Originally Posted by Yooper

That recipe looks pretty "thick" already with the crystal malt and the extract.

I would ditch the one pound of two-row as it's not doing anything in there and just steep the crystal. You'd have to do a mash with the two-row and change your volume and so on. I'd just leave out the two-row.

I'm sure you know this, but you don't boil Irish moss for 60 minutes. It goes in with about 15 minutes left in the boil.

I'd change the hopping a bit. I like more hops additions for a hoppy beer. I'd do somethiing more like this;

1.5 oz Magnum hops 60 minutes
1 oz centennial 15 minutes
1 oz centennial 10 minutes
1 oz centennial 5 minutes
1 oz centennial 0 minutes
Dryhop with centennial

I would NOT add anything like maltodextrine to this. It might be pretty thick as is, and you could always add it later if you don't think it's full bodied enough.

Also, consider adding much of the extract near or at the end of the boil. That much extract in 3 gallons of wort will darken and taste like "cooked extract". Add the dry extract at the beginning of the boil, and save the liquid extract to stir in at the end. That will help with hops utilization, and keeping a fresher taste in the finished beer.

Originally Posted by wakeuphicks

Ok, a couple of you mentioned having to do a mash with the 2 row -having just very basic knowledge of what doing a mash entails as Ive never actually done it before, whats the difference between mashing and just steeping the grains? Obviously steeping youre not doing for nearly as long (30 mins or so), so is that just not long enough for the starches to convert to sugars and steeping just gives you some of the flavor from the grains? Is that the difference? And why just the 2 row and not the crystal?
In my last batch I made, which was a magic hat #9 clone,i did the same thing with 1lb, 13oz of 2 row malt and I just steeped it for 30 mins as well, as this recipe calls for and didnt change the volume or anything else. Turned out pretty well IMO, Im just trying to figure out the science behind why you both recommended that.

I think i will spread out the hops addiitons a little more, like you suggested. Seems to me like it will retain a little more of the hop flavor doing it that way as opposed to dumping the majority in at the beginning of the boil.

And yes, I did know about the Irish moss...I dont know why it says to boil for the full 60, typo perhaps.
Thanks!

Originally Posted by Yooper

My Ruination recipe is different than the one in BYO, and I really like more late hop additions. It's a beer that is all about hops flavor and aroma, and I love lots of additions in it.