A Recipe Building Challenge

I just bought some homebrew equipment from a guy on Craigslist. He threw in a bunch of odds and ends for free since he wasn't going to be needing them. Of course, I don't know how fresh any of this stuff is but I thought I'd try to use it anyway. Here is what I got (weights are approximate):

Gambrinus ESB Malt 5 lbs
BriessCarapils Dextrin Malt .25 lbs
Briess Chocolate Malt .5 lbs
Briess Light Roast Barley .5 lb
Briess Flaked Barley .25 lb
Briess 40L Crystal 1lb (unopened)

Fuggle .25 oz pellets
Goldings .5 oz whole
Tettnanger .25 oz pellets
Cascade 1 oz whole (unopened)
Liberty 2 oz pellets (unopened)

I would love to try my first BIAB batch. I could buy a few pounds of DME if needed. I prefer clean pales and I love strong hops.

What do you think? Can I put together a decent batch of beer?

I'm off to bed so I'll check in tomorrow. Goodnight!

humulene said:

I love strong hops.

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You're going to need more hops, then. You can probably make a decent 3 gallon batch, but any larger, and more hops and grain are in order.

You're going to need more hops, then. You can probably make a decent 3 gallon batch, but any larger, and more hops and grain are in order.

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I was planning a five gallon batch. What is a typical amount of grain for BIAB? I could purchase additional grains or extract- no problem. I guess I'm just wondering if any of this stuff would go well together.

I was thinking of using the Gambrinus, Crystal and Roasted Barley. I was planning to use all of the hops! I figured I'd use the higher alpha varieties earlier and end with the lower types.

i would buy another 5pounds of 2 row so i would say
5 lbs 2 row
5 lbs esb malt
.5 lbs crystal 40
use the liberty for your boil hops with any times you want
dry hop with the cascades
use us05 and see what happens it should be alright

Thanks for the advice. I figured I'd have to add something to it. Are any of the hops I listed particularly complimentary? Do any of them clash? I think I'll take the advice from brandonhagen1 and add the 2 row but I was thinking I'd add some of the other hops for flavor and aroma (and possibly boil too).