Help me modify hops in best bitter recipe please

I would like to make MoreBeer's Best Bitter recipe but it calls for 5 oz of hops. Is it possible to reduce it to 2-3 oz without falling out of style or losing too much of the original recipe's character? Here's the recipe:

6.0 lbs pilsner LME
0.5 lbs light DME
0.5 lbs carastan malt
1.0 oz kent goldings (60 min.)
2.0 oz kent goldings (5 min.)
2.0 oz kent goldings (2 min.)

Changing the hops to 1.5 @ 60 min. and 1.0 @ 2 min. gives me almost the exact same IBU number (22.9 vs 22.6 with the original recipe) but I suspect I'd still lose something. Any advice or recommendations for a newbie would be greatly appreciated.

From Brewing Classic Styles, by Zainasheff and Palmer (classic good book, and great recipes, by the way), the hop schedule for Zainasheff's Special/Best/Premium Bitter is:

1.2 oz EK Goldings (5% AA) at 60 min
0.5 oz EK Goldings (5% AA) at 20 min
0.5 oz EK Goldings (5% AA) at 1 min

For a total of 30 IBUs. You could bump your late additions up a bit to use up all your hops without affecting the character too much. His estimated OG is 1.047 by the way, probably similar to the one you're going to brew. (Balance with the OG and the IBUs is important).

I would extend the boil to 90 minutes.

90
.75 oz EKG

20
1.0 oz EKG

5

1.25 oz EKG ( I would let the kettle steep for 10-15 minutes before chilling to extract additional aroma)

IBU is only one factor in using hops. Early additions bitter the beer and are estimated by IBU. In the commercial settings they are often tested for IBU as well. Later additions, generally after 20 minutes are not exposed to the boiling temps as long so they do not contribute as much bitterness. More importantly, the oils that create aroma and flavor have less time to be driven away and those late additions therefore contribute more flavor. Dry hops, added after fermentation has occured, contribute major aroma and some flavor too.

Boiling hops for 90 min vs. 60 min. will not yield any substantial increase in additional bittering (IBUs), but it will increase the amount of propane you use.

Guys, thanks so much for your input. This is very helpful.

And I'm crossing my fingers that Santa brings me a copy of Brewing Classic Styles. It's in my Amazon wish list.

Frodo said:

Boiling hops for 90 min vs. 60 min. will not yield any substantial increase in additional bittering (IBUs), but it will increase the amount of propane you use.

Click to expand...

Good point. My calculator only gave it one extra IBU from the extra time.