Will be brewing an IPA tomorrow

Should be an interesting brew. I will be mashing low (148 for 90 min) to get a nice dry finish:

11.5 Gallon Batch
OG 1.081
IBU 87
SRM 8

Grain Bill:
22 Lbs US Pale 2row
10 Lbs UK Marris Otter
.25 lb Crystal 10
.25 lb Crystal 20
.25 lb Crystal 40
.25 lb Crystal 60
.25 lb Crystal 90
.25 lb Crystal 120

Hops:
3oz Magnum 11% 90min
3oz EKG 5% 90min
2oz EKG 5% 30min
2oz US Hallertau 4% 30min
1.5oz EKG 5% 5min
2oz US Hallertau 4% 5min
1oz Cascade 7.6% 5min

The dry hops are still up in the air



Update:
Mash: 10.5 gallons @ 148 (90min)
Mashout: 2 gallons boiling, raising mash to 156
Sparge: 5.5 gallons
Pre-boil gravity: 1.066 for 14.3 gallons.
Original Gravity: 1.075
Volume in Fermenters: 10.75
Pitched two different yeasts: wy1056 and wy3787

Not enough information to judge it properly, but that amount of grain looks like a 10 or more gallon batch or a really big Barley Wine. And if you really mean only .25 oz of each of those crystal, you will have no discernible character from each of them and none even from all of them combined. Guessing you mean .25 lbs.

Looks to me like you're making a complicated beer just to make a complicated beer. I'd simplify it, personally.

oops, ya 11 gallon batch and those are .25 lb

Are you just looking to get rid of some Crystal?

I'm curious as to the motivation behind the spectrum of small amounts of crystal malts. I really doubt anyone is going to notice the difference between 10 and 20 in that recipe.

I had all of them on hand, and Ive been doing a whole lot of very simple recipes lately. So I thought I would bust out a complicated one. It's kind of one of those "hmm, wonder what that would taste like" moments

Is this suppose to be some sort of hybrid IIPA between English and American?

I know you said IPA, but this is going to be a IIPA if you hit those numbers

Since IPAs are a showcase for the hop flavors, it's usually a good idea to keep the specialty grain bill simple so as not to tread all over the hop profile.

Still, I'd drink it.

Its only a pound and a half of crystal, I usually see at least that much in most Ipa recipes. and Ya it will be and IIPA and darker than most. We will see how it comes out

Did you get this kegged and tasted yet? Curious to know how it turned out.

It is going into kegs tonight. Fermented at 66 for like 10 days. Then they were chilled for 3 days on gelatin. Ill let you know how it tastes but the dry hops and carbonation have not come into play at this stage. It will be cask conditioned (keg primed) for probably 2 weeks before i give it the real taste test.

IMO once you use a 120L Crystal all the other crystals become mute...am I wrong? Beuller? Beuller?

Ok here is the report:

WL1056 Attenuated to a final gravity of 1.009 (8.65 ABV)
WL3787 Attenuated to a final gravity of 1.012 (8.25 ABV)

Both taste good, nice dry finish. Obviously lacking the hoppiness that the dry hopping will bring about. As far as the maltiness goes, there really isnt a whole lot, just a mild backbone and maybe a hint of raisin from the 120. This beer is crystal clear after cold crashing with gelatin. I am priming the kegs and will check/tap them in two weeks to see where they are at.

Well, it has been a week since I kegged this and I am drinking it now. It is certainly a bit malty for an IIPA but I wouldn't say it is overpowering or not within style guidelines. It is about as malty as the more malty IPA's ive had (Lagunitas, Santa cruz) but never had an IIPA this malty yet. However, despite the maltiness this beer tastes amazing. It is a bit like Lagunitas "Little sumpin sumpin" with more hops and bitterness.

Anyway, my experiment worked out just fine and it showcases the spectrum of crystal malts with a background of earthy, citrusy and piney hops (as compared to the big hitter IIPA's like pliney)

my girlfriend (who loves IPA and PA, but not a fan of malty beer) said this beer tastes great. She said she can taste the malt but that it is not too much. She also couldn't believe that this beer is 8.5%. Her recommendation for another batch was to tone down the darker malts, but just slightly. I think it is an awesome maltiness though.

homebrewer_99 said:

IMO once you use a 120L Crystal all the other crystals become mute...am I wrong? Beuller? Beuller?

Click to expand...

Wrong, but you do have to be careful with it. I do like to mix crystals, not with a IPA though.