IPA with little or no crystal

[justclancy]

I know many people are fans of making IPAs with little or no crystal malt. I've never made one, but I'm looking to make one with about 2% crystal 60 and 98% MO. My question is, will this make a good beer with a decent malt backbone, or should I look into adding some Munich or Melanoiden malt?
What do the grain bills of your no crystal/little crystal IPAs look like?

Also, with a grain bill like this should I consider keeping the IBUs a little lower than normal? I like a bitter IPA but I'm not looking for something overwhelmingly bitter.

As of now the recipe looks like this.
18 Liters.
Yeast: US-05

Amt Name Type # %/IBU
4.63 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 97.5 %
0.12 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 2 2.5 %


Perle [9.70 %] - Boil 60.0 min 13.5 IBUs
Simcoe [13.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min 11.3 IBUs
Simcoe [13.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min 13.1 IBUs
Centennial [6.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min 4.5 IBUs
Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins) -
Centennial [6.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min 2.9 IBUs
Simcoe [13.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min 3.8 IBUs
Centennial [6.50 %] - Boil 1.0 min 0.9 IBUs(22 g)
Simcoe [13.50 %] - Boil 1.0 min 1.3 IBUs(16 g)

And a couple ounces of dry hops (about 1 oz centennial 1 oz simcoe)

 

[Airborneguy]

I just made an IPA using 2/3 MO and 1/3 Munich. No other malts. It hasn't come up on tap yet, but it tasted great going into the keg and I'm thinking this may be my new base for APA's and IPA's.

 

[SethMasterFlex]

I've made amazing IPA's and dIPA's with little or no crystal (3% or less) and just US 2-row. Occasionally, I will add a little bit of Munich for complexity but never enough to detract from the hop character of the style. Pick a yeast that will let the hop character shine, add a few grams of gypsum to the boil, and you'll have an excellent IPA. Maris Otter has a ton of character on it's own too so no worries there.

Ive never had an issue with balance. I usually keep my BU:GU ratio about 1:1 (or a little over if I'm first wort hopping) with a healthly dose of late addition hops. Hope this helps.

 

[Poobah58]

I just did a killer IPA with 56% 2-row, 40% Vienna and 4% Honey Malt. SG/IBU was 1.2!

 

[justclancy]

I know it's an old thread, but just wanted to update and say this recipe turned out great. Just enough maltiness in the background to balance out the nice hops and bitterness. Was especially good after about a month in the bottle; the dryhop flavors mellowed out a bit and blended in.

 

[slarkin712]

What temp did you mash at? I think Maris Otter would be great in an IPA without crystal. I'd probably mash a little high, maybe 155-156F, to get a little more body. Did you get a little nutty flavor from the MO or did the hops just mask it?

 

[justclancy]

What temp did you mash at? I think Maris Otter would be great in an IPA without crystal. I'd probably mash a little high, maybe 155-156F, to get a little more body. Did you get a little nutty flavor from the MO or did the hops just mask it?

I mashed at about 154 or 155, but for a full 90 minutes i believe. I did pick up on a nutty flavor from the MO, but it certainly wasn't as noticeable as normal due to the hops.
MO in an american style IPA is recommended.