Marris Otter IPA

[Paps]

A buddy wants me to brew him an IPA.
He usually drinks New Belgiums `Rampant IPA`
I have some Marris Otter that i'd like to use as the base malt.
Anyone here try this?
How did it turn out?
Was the malt too nutty to let the hops shine?
Was it well balanced?
Many of the IPA recipes i've seen use the 2-row and often add in C-40 for color/flavor....I was thinking of using JUST M.O. or perhaps a touch of carapils.
The hops i intend to use are Mosaic, centenial, & citra which are similar to the NB beers hop profile, their malts used are pils + black i beleive but don't know in what amounts.

Input anyone?

 

[ricshayne]

You'll be fine, the M.O. will provide a nice backbone for the hops.
I would do as you said and use the M.O. and a touch of Carapils

 

[te-wa]

i had a sack (50lbs) of maris and used the sh*t out of it! made a couple ipa's and pales. you may try something like this:
13.5 lbs maris
.5 lb carapils
.5 lb c-30
magnum fwh
centennial 30
mosaic + citra 10
centennial 5
citra 0
mosaic, citra DH

 

[Qhrumphf]

I don't brew many IPAs, but I use MO as a base for anything non-German or Belgian (except for Golden Promise in Scottish Ales), and I like it. I tend to like ~85% MO, 10% Munich, and 5% mid-range Crystal (40-60L). I would skip the carapils.

 

[Chris_Primavera]

I have brewed several IPA's recently alternating between MO and 2-row pale ale malts. My preference is for the 2-row. The MO has a distinctive (bready?) taste that doesn't fit the style that I am going for.

YMMV

 

[Paps]

The MO has a distinctive (bready?) taste that doesn't fit the style.

That's what i'm worried about.
I'm aware that i COULD use the MO and it will still make beer.
Just it's for a hop-head and i'm not sure if he would notice the difference or not.
I myself am not a fan of the IPA style so even if i make a great example of an IPA...it would STILL taste bad to me.

 

[Chris_Primavera]

There are quite a few posters on this forum that swear by MO. It's just not for me. If I were to brew another IPA with it, I would increase the hops by 20% or so. I' drinking a 50/50 ale now (1.050 / 50 IBU) made with MO and the bitterness is a bit overwhelmed by the malt.

I'd like to try it in a in a brown ale with some EKG but I have my IPA recipe dialed in and I can't keep enough in the pipeline to satisfy thirsty friends as it is.

 

[Paps]

I do like Marris Otter alot, just i've used it mainly for British styles and not an IPA....IPA`s, i just don't like at all really.
I dug through my miscl. grains and found a little bit of 2-row so i'll end up mixing em together instead of making a (long) trip to my nearest LHBS for any 2-row when i can just use what i have on hand.

Anywho, here's my plan so far

GRAINS
10 lbs Marris Otter
2.25 lbs American 2-row
.5 lbs carapils
.375 lbs caramel-30
2 lbs homemade belgian candi sugar (to up the ABV)
The sugar will go into the boil,not the mash in case anyone thought that i'd be mashing with it.

MASH (not 4077 either)
4 gallons held at 150-f for sacc rest
batch sparge with 4 more gallons held at 150-f

HOPS
.5 oz citra @ 60 mins
.5 oz citra @ 5 mins
1 oz centennial @ 5 mins
1 oz Mosaic @ 5 mins

NO CHILL method (kicks up IBU`s)
Might not strain off the hops & dumpem into the fermentor even.
Will probably use S-05 for yeast.
Ferment @ 66-f `ish for 2 weeks.
Cold crash it,rack it to keg + force carb.
Then pray it all worked....LOL

Thanks everyone for the replies.

 

[mrdail87]

Belgian candi sugar will add some fruity esters to the the beer. If you use it, expect some Belgian character in the beer.

If you really just want to up the ABV, honey is cost effective alternative. If you add it to the boil, it doesn't contribute to the flavor of the final beer.

 

[Paps]

Hopefully the guy drinking it thinks that those fruity esters are coming from the hops and not the BCS.

 

[rlmiller10]

Depends on what you want. If you want a total hop dominated IPA then don't use the MO. If you like your IPA to have more of an APA feel/taste but just cranked hops then use the MO. I am in the latter camp so my IPA has a bit of cara-pils for head and then the rest is split 50/50 MO and two row. Still gives a nice light colored beer but you can tell there are some malts and not just hopped up Bud Light.

At about 47% of the grain bill I don't get any "bready" or "grainy" notes, at least I would not call the malt flavors that.

 

[Brulosopher]

I'm not convinced the difference between MO and 2-row is all that noticeable, especially in an IPA. xBmt planned!

