Goose Island IPA clone recipe

Goose Island IPA

Adapted from the recipe in Mitch Steele's book "IPA: Brewing Techniques, Recipes and the Evolution of India Pale Ale". The recipe needs interpretation because hops are given as percentage of the total hop bill, and it uses a mix of T90 and T45 pellet hops. Furthermore,

Analytical targets:
OG: 15.5 °P (1.062 SG)
TG: 4.6 °P (1.018 SG)
ADF: 70.3%
IBU: 55
ABV: 5.95%
Color: 10 °L (19.1° EBC). See note below.
Brew length / batch size: 5 US gallons (18.9 L)
Note on color: 10 °L converts to about 12.7 SRM. However, viewing older videos, the real Goose Island IPA poured the same color as modern day (in 2026) Goose Island IPA: about a golden color. The recipe below is estimated by Beersmith at 6.4 SRM, and this seems more closely aligned with the commercial example.

Ingredients:
- Special pale ale malt (~3.9 °L), 100%. Note: Pale *Ale* Malt is a good guess as to the type malt used by Goose Island. an English Pale Ale Malt, or Pale Ale Malts by Rahr, Great Western, or Briess.
- Pilgrim pellet (T90) hops, comprising 16% of the boil hops bill by weight, 60 min
- Styrian Golding (Savinjski) pellet (T90) hops, comprising 60% of the boil hops bill by weight, whirlpool
- Cascade pellet (T45) hops, 24% of the boil hops bill by weight, whirlpool (see note below)
- 1 oz (28.3 g) Centennial (Savinjski) pellet (T90) hops, dry hop on 5th day of fermentation
- 0.25 oz (7 g) Cascade pellet (T45) hops, dry hop on 5th day of fermentation
- Whitbread "Dry" yeast (Wyeast 1098 British Ale and Imperial A01 House = best match, or substitute White Labs WLP007 Dry English Ale). Active dry yeast option: Safale S-04. The book calls for Goose Island's proprietary English Ale yeast, which has a Whitbread "Dry"-like flavor profile.
- Note on hops: the original recipe called for Cascade T45 pellet hops, which are roughly twice as potent as the T90 pellets most available to homebrewers. The original ratio is Pilgrim T90, 16% of the boil hops bill by weight; Styrian Golding (Savinjski) T90, 60% of the boil hops bill by weight; and Cascade T45, 24% of the boil hops bill by weight. The hops are back-calculated to hit the IBU specification and have been converted to weights for convenience, using typical alpha acid content.

Water Profile:
Multiple municipal water profiles in the central Chicago area center around (ppm):
Ca		Mg		Na		Cl		SO4
32-35	12		8-10	15		10-25 (varies by season)

I propose a water profile around:
Ca		Mg		Na		Cl		SO4
50-75	0-12	8-15	50		150
Maintain a 1:3 ratio of Cl:SO4

Mash:
1. Gypsum (calcium sulfate) addition directly to mash to achieve a "Burtonized water". As noted above, calcium chloride or sodium bicarbonate additions may be needed to achieve 50 ppm chloride and 10-15 ppm sodium if using Chicago water.
2. Adjust mash pH with acid to 5.2 pH
3. 25-minute rest at 159° F (71° C). Note: the mash temp is NOT a typo. For comparison, Lagunitas IPA is famously mashed at 160° F (71° C), so Goose Island IPA is not alone in confirming that a high mash temp will lead to rapid, possibly shrt-lived, enzymatic activity.
4. Raise the mash temperature to 170° F (77° C) - the plan is a 60-minute mash, so if the ramp-up time is less than 25 minutes, add the difference to the rest time in step 3
5. 10-minute rest at 170° F (77° C)

Boil:
1. 60 minute boil
2. Pilgrim hops at start of boil
3. Wort pH is adjusted with an acid addition
4. Finings are added in the last 10 minutes of boil. Note: Whirfloc-T, Protafloc, SuperMoss, or Irish moss would be appropriate for homebrewers.
5. After boil, chill to 180° F (82° C)
6. Styrian Golding and Cascade whirlpools go in and hold for 15 minutes
7. Chill rapidly

Fermentation:
1. Chill wort to 62° F (17° C)
2. Oxygenate wort - recommend one minute of wide open pure O2 through a 5-micron aeration stone, or 60 minutes of filtered air using an aquarium air pump.
3. Pitch yeast at ~1.1 million cells/mL/°P.
4. Allow fermentation to rise to 67° F (19° C) over the course of a five-day fermentation. Beer is typically given a
36- to 48-hour diacetyl rest at that temp before cooling.
5. Dry hop on the fifth fermentation day with hops noted in ingredients. Recommend a cool dry hop, consistent with consistent with advice by Scott Janish