respect.
But if you’re like us, and you have the equipment, don’t be afraid to experiment. That’s what it’s all about.
Cheers!
Mr. Brew
If you’d like to try another Brooklyn Brew Shop recipe, I know we enjoyed the Everyday IPA as well as the Afternoon Wheat. And if you’re curious about Pinter, check out our review and brewing results of the system!