Bell's Two hearted- base malt?

HI everyone-

I was thinking of brewing the Bell's Two Hearted recipe from eschatz. Problem is, I only have Pilsner and Marris otter, but I have no american 2-row at this time. It is a pretty hoppy centennial hopped american IPA. Which would be the best to use? Or should I split it half and half?

Klaus

I'd use the maris otter and mash a bit on the low side. I recwntly made an mo+centennial smash ipa and it is pretty close to a Two Hearted. Used US-05.

Love Two-Hearted!

For my 2cents, "MO". I just kegged 5G of 2 Hearted over the weekend.

THanks guys!

MO will be close. I am fairly sure that Bells uses mostly American 2-Row, but if I were to try and improve the flavor of 2H I might start with MO as a sub.

Definitely use US-05 and a low fermentation temp if using MO. I made with plain 2-row mashed at my usuals IPA temps (150) with US-05 (high attenuator) and it wasn't quite right. Last one was with 1272 yeast(close to Bell's yeast), American two-row, and a bit higher mash temp, and it seems spot on from what I recall of the time I drank Bell's.

Point is, US-05 and a lower mash temp may counteract the maltiness of the MO to a degree. But I doubt it'll be as close as using 2-row and Bell's yeast. Personally, I've made better IPAs than Two-hearted, all with US-05, so I wouldn't worry unless you are trying to get it spot on.

Rich

This is the recipe i'm currently fermenting. i subbed crystal 20L.

Bells Recipe

9.33 lbs 2 row pale
2 lbs Vienna
.5 lbs Crystal 10L
.33 lbs Carapils 6L
.5 oz Centennial 60 min
.5 oz Centennial 45 min
.5 oz Centennial 30 min
.5 oz Centennial 15 min
.33 oz Centennial 0 min
.33 oz Centennial Dry Hop
Wyeast 1272 or White Labs WLP051 if you can't culture their yeast.
mash at 152 for 60 min
75 min boil
ferment at 70
dry hop for 3 days

Did it with Maris Otter today. Tasted good, but it was among the worst brew days in a while. Turned out there were other substitutions made too- my stocks were significantly more depleted than i had imagined. So, not really a Two Hearted clone, anymore, but hopefully a nice IPA, none the less. Thanks for the advice.