Crystal 60 Percentage of the Grist

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luke_d

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Hey, everyone. I'm tweaking my "tried and true" IPA recipe. I figured out why I wasn't completely happy with my IPAs: too much crystal malt! Here's my recipe I like to use, I'm really only wanting to change the amount of Crystal 60.

5.5 gallon batch
12 lbs. 2-Row
2 lbs. White Wheat Malt
1 lb. Crystal 60

So it's usually at about 6 or 7% of the grist. I'm finding that I really don't like that, and I've wasted a lot of pricey hops trying to make it good. So I was thinking of cutting it down to about 4 oz, or roughly 2%, respectively.

What do you think? Do I even NEED crystal malt? Should I change it to something lighter like crystal 40? Thanks in advance!
 
My typical IPA uses more crystal than that although it is usually C-40.

I use what it takes to make the color a little more than really light.

If you feel you are getting too much from the crystal, by all means, use less or a lighter variety, or both.
 
You said you're only looking to change the amount of crystal 60, and that you don't like the flavor from your current recipe.

.... Ok, lower the Crystal 60 then. Voila.
 
I actually would take the crystal out altogether and replace it with something closer to 20 or 40L. I find that 60 usually adds lots of caramel flavor to beer, and I think that the perception of sweetness doesn't play well with hops. I recently switched form crystal in my IPA entirely, so now I usually just use munich. At the amount I use, I really like the color as well as the clean flavors that come from it. That's my two cents, hope it helps.

Cheers!
 
Awesome, thanks for the responses! MindenMan, I've been finding that its too malty. Not so much caramelly, since I have a hard time tracking down that particular flavor in beer, but it's more just a super sweetness that draws the hop flavors waaay lower than their potential.

So I may just sub the crystal for Munich. What's the recommended amount?
 
You could try subbing some malt with simple sugars like corn or table sugar. I did that with my last IPA and it dried it out nicely.
 
I backed all my Crystal malts down to 20/40 in my IPAs because I like a pale, west coast profile so I agree with the changes in the previous selection.

For Crystal Malts of 60L+, you can steep them after the MASH to keep the color but lower the flavor impact. This technique just requires a mesh bag, 120-140F temp wort and about 10-20 mins.

Finally, you might try a fought of honey malt for sweetness and biscuit malt for a nice tight, white head.
 
The mash temp is 148 (I like my IPAs and APAs very dry and crisp, hence this thread) and the yeast is WLP001 in a one liter starter on a stir plate. I may end up either using Crystal 20 or 40, or just using a simple sugar in the boil.
 
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