Ginger Beer Specialty Malts

1. Is 1lb of crystal excessive with that much honey malt? I typically would think about half as much, but I'm really hoping for some solid sweetness out of it.
2. Is ~45IBUs reasonable? It was a bit arbitrary, and I wasn't sure whether I should err on the side of less or more. I would like a bit of hop flavor to it, but obviously the highlight should be the ginger, and I suspect the Citra will come through fairly strongly as well.
3. Anyone have any idea how 3711 will taste with it? I wouldn't mind a bit of funkiness in the mix, and I'll have a fresh cake from a saison I've got in primary at the moment. However, I'm somewhat concerned that it'll munch up all the sweetness I'm looking for, given my experience with it.

smagee said:

I'm currently revising my ginger beer recipe to give it a bit more malt backbone to help support its impressive gingeriness. After some brainstorming, I determined that honey malt would complement it nicely, so I'm thinking of something along the following lines:

~10lb base malt
1lb crystal 10l
1lb honey malt
Various hops in the range of 45ish IBUs
1lb of ginger at 15min, 10 min, and secondary
Dry hop with 1-2oz citra
Either Notty or Wyeast 3711

Now, I know it's quite a bit of ginger, hence the two full pounds of sweeteners. My last batch actually used twice as much ginger and is quite refreshing, but a bit dry. So, as for my questions:

1. Is 1lb of crystal excessive with that much honey malt? I typically would think about half as much, but I'm really hoping for some solid sweetness out of it.
2. Is ~45IBUs reasonable? It was a bit arbitrary, and I wasn't sure whether I should err on the side of less or more. I would like a bit of hop flavor to it, but obviously the highlight should be the ginger, and I suspect the Citra will come through fairly strongly as well.
3. Anyone have any idea how 3711 will taste with it? I wouldn't mind a bit of funkiness in the mix, and I'll have a fresh cake from a saison I've got in primary at the moment. However, I'm somewhat concerned that it'll munch up all the sweetness I'm looking for, given my experience with it.

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smagee said:

That supports my suspicions as well; the saison thought was simply because of the cake anyway and I worry that with as much crystal/honey I had, I'd be coming out *too* sweet. Perhaps I'll try notty (or cry havoc, pacman...) the first go-around and modify from there.

Any reason you'd suggest swapping the crystal for more honey? I considered that initially, but thought that it'd end up too honey-esque. I've only used honey malt in a couple brews thus far though, so maybe I'm overestimating its impact.

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