Recipe Help Needed

Ok, so I'm starting to create my own Partial Mash recipes. Before I go ahead and brew any of them, I just want some opinions. I'll post a different recipe in each post. Any help with these recipes would be fantastic. These recipes are created using The Beer Recipator

Walnut Street Wheat
Partial Mash
5 gallons

Color: 4 SRM
Bitterness: 28 IBU
Est. OG: 1.053
Est. FG: 1.010
Efficiency: 70%
Est. SG: 1.089
3 Gallon Boil

2lb Belgian Pale
3lb Wheat Malt
1lb Flaked Wheat
3lb Wheat Extract

1oz Cluster (60min)
1oz Cluster (15min)
1oz Cluster (Flameout)

Sawyer Point IPA
Partial Mash
5 gallons

Color: 9 SRM
Bitterness: 55 IBU
Est. OG: 1.072
Est. FG: 1.012
Efficiency: 70%
Est. SG: 1.120
3 Gallon Boil

6lb American 2-row
8oz. American Crystal 60L
8oz. Dextrine Malt (Cara-Pils)
4lb Light DME

1oz Chinook (60min)
1oz Chinook (30min)
2oz Cascade (15min)
2oz Cluster (Flameout)

Opening Day Amber Ale
Partial Mash
5 gallons

Color: 13 SRM
Bitterness: 39 IBU
Est. OG: 1.049
Est. FG: 1.010
Efficiency: 70%
Est. SG: 1.082
3 gallon boil

3lb American 2-Row
2lb British Amber
8oz American Crystal 60L
3lb Light DME

1oz Centennial (60min)
1oz Liberty (30min)
1oz Centennial (Flameout)

Anyone? Any help?

I'll chime in on your IPA...

A mini mash of 6 lbs of two-row is a lot...any reason why?

Crystal 60 doesn't really belong in an IPA try going for just base malts and a little bit of cara-pils should you feel like it. You really want the hops to stand out in an IPA...crystal inhibits such.

So instead start with something like 80/20 two-row/vienna or in your case of extract dme/vienna. If you prefer darker IPAs try 80/20 dme/munich. Otherwise, it seems like you have the right idea with the light DME. You could possibly incorporate some LME instead of just DME for a late addition.

Now for your hops...you need late additions. The 30 min addition is okay, but not really necessary once you get more late additions. Bittering with chinook should be ok as well. The majority of your hops, in an IPA, should be in the 0-15 min range. What kind of flavor are you going for, if I may ask? I haven't used cluster for aroma but that should be fine if you like the smell of them.

Again just my personal preference.

what yeast do you plan on using?

Dang: Thanks for your input. Not quite sure why I went with 6 lbs or 2-row. I'm new to making recipes and I am kind of trying to nail things down before I brew anything. I definitely want to go with a hoppy flavor. I have always been a hophead and just enjoy that hoppy flavor. I chose the Cluster for aroma because I love the citrusy scent to them. Not quite sure what yeast to go with yet.

As for the grains... I do enjoy a mid-range to darker IPA, but enjoy the hoppy character of an IPA. Should I take out the 2-row altogether or just take out the Crystal 60L? I could reduce the amount of 2-row and keep the Cara-Pils.

Would something like 4lbs Light DME, 4lbs American 2-row and 1 lb Cara-Pils work?

Well there is really no reason to steep 2-row unless you are mashing things that cannot convert themselves. I would start out with something very simple before you start mixing and matching everything. Perhaps something like 5% carapils 10-20% Vienna and the rest dme. That should give you good head retention and a good idea of the flavor Vienna brings.

For your hops, I can't really comment on cluster and it's applicability to using it as your sole hop. So if you like the aroma keep it as aroma and perhaps pick another single variety for bittering and flavor. Just to get a feel for what that variety brings. Centennial, chinook, and cascade are good choices for such. Cluster may also be...I just have not conducted a single hop brew with cluster.

Just a few thoughts to chew on.

I just now noticed you said mid-range to darker IPA so replace Vienna with Munich in the above post.

So I'm curious... is BeerRecipator way off in their calculations? My BeerRecipator recipe came up with 39IBU on one recipe. A friend of mine uses BeerToolsPro and his calculations came up to like 58IBU. Should I stop using BeerRecipator and start using something like BeerSmith or BeerTools?

IBU calculations can be way off depending on what formula they use to calculate it (although that seems like a lot to be off). BeerSmith is pretty much the gold standard, or if you prefer a free option check out BrewTarget. BrewTarget's a free software that is basically a stripped down version. What you really need to do is just pick one way of doing it and stick with that way. Then as you brew more batches you can get an idea of the IBUs from one batch to another and can get a baseline idea of where you want to be.

I don't see anything wrong with mashing 6lbs of 2-row if you've got the room for it. I like to mash as much as I can, but right now that's only about 5lbs. If your mash tun can fit 6-7 lbs (and the water for the mash) go for it! I also agree with leaving the crystal out of your IPA. If it were me and could fit all that grain, I'd mash 5lb of 2-row, 1lb of munich and your carapils (shoot for 150-152 for a mash temp). Also, definitely consider some dry hops for your IPA, I haven't been able to come up with another addition that gives the same level of aromas, especially if you're going for citrusy.

Your other recipes look pretty good. The amber and wheat both might be a little heavy on the later addition hops, but who am I to ever tell anyone to take hops out of their beer .

How large of a mash-tun would you estimate I will need? I currently don't have one. I am still working on nailing down my first recipes so that I can go ahead and brew when I have them ready.

There's a sticky in one of the subforums where BobbyM figured out how much different sized coolers would hold. Something about "this is how big your mash tun needs to be". Check out either the all-grain or equipment forum.

What I do is follow DeathBrewer's partial mash pictorial. It's basically a stove-top BIAB with a paint strainer bag. With the 3 gal pot I use to boil and a second 2 gal pot I can mash 5-6 lb at 1.25 lb/gal and spare once.

Yeah I was planning on following DeathBrewers pictorial anyways. So I think a 2- 5 gallon kettles should work, right?

Oh yeah, you could get pretty close to all-grain with those pots for smaller beers. If you can hold the bag to drain or set up some contraption, you could probably hold 8-10 lbs. Good luck, and let us know how the beers turn out!

Thanks!