 

[beskone]

I'm not convinced the difference between MO and 2-row is all that noticeable, especially in an IPA. xBmt planned!

Please do! I've done a few IPA's with 50/50 2-row and MO and gotten some off batches I'm convinced are other factors but who know it might just be that I don't like the MO in there.

 

[bigplunkett]

Looks good but id dry hop it to if u have the hops

 

[Brulosopher]

Please do! I've done a few IPA's with 50/50 2-row and MO and gotten some off batches I'm convinced are other factors but who know it might just be that I don't like the MO in there.

I've got a few malt comparison xBmts on the list, this one is pretty close to the top. I've used 2-row and MO interchangeably in a few of my own recipes and wasn't able to tell a difference. But they weren't side by side.

 

[ricshayne]

I've got a few malt comparison xBmts on the list, this one is pretty close to the top. I've used 2-row and MO interchangeably in a few of my own recipes and wasn't able to tell a difference. But they weren't side by side.

I am interested to see the results on this as well. I've really enjoyed the few IPAs I've used MO on but those were also IPAs I used lots of Nelson Sauvin and Citra on so I wonder if I just enjoyed them more because the hops were great.

How about a table sugar vs Belgian candy sugar xBmt? I've always questioned if the BCS actually does anything table sugar cant

 

[Brulosopher]

How about a table sugar vs Belgian candy sugar xBmt? I've always questioned if the BCS actually does anything table sugar cant

High on the list

 

[m00ps]

High on the list

I think the madfermentationist did a pretty extensive sugar experiment with like 8 different ones. It was not a blind taste test though, just comparing them.

I used to use MO for my IPAs but switched to 2row because it seemed to help the hop character shine a bit more. Plus, MO is more expensive here in the states and im always making IPAs so I save it for English style ales. Id be interested in the outcome of any future experiment

 

[rlmiller10]

I'm not convinced the difference between MO and 2-row is all that noticeable, especially in an IPA. xBmt planned!

Excellent! My first IPA was just two row and a bit of carpils. I felt it needed more malt so after that I switched to the MO and two row blend. I took pictures so can see that it was a shade more amber with MO but I didn't have any side by side to taste. So perhaps the more balanced taste I perceived was just my bias.

 

[Brewsncrabs]

There are quite a few posters on this forum that swear by MO. It's just not for me. If I were to brew another IPA with it, I would increase the hops by 20% or so. I' drinking a 50/50 ale now (1.050 / 50 IBU) made with MO and the bitterness is a bit overwhelmed by the malt.

I'd like to try it in a in a brown ale with some EKG but I have my IPA recipe dialed in and I can't keep enough in the pipeline to satisfy thirsty friends as it is.

MO works great in a brown. PM me your email and I'll send you a Beersmith recipe that I've been playing with for a couple years that I am satisfied with and it scores well.

 

[te-wa]

maybe just semantics, but Maris Otter IS a two-row barley.
OP, you may find thru experiment that you'll like an IPA with MO mashed at 150 more than a pale 2-row mashed at 153. imho...

 

[slym2none]

MO works great in a brown. PM me your email and I'll send you a Beersmith recipe that I've been playing with for a couple years that I am satisfied with and it scores well.

How about being a pal and sharing it with all of us?

 

[Qhrumphf]

maybe just semantics, but Maris Otter IS a two-row barley.
OP, you may find thru experiment that you'll like an IPA with MO mashed at 150 more than a pale 2-row mashed at 153. imho...

And so is German Pilsner malt.

Three entirely different animals. Same plant does not the same ingredient make. And even then, Maris Otter is a completely different cultivar than the US 2-row barley.

 

[lewdog50]

Maris is great in in IPA's. Try a 50/50 split with 2 row, no other grain additions. Try a pound or so of corn sugar to dry it out with 5 mins left in boil. Really let's the hops shine.

 

[Paps]

OP, you may find thru experiment that you'll like an IPA with MO mashed at 150 more than a pale 2-row mashed at 153. imho...

Well the thing is.....i can't stand IPA`s in general.
The closest thing to a commercial example of an IPA that i like is
Boulevard's "hoppy wheat" which has an IBU of 30`ish so nowhere near IPA territory. I VERY rarely drink the style and therefore know that i would not be a good `judge` of how an IPA tastes as i dislike them all really.
Which leads me to ask the internetz here as to if using the M.O. is a bad idea or not. Seems to me it should be allrightmespecially sinse i do happen to have some 2-row to throw into the mix with it.

Also i usually do mash at 150-f for about everything. If i'm a degree or two off i basically RDWHAHB.

 

[lewdog50]

no need to push the high IBU territory. I normally keep many of my IPA's about 50 to 55 IBUs or so.