IIPA Simple Sugar Suggestion

So I'm running low on my IPA, so i thought for the next batch I'd make a couple changes and bump it up to a IIPA. Here is the tentative recipe:

5 lbs 2-row
4 lbs Vienna
4 lbs Munich
1 lb Crystal 60

2 oz Chinook @ 60
1 oz Hop Blend @ 20
1 oz Hop Blend @ 10
1 oz Hop Blend @ 5
1 oz Hop Blend @ Flame Out
2 oz Hop Blend @ Dry Hop

The hop blend will consist of equal parts of each of the following: cascade, centennial, amarillo, and simcoe.

I'm pretty set on the grain bill and hop schedule (unless anyone sees anything terribly wrong with it), but I had a question about drying it out. I was planning to add about 2 lbs of some sort of sugar but i wasn't sure yet. I was thinking maybe honey or light brown sugar. I was looking for something that might add a little flavor, but I don't want it to be overpowering. Anyone have any suggestions?

Honey is good, or corn sugar or even plain white sugar. I would avoid brown sugar for a IIPA.

I just use plain old table sugar...cheap and easy w/ no flavor contribution.

Saccharomyces said:

Honey is good, or corn sugar or even plain white sugar. I would avoid brown sugar for a IIPA.

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I was leaning towards the honey. I'm assuming if I want any of the flavor and aroma to come through I would need to add it at flame out correct?

Mash low, mash for 90 and use table sugar.

The honey will ferment out almost completely and with all those hops I doubt you will be able to taste much flavor contribution. I would go with table sugar and save the honey for something lighter or mead.

Personally, I think that much Vienna and Munich might be a mistake, I like my IIPAs to have base malt, sugar, and maybe just a touch of crystal (8oz) for color and maybe some wheat malt for head retention.

This will be the first time I've made it as an all grain. Last time i did it as a partial mash IPA with 3 lbs of Vienna, 2 lbs of Munich and a pound of crystal 60 and i was really pleased with the results.

This is only an extra pound of Vienna and I figured I'd up the Munich to make it a little interesting.

My last two IIPA grain bills - can you tell I like MO in my IPAs

14 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 77.78 %
2 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 11.11 %
1 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.56 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 5.56 %
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15 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 77.78 %
2 lbs Munich Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 11.11 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 5.56 %
1 lbs table sugar

Beerrific said:

The honey will ferment out almost completely and with all those hops I doubt you will be able to taste much flavor contribution. I would go with table sugar and save the honey for something lighter or mead.

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Agreed. Honey goes best into low-hopped beers, like honey porters. And yes, most of the residuals in honey are quite acidic and add a certain sour "tang" to the beer (which I happen to like very much)...honey beers are not at all sweet unless there are other sources of unfermentable sweetness in them.

Personally, I think that much Vienna and Munich might be a mistake, I like my IIPAs to have base malt, sugar, and maybe just a touch of crystal (8oz) for color and maybe some wheat malt for head retention.

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Again, I quite agree. I do use some toastier malt for balance, but nowhere near that much.

Updated recipe:

10 lbs 2-row
2 lbs Vienna
2 lbs Munich
1 lb Crystal 60
2lbs dextrose

2 oz Chinook @ 60
1 oz Hop Blend @ 20
1 oz Hop Blend @ 10
1 oz Hop Blend @ 5
1 oz Hop Blend @ Flame Out
2 oz Hop Blend @ Dry Hop

Make Your Own Invert Sugar
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Instructions:

Dissolve 8 lbs of Table Sugar in 2 pints of water with ½ tsp citric acid. Bring it to a boil, stirring for half an hour. Add water to make up to 1 gallon batch. With this recipe, there is approx. 1 lb of sugar in each pint. Use 1-1/4 pints for each lb of Table Sugar called for in a recipe.

Invert Sugar is Table Sugar (Sucrose) that has been split into its components, Glucose and Fructose. With the use of Invert Sugar in wine and beermaking, the glucose is made immediately available for the yeast to use thus allowing the fermentation process to begin more quickly than if you use Table Sugar. With Table Sugar (Sucrose) the yeast will first have to split the Sucrose into Glucose and Fructose before it can use the Glucose in the fermentation process.

using invert sugar reduces the cider flavors some percieve when using table sugar IMHO

or you could just use dextrose and be done with it...