Recipe Critique: Belgian IPA

So I recently tried Terrapin's Monk's revenge and I was blown away by the depth of flavor and smoothness of the beer. I wanted to recreate something somewhat similar to enjoy at the house. This is what I came up with let me know what you think.

Recipe Type: Extract
Yeast: Wyeast Irish Ale 1214 or 3787 (undecided)
Yeast Starter: yes
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.092
Final Gravity: 1.022
ABV: 9.2%
IBU: 103
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp):7 days @ ~72
Additional Fermentation: N/A
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 7 days @ ~70.

MALT AND GRAINS
7.5lbs. Extra Light LME
1.5lbs Munich LME
1lb Candi Sugar Light
0.5lbs Cane Sugar
1.00lbs flaked wheat
1.00lbs Belgian Special B
1.00lbs CaraVienne
0.5lbs Flake wheat
1.00lbs Crystal 20L

HOPS
1.00oz Chinook @60 min (13%AA)
0.75oz Magnum @60 min (14%AA)
0.25oz Magnum @45 min (14%AA)
1.00oz amarillo @30 min (8%AA)
0.5oz Centennial @20 min (10%AA)
0.5oz Centennial @15 min (10%AA)
1.0oz Columbus @10 min (13%AA)
0.4oz Cascade @20 min (6%AA)
0.5oz Cascade @Dry hop 7days (6%AA)
2.0oz Horizon (simco substitute) @Dry hop 7days (13%AA)

YEAST (very conflicted)
Wyeast 3787 or 1214 (please give me some advise on this one)

Let me know what you think

Thanks
-Ryan

way too much crystal malt. id ditch the C20 and half the other 2.

id move the amarillo to later in the boil, its kinda a waste at 30 (no aroma, limited flavor)

my vote is for 3787, i think its a better choice with hoppy styles. definitely give it longer than a 7 day primary as well. 72F is fine, but definitely don't pitch that high

also, it might be pretty dark colored with that much Special B plus extract, especially if you're not doing a full boil...I might go with an ounce or so of centennial in your grain bag for an extract version of first wort hops (FWH).

I agree moving the amarillo back is a great idea...... Also I want the beer to be a bit on the darker side almost a cross between a belgian strong ale and IPA so I'm ok with the color. Also I like the idea of adding hops to the steeping grain bag. andas far as the yeast is concerned I am definately leaning toward the 3787. Thanks for the advice

why to high on the crystal and why cut back the others to half. I am a huge fan of special B and I want some of flavour to come from the grains as well as the yeast.

cram said:

I might go with an ounce or so of centennial in your grain bag for an extract version of first wort hops (FWH).

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adding it to the grain bag would be mash hopping, not FWH.

NewBrewRW said:

why to high on the crystal and why cut back the others to half. I am a huge fan of special B and I want some of flavour to come from the grains as well as the yeast.

Click to expand...

I love special B as well, but 3lbs of crystal is a lot for any beer, esp one that you want to be hoppy. all that crystal is going to be clashing with the hops and take away from it. personally, id cut the crystal back to no more than 1lb, and you could make up for the loss by using a darker candi sugar for extra flavor.

******Updated (based on recommendations thanks again for your input)

Recipe Type: Extract
Yeast: Wyeast3787
Yeast Starter: yes
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.091
Final Gravity: 1.022
ABV: 9.1%
IBU: 100
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp):14 days @ ~72
Additional Fermentation: N/A
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 7 days @ ~70.

MALT AND GRAINS
8.0lbs. Extra Light LME
1.5lbs Munich LME
0.5lbs Wheat LME
1.0lbs Candi Sugar Dark
0.5lbs table sugar
1.00lbs flaked wheat
1.00lbs Belgian Special B
0.5lbs Crystal 20L

HOPS
1.00oz Chinook @60 min (13%AA)
0.75oz Magnum @60 min (14%AA)
0.25oz Magnum @45 min (14%AA)
0.5oz Centennial @20 min (10%AA)
0.5oz Centennial @15 min (10%AA)
1.00oz amarillo @15 min (8%AA)
1.0oz Columbus @10 min (13%AA)
0.4oz Cascade @20 min (6%AA)
0.5oz Cascade @Dry hop 7days (6%AA)
2.0oz Horizon (simco substitute) @Dry hop 7days (13%AA)

YEAST Wyeast 3787
Let me know what you think



Thanks
-Ryan