Pacman IPA?

So, I haven't brewed in about 6 weeks, and I'm burning to get back up and running. I've got a bunch of big American hops ready to go, and here's what I've got so far:

7 lb XLDME
8oz Crystal (40L)
8oz Vienna
6oz Victory

1.5 oz Columbus (60 min)
.75 oz Cascade (15 min)
.75 oz Amarillo (15 min)
.75 oz Cascade (Dry)
.75 oz Amarillo (Dry)

Promash is telling me 1.071 and 114 IBU.

Here's the kicker - I've got a smack pack of Pacman left in the fridge. I hadn't used it for a pale or IPA, just a couple Shakespere and Dead Guy clones and I'm wondering if anyone has given it a whirl in a big, citrusy American IPA? I can't imagine that it would be a bad idea...? I know it's been sitting awhile, so i'll make a good sized starter to be sure it'll get it done.

Any comments on the recipe are much appreciated. I've never used Amarillo, also hadn't gone with Columbus as the sole bittering hop, so any thoughts on the hop bill are welcome. FYI I also have plenty of Chinook on hand.

As far as the grain, I'm looking for a little bit of subtle nuttiness/biscuit-ish, hence the Victory. Never thrown in Vienna, but saw it in the latest BYO, so there it is.

I know Rogue's I2PA is very tasty. I used it in my last IPA which used Summit hops with a generous dryhop of Cascade and it came out sexy as hell. I'd say use it!



Dan

I used pacman in my dogfish head 60 min. clone. It worked great- but took me down to 1.008 or so, drier than I was expecting! Still probably my best beer ever, and the hops predominate nicely.

Yooper Chick said:

I used pacman in my dogfish head 60 min. clone. It worked great- but took me down to 1.008 or so, drier than I was expecting! Still probably my best beer ever, and the hops predominate nicely.

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Mine was opposite of yours; it stopped at around 1.022 after an OG of 1.071. Missed my FG by a few points. But I'm glad it did because the beer has a wonderful sweetness to it.


Dan

The pacman should be great, if it was always available I'd use it in a lot more brews. I wouldn't worry about the smack pac, I just made a starter with one last weekend and it had no trouble getting going. As far as the hops go, I love Amarillo.

Let us know how it turns out.

Wow, now I'm really getting pumped up about it. The weekend can't come quick enough. So, no comments on the hop bill? I've always been a devote cascade user, I'm hoping it plays nice with the columbus bittering. I've also been told amarillo is similar to cascade, is there any validity to that?