Critique my hoppy red ale please

[aralbert]

Gonna brew this on Thursday. Looking to make something vaguely similar to NB's Red Hoptober. I really like the roasty flavor it has. Was planning of fermenting this with US05. Any feedback is appreciated.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.30 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.50 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.065 SG
Estimated Color: 19.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 70.6 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 87.5 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
11 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 88.5 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 2 7.7 %
4.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 3 1.9 %
4.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 4 1.9 %

Hops
1.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - First Wort 60.0 min Hop 5 41.1 IBUs
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 6 14.4 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 7 13.6 IBUs
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 1.6 IBUs
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 9 0.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 10 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 11 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 12 0.0 IBUs

 

[Malticulous]

I'd think 8oz of the darker grains would make it taste more like a brown ale. I'd just use the 4oz of roasted barley--maybe less--shooting for 13-15 SRM. I'd also use a mix of lite crystal in with that 80L (something like 8oz 40L and 8oz+ 80L) for complexity.

 

[beeber]

Replace the 30 min Simcoe with Chinook, save the Simcoe for later in the boil, maybe a second dry hop dose. Great combo of hops there, sounds very tasty! US05 will work great.

 

[aralbert]

Will definitely change the 30 minute addition to chinook, good idea. I'm gonna discard the chocolate and just stick with #0.25 roasted barley because I think those flavors are more in line with what I'm going for. How about throwing some carared in there with the c-80? Does anybody have experience with carared?

 

[Grannyknot]

I'd think 8oz of the darker grains would make it taste more like a brown ale. I'd just use the 4oz of roasted barley--maybe less--shooting for 13-15 SRM. I'd also use a mix of lite crystal in with that 80L (something like 8oz 40L and 8oz+ 80L) for complexity.

+1.
I was going to give the exact same comments. Shoot for closer to 12-15 SRM.

 

[aralbert]

Thanks guys, will be sticking with just the 4oz roasted barley and dropping the chocolate altogether.