Help with 3 gallon biab recipe

kanzimonson said:

I made a vanilla coffee porter (in my recipes tab) and I've had Breckenridge so I think I can give you some feedback.

I think their beer is pretty light, as you say, and doesn't have a lot of body. The vanilla is also pretty mild. So here's what I recommend as a good starting point:

12# American two row
1# Crystal 40
1# English chocolate
.25# English black patent
.25# English roast barley

Mash around 152-154. No need to go higher because of the light drinkability. Hopping will probably need to be in the 30IBU range (despite the 16 they say on their website). Ferment the beer with an American ale yeast, and when fermentation ends, put one split and scraped vanilla bean in the beer. Taste it after 7 days and keep tasting until it tastes about right. It could be as long as 14 days.

That's the best advice I have based on turning my recipe into their beer.

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kanzimonson said:

Just so you know, the grain bill I gave you is for a 6gal batch. You will aim for 6gal at the end of the boil, and rack 5.5 into the fermenter.

And Devilishprune is right about the hops. Another recipe that I had on the brain was messing me up. Just use an entire 1oz of hops at 60 minutes and you'll probably be in the 30-38 IBU range, which is just fine.

I think you're really going to enjoy this recipe. Just keep control of fermentation temps, and take the time to source a real vanilla bean. Look for spice shops or upscale ingredient stores. Even if you have to pay $7 for a vanilla bean, that's a pretty small investment for such an interesting and unique twist on your beer.

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