California double IPA: looking for input..?

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oddHopMill

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Hi! I'm somewhat new to creating my own recipes and was just looking for any suggestions.

All the Best!

9.0 lb Pale Ale Malt
0.12 lb Munich Malt
2.0 lb Crystal Malt 30L
1.0 lb Liquid Wheat extract
YEAST: White Labs WLP051 California Ale V

BOIL TIME: 60 min
1.0 oz Chinook - mash
1.0 oz Chinook - 60 min
1.0 oz Cascade - 45 min
1.0 oz Cascade - 30 min
1.0 oz Cascade - 15 min
2.0 oz Willamette - 5 min

1.0 oz Chinook - dry - primary fermenter
0.5 oz Cascade - dry - primary fermenter
1.0 oz Willamette - dry - secondary fermenter
 
I think the crystal may be a little high. Especially since you'll get some body from the wheat extract. Also, what's with the 2oz of Munich malt? It's not like in an Irish Red recipe when 4oz of roast barley goes a long way. If you want some munich flavor, use at least a half pound.

Also, I don't see much uses for 45 min hop additions. You're getting almost the same amount of bitterness as a 60min addition, but less flavor and aroma than a 30 min. I'd rather see a little more late hop additions... maybe a flame-out?

But sounds like it could be tasty!
 
Perfect, thank you! Considering what you said. I think I might ditch the Munich altogether, and instead add 8oz of Belgian aromatic...?

Also, do you think i've overdone it with too many different kinds of hops? I was thinking about just sticking to the Chinook and Cascades but decided to add some Willamette I have laying around.
 
That seems to be a lot of crystal to me and I would move the 45min hop addition to 10 mins. Just my 2cent
 
I love adding a touch of aromatic malt to beers like this for a little toast. It will do more for the flavor than a small amount of munich.

As for the different types of hops, there's nothing wrong with mixing hops so long as they're complimentary. And I say use whatever you have/need for the bittering hops, and then focus on the late hops. Personally I don't feel like Cascade and Willamette are the BEST, but that's not to say it couldn't work. I like to settle on 2 or 3 hops to use in a beer, and then blend them evenly for all additions. Just average out the AA% between them. Or if you're still learning what hops you like, go for a single hop to really get a sense of its flavor.

Lastly, I meant to comment before about your proposed mash hops. I feel like this is kinda a waste of hops. I've read what everyone says about first wort hopping and I suppose mash hopping can get some similar benefits, but I ultimately think it's better to add hops in the boil and have a better sense of how much each addition is contributing. I know I'd much rather save 1oz of chinook for another brew's entire bittering addition.
 
Thanks for the Help Guys, here's a revised recipe without the willamette hops

10.0 lb Light Malt extract
8 oz Belgian Aromatic
1.0 lb Crystal Malt 40L
1.0 lb Liquid Wheat extract
YEAST: White Labs WLP051 California Ale V

BOIL TIME: 60 min
2.0 oz Chinook - 60 min
1.0 oz Chinook - 30 min
2.0 oz Cascade - 15 min
1.0 oz Cascade - 5 min
1.0 oz Chinook - 0 min

0.5 oz Cascade - primary fermenter
0.5 oz Chinook - primary fermenter
1.0 oz Cascade - secondary fermenter
 
The grain bill looks a little light to me for a double IPA. Assuming a 5 gal batch size and 75% efficiency, you'd have an OG of about 1.067, which is pretty low for a double. I think most double IPA's are between 1.075 and 1.095. Just my $0.02

I'd also move most of the dry hopping from the primary to the secondary to maximize retention of hop aroma, but that's just me.

Edit:
Now that I see the revised recipe, it looks like that 9lb was supposed to be extract, so nevermind about the grain bill being light.
 
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