Ginger IPA Help

Hey there,
I'm sort of new to the brewing scene. I've only just recently bottled my first Home Brew of what I can only describe as a Vanilla Pecan Mocha Latte Oatmeal Stout. With summer coming up, I'm now working on a Ginger Rye IPA. I've been on a ginger kick lately and I'm thinking that the right blend of citrus hops and some rye spice would make an interesting combination.

I'm hoping to get a nice crisp and dry taste with a heavy hops flavor and aroma (with a hint of ginger) but maybe a slightly less than average bitter taste.

The following is what I have so far (due to space I brew in 2 Gallon batches):

Grains
4 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
12.0 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)
12.0 oz Rye Malt (4.7 SRM)

Hops
0.23 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min
0.46 oz Olympic [11.50 %] - Boil 30.0 min
0.23 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 15.0 min
0.23 oz Olympic [11.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min
2.00 oz Ginger Root (Boil 10.0 mins)
0.23 oz Olympic [11.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min

Yeast
1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)

Secondary
2.00 oz Ginger Root (Secondary 7.0 days)
0.40 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Dry Hop (Secondary 7.0 days)

The hops schedule is one I put together from a different recipe, but i changed the hops for more citrus based notes.

My question I guess is am I on the right track here? If somebody has done something similar I'd love some input from people more experienced than I. I'm kicking around the Idea of Citra hops also but i'm not really sure how to go about adding a third hop to my schedule.

Did the mocha overwhelm the latte?

I was pretty cautious with the extras on that recipe (perhaps too cautious) so I wouldn't say any one element is over powering, but I don't think I used enough to make the flavors the forefront of the beer. Its still to early to tell as they were just bottled on Sunday

I used coarse ground coffee and cacao nibs in the mash for the "mocha" flavor. Lactose in the boil for the "latte", and vanilla and pecan extracts in the bottling bucket. The base came from an oatmeal stout recipe that i decided to modify.

I will say through out the boil process the coffee flavor and cacao nibs never got a burnt or off taste. Putting them in the mash was surprisingly good (and last minute) Idea

After looking up some more recipes, I think I have landed on a grain bill. However I still want to add a third hop and am still leaning towards Citra.

This leads to a new question , being, how much is too much? By adding a third, should I scale back what I already have to accommodate, or just add on top of the current selection?

3 lbs 4.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
12.0 oz Rye Malt (4.7 SRM)
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)
4.0 oz Rye, Flaked (2.0 SRM)

0.20 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min
0.40 oz Olympic [11.50 %] - Boil 30.0 min
0.20 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 15.0 min
0.20 oz Olympic [11.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min
2.00 oz Ginger Root (Boil 10.0 mins)
0.20 oz Olympic [11.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min

1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)

2.00 oz Ginger Root (Secondary 7.0 days)
0.40 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days


Thanks for any replies.

Take advantage of your two gallon batch sizes and experiment. Try batches with different combinations using two and three of your choices. I imagine you're buying hops in 1 oz quantities so you'll have some left over from each batch.

How did this turn out?

This actually turned out pretty well. I wound up going with Cascade, Citra, and Apollo. the recipe is:

Ginger Rye PA (2 Gallon)

8.0 oz Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM)
3 lbs 4.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
1 lbs 4.0 oz Rye Malt (4.7 SRM)
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)
4.0 oz Rye, Flaked (2.0 SRM)
0.11 oz Apollo
0.39 oz Cascade
0.28 oz Citra
0.40 Items Whirlfloc Tablet
0.21 oz Cascade
0.21 oz Citra
2.00 oz Ginger Root
0.21 oz Apollo
0.21 oz Cascade
0.11 oz Citra
0.5 pkg Safale American
0.40 tsp Yeast Nutrient
0.21 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days
0.11 oz Apollo [17.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days
0.11 oz Citra [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days
1.50 oz Ginger Root - Dry Hop 7.0 Days

The ginger flavor has mellowed nicely, its not too strong but is defiantly noticeable. My only thoughts on this recipe would be to increase the hops to bring, the flavors are a little on the light side for an IPA. I also might look into trying candied ginger to bring out a bit of the gingers sweeter side.