What do you think of this IPA recipe?

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urg8rb8

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I found this recipe:

.5# Carapils
.5# 60L Crystal
.5# Honey Malt
1# DME Wheat Bavarian
5# LME Golden Light
2# Corn Sugar

1.5oz Magnum @60min
1oz Centennial @20min
1oz Centennial @10min
2oz Cascade @0min

Any thoughts about it?
 
Maybe add a dryhop addition.

Thats alot of dextrose to add, but I guess its balanced by the 1.5 lbs of carapils/crystal/honey. Not sure if I like those in a recipe which contains 5 lbs of golden light LME. God knows what specialty grains were used to make that LME.

I might go with straight pale or light LME instead.
 
joyceman said:
Maybe add a dryhop addition.

Thats alot of dextrose to add, but I guess its balanced by the 1.5 lbs of carapils/crystal/honey. Not sure if I like those in a recipe which contains 5 lbs of golden light LME. God knows what specialty grains were used to make that LME.

I might go with straight pale or light LME instead.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your input. I'm trying to imagine how bitter this recipe will be. The OG for 5 gallons should be around 1.069.
 
Pretty bitter, without plugging it into software, Id bet around 90-100 IBUs dependin on the AAs of your hops.
 
I wouldn't bother with the 20-0 minute hop additions. Just throw 'em in at flameout or whirlpool at 175*.
 
I like doing the 20-0 hop additions plus a hop stand. If I were you, I would make my hop schedule like this:

0.5 oz Magnum 60 min
2 oz Centennial 20 min
2 oz Centennial 10 min
2 oz Cascade Flameout
Cool to 180°F
2 oz Cascade for 30 min

Then I would dry hop with 2 oz centennial and 2 oz cascade for about 5 days after fermentation completes.

As far as the grain bill goes, I would do either the honey or the caramel, not both. You could actually leave them out and it would still turn out really good and be much more hop forward. And actually, since you are using that LME, I would probably just leave them out all together.
 
WayFrae said:
I like doing the 20-0 hop additions plus a hop stand. If I were you, I would make my hop schedule like this:

0.5 oz Magnum 60 min
2 oz Centennial 20 min
2 oz Centennial 10 min
2 oz Cascade Flameout
Cool to 180°F
2 oz Cascade for 30 min

Then I would dry hop with 2 oz centennial and 2 oz cascade for about 5 days after fermentation completes.

As far as the grain bill goes, I would do either the honey or the caramel, not both. You could actually leave them out and it would still turn out really good and be much more hop forward. And actually, since you are using that LME, I would probably just leave them out all together.
Click to expand...

Do you think it would be too sweet with the original grain bill?
 
joyceman said:
Pretty bitter, without plugging it into software, Id bet around 90-100 IBUs dependin on the AAs of your hops.
Click to expand...

hmmm... I'm wondering if I could tone the bitterness down a bit (but I guess it also depends on the size of my boil too). Maybe start the Magnum a little later into the boil? Honestly, I don't mind bitter as long as it is balanced with sweetness. I'm just having a hard time imagining what this recipe would taste like.

How do you think the flavor would change if I introduce oak? What about oak soaked in bourbon?
 
urg8rb8 said:
Do you think it would be too sweet with the original grain bill?
Click to expand...

Yes, I do think it would be too sweet but that is my personal preference. I love hops flavor and bitterness. I brew a double IPA with no crystal malt. Just 95% 2 row and 5% white wheat malt. In an IPA I prefer to let the hops shine without muddling up the flavor. I think an IPA should be showcasing the hops so I personally would not add oak.
 
I would also suggest against oak.. its not really a flavor that marries well with a hop bomb IMO. I agree that WayFrae's recipe looks a bit better. It all depends on what you're going for... if you want a really hoppy IPA (in aroma and flavor, with a bracing bitterness) like you might get at a local brewpub, you really do need to go crazy on the flameout and dry hop additions. I usually use 3-4 ounces at flameout (hop steep actually, I drop temp to 180, then add my flameout hops, let steep for 20 minutes) and 3-4 ounces for the dry hop. I usually shoot for around 80 ibu's. Also, you don't have to guess how bitter it will be, use brewing software to design your recipes, it makes it SO much easier, and you can see how your ibu's will change if you alter hop amounts or times. I use Brewtarget, its free and it works really well.
 
tooldudetool said:
I would also suggest against oak.. its not really a flavor that marries well with a hop bomb IMO. I agree that WayFrae's recipe looks a bit better. It all depends on what you're going for... if you want a really hoppy IPA (in aroma and flavor, with a bracing bitterness) like you might get at a local brewpub, you really do need to go crazy on the flameout and dry hop additions. I usually use 3-4 ounces at flameout (hop steep actually, I drop temp to 180, then add my flameout hops, let steep for 20 minutes) and 3-4 ounces for the dry hop. I usually shoot for around 80 ibu's. Also, you don't have to guess how bitter it will be, use brewing software to design your recipes, it makes it SO much easier, and you can see how your ibu's will change if you alter hop amounts or times. I use Brewtarget, its free and it works really well.
Click to expand...

Do you think all the sweetness in the recipe will balance out the bitterness? I don't want a hop bomb without some sweetness to it. What kind of IPA would go well with the oak?

Thanks for the Brewtarget suggestion. I'll definitely check it out!
 
WayFrae said:
Yes, I do think it would be too sweet but that is my personal preference. I love hops flavor and bitterness. I brew a double IPA with no crystal malt. Just 95% 2 row and 5% white wheat malt. In an IPA I prefer to let the hops shine without muddling up the flavor. I think an IPA should be showcasing the hops so I personally would not add oak.
Click to expand...

Have you ever had a Swamp Ape IPA? Hoppy beer with a side of sweetness.
 
WayFrae said:
I have not had one, but I generally am disappointed when there is sweetness in an IPA.
Click to expand...

To me it depends on the hops. With centennial and cascade, I'd definitely want the backbone to be dryer, but I have a sweeter grain bill I like to use for more tropical or fruitier hops. The little bit of sweetness gives it more of a true fruit flavor, whereas some hops like Mosaic can be too earthy for my tastes without sweetness added.
 
grittanomyces said:
To me it depends on the hops. With centennial and cascade, I'd definitely want the backbone to be dryer, but I have a sweeter grain bill I like to use for more tropical or fruitier hops. The little bit of sweetness gives it more of a true fruit flavor, whereas some hops like Mosaic can be too earthy for my tastes without sweetness added.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I am not always disappointed. In my all citra ryePA I add a little crystal 60, but generally I don't prefer a sweet IPA.
 
urg8rb8 said:
Do you think all the sweetness in the recipe will balance out the bitterness? I don't want a hop bomb without some sweetness to it. What kind of IPA would go well with the oak?

Thanks for the Brewtarget suggestion. I'll definitely check it out!
Click to expand...

If you really want to oak an IPA, I would brew an English style IPA rather than american. They tend to use more earthy and floral hops (fuggles, goldings), which go better with the woody flavors IMO. You could always just rack a gallon into a separate container and oak age that, that way you don't potentially end up with 5 gallons of not so good beer.
If you like the sweetness, then yeah 8-12 oz of crystal malt should leave you with some residual sweetness.

Also, "Hoppy" can mean different things to different people. To me it doesn't refer to how bitter it is, as much as how much hop character (flavor, aroma) it has. You could have a 100 IBU IPA with only a bittering addition and no late additions, and while it would be very bitter, I wouldn't call it "hoppy"..
 

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