I'm working on my first CDA recipe - around 8-8.5% ABV - for my next brew, which I hope to do in the next week or so. I'm looking for 5.5-6 gallons into the fermenter, depending on how much is lost to kettle trub.
Grainbill is 7kg 2 row (lowish-potential Chinese grain, if you're running the numbers), .5 kg C60, .25kg each roasted barley and Carafa II, and .5 kg table sugar. It's not set in stone but I feel pretty good about it. I'm trying to get a decent amount of roastiness, as the CDA's/Black IPA's I've really enjoyed have had a nice roasty backbone, while the ones I've had that didn't have that roasty foundation just seemed like unnecessarily dark, mediocre IPAs. Wookey Jack would be the pinnacle, if examples help.
Currently, the hop schedule looks something like this:
FWH - 15g each Columbus & Chinook
45 min - 15g each Columbus & Chinook
30 min - 10g each Columbus, Chinook, Azacca, Ahtanum, & El Dorado
15 min - 15 g each Azacca, Ahtanum, & El Dorado
0 min - double the 15 min addition
I know mid-boil additions are a controversial subject, but I want to try them out for myself. I'm pretty open to everything else. The hop selections are based on what I've got that needs to be used; I've also got surplus Rakau and Calypso.
Questions:
Is 100+ IBU going to be too much for this brew?
Is the fruitiness of the aroma hops going to clash with the roasty backbone?
Should I be using Chinook/Columbus in the later additions to balance out the fruity hops?
Am I going too heavy on the hops (or could I/should I be using even more of my surplus)?
Should I dry hop?
Grainbill is 7kg 2 row (lowish-potential Chinese grain, if you're running the numbers), .5 kg C60, .25kg each roasted barley and Carafa II, and .5 kg table sugar. It's not set in stone but I feel pretty good about it. I'm trying to get a decent amount of roastiness, as the CDA's/Black IPA's I've really enjoyed have had a nice roasty backbone, while the ones I've had that didn't have that roasty foundation just seemed like unnecessarily dark, mediocre IPAs. Wookey Jack would be the pinnacle, if examples help.
Currently, the hop schedule looks something like this:
FWH - 15g each Columbus & Chinook
45 min - 15g each Columbus & Chinook
30 min - 10g each Columbus, Chinook, Azacca, Ahtanum, & El Dorado
15 min - 15 g each Azacca, Ahtanum, & El Dorado
0 min - double the 15 min addition
I know mid-boil additions are a controversial subject, but I want to try them out for myself. I'm pretty open to everything else. The hop selections are based on what I've got that needs to be used; I've also got surplus Rakau and Calypso.
Questions:
Is 100+ IBU going to be too much for this brew?
Is the fruitiness of the aroma hops going to clash with the roasty backbone?
Should I be using Chinook/Columbus in the later additions to balance out the fruity hops?
Am I going too heavy on the hops (or could I/should I be using even more of my surplus)?
Should I dry hop?