My first partial mash IPA recipe

I'm still kind of new to creating decent recipes so if anyone has any critiques for improving on this one, it'd be much appreciated!

OG: 1.059
FG: 1.018
Color: 13.19 SRM
IBU: 57.4
Yeast: Wyeast 1338

3 lb Pale Ale
3 lb Extra Light DME
2 lb 2 Row Caramel 40
1 lb Honey Malt

1 oz Phoenix (60 min)
1 oz Northern Brewer (20 min)
1 oz Whitbread Golding (15 min)
1 oz Kent Goldings (10 min)
.5 oz Fuggles (2 min)


Mash at 150 for 60 mins.

Thanks.

I'm myself new at partial mash recipes, but I'm bottling my first partial mash IPA tomorrow. Do you want a lot of body? You might want to mash at a slightly higher temperature.

(Full disclosure: I'm still trying to figure out how to better control mashing temperature for my own brew)

Unless I'm wrong, I beleive it is:

Lighter body - lower mash temp
Fuller body - higher mash temp

It is. The lower mash temp will produce more fermentable sugars and the higher will produce more unfermentables that will add to the body and FG of the beer.

My PM IPA just finished at 1.020, which is a couple points higher than what I was shooting for, but I did want it to have a nice backbone to complement all the bitterness and hop flavor.

So, to go back to the OP, to get to your desired FG, you might want to mash at somewhere like 153-155. I'm sure other posters can give you better guidance than I can, though.

My problem with that IPA was mashing too high. I think I've figured out how to better control temps for my next one.

A fuller body might do better with all the hops, thanks. I'll shoot for the middle and mash at 154 for 60 mins. Sound about good?

Anyone have any suggestions pertaining to better hops to use?

The hops in this recipe probably won't give you a classic American IPA flavor ... I don't know much about Phoenix, but all the others have a much more earthy taste than most American IPA's have. This one will likely taste much more English. Which is fine, if that's what you want (I love making English-type beers!), but if you want a more American flavor, you'll probably want to go with one of the 3 "C" hops.

Also, I'm not clear on your grain bill. Do you mean 3 lbs of Pale Extract? And are there 2 lbs each of 2-row and Crystal 40 (they're different things)? If so, you definitely don't need that much crystal. 0.5 lbs should get you where you need to go with the crystal.

Oh, yeah I should have said that I am going for a more English IPA style, sorry if I wasn't clear.

As for the grain bill, it's 3 lbs of Pale Ale or 2-Row, grains not extract.

Its only 2 lbs of Crystal 40L, not 2 lbs of each. I must have copy and pasted it wrong.

Ok ... I'd still cut the Crystal down to 0.5 lbs. And I personally (though this is only personal preference) wouldn't mix so many hops - why not choose, say, Fuggles or EKG, make use them for your flavoring and aroma hops and let the character of that individual hop shine?