Madtown Brew
Well-Known Member
Been doing some recipe browsing in preparation for my next IPA. I consider myself a hop head, but I'm not a fan of overly bitter brew. I prefer a strong hop flavor and aroma, along with some bitterness that is quickly mellowed by the underlying malt character - I guess you could call it a malty IPA.
So my question is: how much bitterness is too much?
The IBU range for IPA recipes goes all over the place from low 40's all the way to 70's and above. I guess the real problem is that I don't have any point of reference as my first IPA hasn't finished conditioning and I don't ever know what the IBU of my favorite commercial IPA's is.
For reference here is my current recipe plan:
CACA IPA
partial mash
final volume: 5 gallons
OG: 1.063
desired FG: ??? maltyness is definitely wanted so... 1.014+ ?
grains:
3# American pale 2 row
1/2# dark munich
1/2# crystal 50-60L
5.5# light LME
5 quart mash @ 153 F
sparge w/ 6-7 qts and top off kettle to get to desired volume
Boil vol. 3.25 gal
0.5 oz Columbus pellets (13.8%) 60 min
0.5 oz Columbus pellets (13,8%) 45 min
0.5 oz Amarillo pellets (8.9%) 30 min
0.5 oz Amarillo pellets (8.9%) 15 min
1 oz Cascade leaf(7.8%) 5 min
1 oz Amarillo pellets (8.9%) dry hop
wyeast 1056 Am. ale - 1L starter
This link - http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator - gives IBU = 56 with the given info. But, I'm considering doing a late extract addition and I know that could raise the IBU's significantly.
So, what are your thoughts, opinions, meandering tales of tongue timidry? How much is too much?
(should this thread be in recipes/ingredients instead?)
So my question is: how much bitterness is too much?
The IBU range for IPA recipes goes all over the place from low 40's all the way to 70's and above. I guess the real problem is that I don't have any point of reference as my first IPA hasn't finished conditioning and I don't ever know what the IBU of my favorite commercial IPA's is.
For reference here is my current recipe plan:
CACA IPA
partial mash
final volume: 5 gallons
OG: 1.063
desired FG: ??? maltyness is definitely wanted so... 1.014+ ?
grains:
3# American pale 2 row
1/2# dark munich
1/2# crystal 50-60L
5.5# light LME
5 quart mash @ 153 F
sparge w/ 6-7 qts and top off kettle to get to desired volume
Boil vol. 3.25 gal
0.5 oz Columbus pellets (13.8%) 60 min
0.5 oz Columbus pellets (13,8%) 45 min
0.5 oz Amarillo pellets (8.9%) 30 min
0.5 oz Amarillo pellets (8.9%) 15 min
1 oz Cascade leaf(7.8%) 5 min
1 oz Amarillo pellets (8.9%) dry hop
wyeast 1056 Am. ale - 1L starter
This link - http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator - gives IBU = 56 with the given info. But, I'm considering doing a late extract addition and I know that could raise the IBU's significantly.
So, what are your thoughts, opinions, meandering tales of tongue timidry? How much is too much?
(should this thread be in recipes/ingredients instead?)