Comments/Advice on IPA Recipe Change

[shotputman]

Brewing up an IPA tomorrow, recipe calls for 1lb Crystal 40L (steeping grains), but I'm trying to finish off some leftover grains that I have so I'm going to use .25lbs of Crystal 80 and 0.6lb of Crystal 120.

Other than obviously being darker, probably outside style guidelines (not worried about that) would there be a huge difference in expected flavor? I haven't played around with my own recipes very much so I'm just wondering if I'm drastically changing something that I'm not thinking about.

I'll just throw them in when I start to heat up my water and steep them for 20min or until my water hits 170 or so.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Yooper]

There will be a difference in flavor- 120L is "raisiny", almost burnt sugar like. 80L is more toffee like. Crystal 40L is a lighter sweeter malt, more carmelly.

 

[shotputman]

You think it would be really out of place in an IPA style beer? I guess 1lb of 40 wouldn't be that expensive, just trying to use up what've I had extra for a few months.

 

[Yooper]

Well, it would be different than the recipe but I don't know how out of palce it would be depending on what you were making. I don't use much crystal in any IPAs (sometimes none) but I could see using a little bit if I wanted that taste in it. Too much would be, well, too much, though!

 

[LexusChris]

I've found that Crystal 120 has a noticable flavor, like raisins or prunes. In some styles, it works great: Belgium Strong Ale, Porters, etc. But a little does go a long way.

For an IPA, where I want the hops to be the star of the show, I would rather use the lighter colored crystal malts, as they add some body, without distracting with a strong flavor.

With 0.6# of Crystal-120, you'll definitely get the raisin flavor... so if that sounds good with your hops, go for it! Otherwise, you could just use the .25 of Crystal-80 and call it a day...

But that's just me.

Good luck!
-_LexusChris