Looking for some advice

Hey im new to all this and was looking for some advice on if my recipe sounds reasonable, and or what ways i can tweak it to produce something i can at least drink if im way off mark.

Im hoping to make what Id like to think would be a abv Brown Ale. Im only making a 5 gallon batch for the first go. Using a mix of 4lb Carastan malt, 4 lb golden promise, 1 lb chocolate, and 1 lb dingemans special b for my mash using about 3.25 gal of water.

Then continuosly hopping after the hot break for 90 min with a blend of northern brewer hops, us goldings , and brewers gold. With irish moss, candi sugar, and sugar additions.

Debating whether to use wyeast 1272 slap pack and make a starter or safale us 05 dry yeast. What are the pros and cons with each?

Also considering transferring into 2ndary with fruits or spices?

im not sure what to look for when i take my gravity readings other than what they are.

*ANY ADVICE IS APPRECIATED!!!***

By my calculations you should be at about 1.044 SG (about 4.5%ABV) which is perfect for a northern English brown. Your color will be way dark (don't know if you care).

The big question is the hops: I don't know what you mean by continuous hopping, but a brown ale is about 20 to 30 IBUs. One oz of EK Golding at 60 and one at 30 should do ya. I would avoid the US hops as this is an English beer.

Same goes for yeast: 1272 and US-05 are American strains. Consider using 1968 or US-04 (or, if you want slightly sweeter 1728) Starters are always better, if you have the equipment for it. But re-hydrated dry yeast will do a fine job.

Brown ales are generally not made with fruit or spices, and considering that they are well, brown, they don't really benefit from the clarifying effects of secondary fermentation (not that you'd see, anyway), so I would skip that. Just give it enough time in primary for fermentation to finish and yeast to sink.

Hope this helps.

Well the good thing is i wasnt told this was ridiculous...

So im a little confused, I got the basics for the recipe from the Extreme Brewing book and it said the beer should finish around 9 ABV. The recipe also called for extract but i just made my own grain bill instead, could that be why your calc gave you 4.5?
Continuous hopping- adding equal amounts of hops to the boil every 5 mins throughout my 90 min boil. I also didnt pick my yeast strain to fit the norm needed for a brown ale, instead i picked the ones i thought might give the right blend of flavors for taste i have in mind.
And I was only considering moving to the 2ndary so i can add some raisin, cinnamon, and vanilla beans. With all that being sai, how can i make sure i get a ABV around 10 as thats key to my idea here. Thanx for the tips

His calculations don't include your sugar additions which will be nearly completely fermentable and give you the high ABV your seeking.
The two yeasts you mention are essentially the same. If your not doing a starter then stick to the us05 ( S04 is english ale and a little more estery) because you'll have more soldiers in the battle. If your looking for an ABV of 10%, you'll need 'em.
BTW... What your doing is a little crazy so if your working from a recipie then read it carefully especially the parts about the fermentation... If your fast and loose with temps and maturation times your gonna have a fusal malt liquor bomb. Just my $.02

Well, I don't like brown ales, so I've never brewed one.
A number of things strike me as being rather unusual.

1. 4 lb Carastan malt. That's a very large amount of crystal. I'd cut it down to a maximum of 1 lb, and make up the difference with some extra Golden Promise.
2. Continuous hopping on a brown ale? Doesn't sound like any brown ale I've ever tasted, but perhaps that's one reason I don't like them.
3. 9% ABV? You would need about 4 lbs sugar to raise the ABV to that level. I wouldn't go over 1/2 lb.
4. Fruit or spices? Again, I've never tried them, but it doesn't sound right to me.

-a.

Haha Well I should say I was expecting the idea to sound kinda crazy but my main concern is if it will still be flavorful and drinkable and not have a ridiculous body or feel. The recipe just says to ferment it a fews days down to a grav of 1.040 before making a maple syrup addition to the fermentor and then continuing until everything has slowed (altogether just under 3 weeks), with a target fg of 1.010.

Thats when i was gonna transfer to the 2ndary to age with raisins, vanilla, and cinnamon for a few more weeks. Does that sound unachievable from what im doing?

Also I havent brewed yet so if I can get more Golden Promise to make up more of my grain bill instead of crystal what difference would that make in my beer? Ultimately im looking to create something in the ball park of Palo Santos version of a brown ale...just with a different flavor profile.

Also are the combined 3 oz of hops going to be enough to put me in a 30 ibu range?