First recipe. How does it sound?

6 lb light lme
6 lb amber lme

Steeping grains
2 lb crystal 10 L

4 oz chinook 11.6 % 90 min

1 oz cascade 6.2 % 60 min
.5 oz cascade 6.2 % 30 min
.5 oz cascade 6.2 % 5 min

3 gal boil.

2 packs safale 05

My biggest concerns are hop utilization with such a high amount of extract in the boil hence the 90 min boil time and 3 gal boil. And I'm not sure if 2 lb of steeping grains is enough to impart body and flavor with the amount of Extract I'm using. Any thoughts would be very much appreciated!

What are you trying to achieve? This looks way overboard but I can't fully say without knowing what recipe you are brewing. 12lbs of extract seems like a really high ABV and the hops, holy crap that is a lot! Anyhow, post what you are attempting to make and we'll all go from there.


Rev.

I guess an Imperial ipa. I would like it to be hoppy and strong. Shooting for around 100 ibu and 9 % abv. But I really have know idea what I'm about to create!

climbdoof said:

6 lb light lme
6 lb amber lme

Steeping grains
2 lb crystal 10 L

4 oz chinook 11.6 % 90 min

1 oz cascade 6.2 % 60 min
.5 oz cascade 6.2 % 30 min
.5 oz cascade 6.2 % 5 min

3 gal boil.

2 packs safale 05

My biggest concerns are hop utilization with such a high amount of extract in the boil hence the 90 min boil time and 3 gal boil. And I'm not sure if 2 lb of steeping grains is enough to impart body and flavor with the amount of Extract I'm using. Any thoughts would be very much appreciated!

Click to expand...

This is a 5 gallon batch, yes?

Why not keep the sugar contributions simple. 12# light malt and steep C-60 instead? Also, 2# of crystal seems high, especially if it's a 5 gallon batch.

Looking at the hop adds, you're going to have a bitter beer with little flavor or aroma. Move some of the Chinook and all of the Cascades to 15 min or fewer. If you want to accentuate bitterness, you could add a t of gypsum to the boil.

Also planning on 2 weeks in primary, 2 weeks in secondary and 3 weeks in the bottle

Def don't want barley wine! And I will change the hops around like you suggested. Already bought the crystal. and lme so I've got to stick with those. Though I don't need to use all of it.

climbdoof said:

I guess an Imperial ipa. I would like it to be hoppy and strong. Shooting for around 100 ibu and 9 % abv. But I really have know idea what I'm about to create!

Click to expand...

WAY too much crystal (and probably extract) for an IIPA. Amber extract has crystal malt in it, too, so two pounds of crystal plus whatever is in the extract is more than twice what you need.

I'd also cut some of the extract and replace it with corn sugar.

I would definitely NOT boil 90 minutes! You'll carmelize and thicken the extract. I'd go with a 60 minute boil for proper hops utilization, add use only 3 pounds of extract in the boil if it's a 3 gallon boil.

I'd definitely cut down on the bittering hops. 4 ounces of chinook is more than excessive, and there isn't any need for it.

For an IPA and/or an IIPA, you need way more late hops. A hopping schedule like this:

1.5 ounces chinook (60 minutes) to get you to 50-70 IBUs (depending on the OG)
1 ounce chinook or cascade 15 minutes
1 ounce chinook or cascade 10 minutes
1 ounce chinook or cascade 5 minutes
1 ounce chinook or cascade 0 minutes

Dryhop 2 ounces chinook or cascade

For the malt, I'd suggest using DME rather than LME as you can buy "extra light" which I really like.

10 pounds DME
1 pound corn sugar
.5 pound crystal malt (any- I like 40L)

I don't have a brewing calculator on this notebook, but I'd run this through some software. For an IIPA, I'd target an OG of 1.080 with 80+ IBUs, 60 of which come from the bittering hops. For an IPA, I'd target an OG of 1.0
60 with IBUs of 60-65 total, 45 of which would come from the bittering hops.

climbdoof said:

Def don't want barley wine! And I will change the hops around like you suggested. Already bought the crystal. and lme so I've got to stick with those. Though I don't need to use all of it.

Click to expand...

Well, if you're stuck with it then at least cut the crystal to .5-.75 pound instead of two pounds!

Holy cow thanks guys I'm glad I didn't just go ahead with this! Keep em coming I'm like a sponge

climbdoof said:

Holy cow thanks guys I'm glad I didn't just go ahead with this! Keep em coming I'm like a sponge

Click to expand...

Ok, then, you asked for it!

I mentioned starting with just three pounds of extract at the beginning. I'd add the rest of the extract at flame out, as to not screw up the hopping schedule. You can add it with 15 minutes left in the boil, though, before the flavor hops start. It'll stop the boil briefly, but you can start timing again once it comes to a boil. Since it's a LOT of extract (what? 9 more pounds?) adding it at the end makes more sense to me, as it'll take up a LOT of room in your pot! As a general rule, the more volume you can boil, the better the beer. A 4 gallon boil is preferable to a 1.5 gallon boil, for example. If you can boil 3 gallons and no more, then I'd definitely add the majority of the extract at the end of the boil.

Yooper said:

WAY too much crystal (and probably extract) for an IIPA. Amber extract has crystal malt in it, too, so two pounds of crystal plus whatever is in the extract is more than twice what you need.

I'd also cut some of the extract and replace it with corn sugar.

I would definitely NOT boil 90 minutes! You'll carmelize and thicken the extract. I'd go with a 60 minute boil for proper hops utilization, add use only 3 pounds of extract in the boil if it's a 3 gallon boil.

I'd definitely cut down on the bittering hops. 4 ounces of chinook is more than excessive, and there isn't any need for it.

For an IPA and/or an IIPA, you need way more late hops. A hopping schedule like this:

1.5 ounces chinook (60 minutes) to get you to 50-70 IBUs (depending on the OG)
1 ounce chinook or cascade 15 minutes
1 ounce chinook or cascade 10 minutes
1 ounce chinook or cascade 5 minutes
1 ounce chinook or cascade 0 minutes

Dryhop 2 ounces chinook or cascade

For the malt, I'd suggest using DME rather than LME as you can buy "extra light" which I really like.

10 pounds DME
1 pound corn sugar
.5 pound crystal malt (any- I like 40L)

I don't have a brewing calculator on this notebook, but I'd run this through some software. For an IIPA, I'd target an OG of 1.080 with 80+ IBUs, 60 of which come from the bittering hops. For an IPA, I'd target an OG of 1.0
60 with IBUs of 60-65 total, 45 of which would come from the bittering hops.

Click to expand...

All my hops are pellets does that change you're recommended boil schedule?

climbdoof said:

All my hops are pellets does that change you're recommended boil schedule?

Click to expand...

No. The only changes I'd make would be based on your OG. If you're using 12 pounds of extract in a 5 gallon batch, you can expect an OG of 1.092 or so. That's pretty high, so I'd make sure to have enough bittering hops (70 IBUs here would be good) to balance the malt sweetness.