Back on the wagon and a BIAB recipe

Hi folks.

I'm new here.
Just getting back into brewing over the past few months after a long break.
To be fair I haven't brewed since high school and what I did brew then was horrendous - probably something to do with both poor sanitisation and desperately trying to maximise the alcohol.

Anyway it's good to be back. I've had a great time and learned a lot from reading your posts.

Well tomorrow is the first crack at a BIAB and I was hoping for some feedback on a recipe.

I'm hoping for a sessionable American style IPA. I already have a hoppy monster in the keg and need something a bit gentler for the second tap.

How does this look for a 5 gal batch size?

8lbs, 13 oz Golden Promise
1lb, 1 oz Crystal malt
1lb, 1oz Munich 1

0.35 oz Cascade @ 60min (the last of my stash)
0.35 oz Columbus @ 60min
0.35 oz Columbus @ 45min
0.35 oz Columbus @ 30 min
0.35 oz Columbus @ 10 min

1 x pkg Safale US 05 yeast

Apologies for the weird measurements - I have converted from metric.

It looks ok on BeerSmith, but I'm wondering though whether the % of specialty malts is too high.

Really appreciate any feedback.

I cant say i've had the pleasure of using columbus, but the grain bill looks good. Saying that,what crystal are you using?

Golden Promise is a hefty base malt to use for an American IPA... very rich, sweet, malty. I would personally cut it with 50% or more American 2-row for something more sessionable.

Other than that, you have 10% Crystal Malt (Lovibond?) and 10% Munich. For increased drinkability, I'd recommend cutting the Crystal to 5% and the Munich to 7% or less.

No reason to bitter with your lower alpha hop. The highest alpha hop you have on hand should always be the first choice for bittering. If you want smooth drinkability without harsh bitterness, bitter to 30-35 IBUs and then don't add anything else until 10 minutes left in the boil. Go with a 60/10/0/DH schedule.

What is your OG? At first glance, it seems you'll need more late hops and dryhops.

You don't have enough late hops. 1oz is more in APA territory. Get some more if you can. At the very least, I'd move your late kettle additions around to 20m and later. A 45 and 30m addition are pretty much just adding bitterness and not much flavor.

I'd move your last three additions to 20, 10 and flameout to maximize flavor and aroma. You'll also need to dry hop with something to make it an IPA. If you have more columbus or cascade that would be fine. I like 2-3 oz for my IPAs.

Thanks very much for all the advice.

I'm using a Bairds crystal malt 90-110 EBC

I will cut that back to 5% and look at something a bit lighter to cut up the Golden Promise.

I don't think I have access to American 2 row in New Zealand. Would some sort of pale malt be a suitable substitute.

Thanks too for all the advice on alphas and late hop additions. I had been kind of making it up as I went along.

37degrees said:

I'm using a Bairds crystal malt 90-110 EBC.

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That equates to about 45-50 Lovibond (L). You're good to go.

37degrees said:

I don't think I have access to American 2 row in New Zealand. Would some sort of pale malt be a suitable substitute?

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Yes, pale malt is good. 2-row pale malt. You don't want to use 6-row.

What's your OG and IBU total? I'd keep the ratio at 1:1 or slightly less and OG 1.060 or less. I like a lighter IPA at 1.06 and about 55 IBUs, myself.

Thanks again!

After a small nightmare tracking down US-05, The Captain and I now only a couple of hours away from laying down the brew.

Based on your advice (and available grain), I've tweaked the recipe:

6lb, 10oz 2 row pilsner
3lb, 5oz Golden Promise
1lb, 2oz Munich
7oz Crystal malt

0.35oz Columbus @60min
0.35oz Columbus @45min
0.7oz Columbus @10min
0.7oz Columbus @ flameout
0.35oz Cascade @ flameout

I'll track down some more Cascade for dryhopping. So do an oz each of Cascade and Columbus.

OG says 1.055 and IBU says 42.4

I believe any recipe using a decent amount of 2-row pilsner malt needs to be boiled for a full 90 minutes to rid DMS compounds. If you want to avoid the extended boil, stick with 2-row pale malt.

Nice save.

I'm not too sure what a DMS compound is, but I'll make sure the Captain doesn't spare the gas and gives it the full 90.