first all grain recipe (comments would be appreciated)

[justin88]

7 lbs. American 2-row
6 lbs. German Munich
2 lbs. Crystal 10L

Single infusion mash with 20? quarts at 155 degrees for 60 min.

Sparge water i dont know how much i should use but them temp would be 170 degrees. But i want a 5 gallon batch when its all said and done.

I figured the og would be about 1.075.
Then boil add hops
1.5 oz. of nugget pellet hops for 60 min
1.0 oz. of Mt.hood pellet hops 5 min

Dry hop .5 oz of nugget hops

Ferment with a german ale yeast at 65 degrees.

 

[duboman]

7 lbs. American 2-row
6 lbs. German Munich
2 lbs. Crystal 10L

Single infusion mash with 20? quarts at 155 degrees for 60 min.

Sparge water i dont know how much i should use but them temp would be 170 degrees. But i want a 5 gallon batch when its all said and done.

I figured the og would be about 1.075.
Then boil add hops
1.5 oz. of nugget pellet hops for 60 min
1.0 oz. of Mt.hood pellet hops 5 min

Dry hop .5 oz of nugget hops

Ferment with a german ale yeast at 65 degrees.

18qts would be better at 152 and I would reduce the crystal as 13% is a lot, I try to keep crystal in my recipes at around 5%. You can up the 2 row to get your desired OG.

 

[Brulosopher]

I'm assuming IPA. If so, back way off of the Crystal, down to .5-1 lbs IMO. Good luck!

 

[Brulosopher]

I'm assuming IPA. If so, back way off of the Crystal, down to .5-1 lbs IMO. Good luck!

Also... I'd do .75 oz Nugget at 60, then throw the rest in at 5 with your other hops.

 

[KISS Brew]

Another vote for cutting the Crystal down to 1lb at the most.

 

[nukebrewer]

Also, it's not apparent from your wording, but I just wanted to make sure you know the water before you add grains needs to be hotter than your intended mash temperature. The formula to figure this out is:

Ts = (0.2 / r)*(T2 - T1) + T2

Where: Ts = Strike temp
r = water to grain ratio (qt/lb)
T2 = Desired mash temp
T1 = Grain temp

So for your grain bill, your water to grain ratio is 1.3 qt/lb, mash temp is 155 F and we'll say grain temp is 75 F, but you should adjust this number based on your actual grain temp.

Ts = (0.2 / 1.3 qt/lb)*(155 F - 75 F) + 155 F = 167.3 F

If you already knew that, then I apologize and you can ignore my post. Cheers!

 

[justin88]

Ok just wondering why would u guys recommend dropping the crystal to .5-1lb. And if i was dropping the bittering hops to .75 oz for 60 min the ibu's would drop to around 33. This is an ipa plan so i wanna keep the ibu's around 60. I understand the strike temp but im wondering about how much sparge water i need to use. Thank u guys for the input so far.

 

[houndsbreath]

Too much crystal in a recipe can be 1) overpoweringly sweet because Crystal malt is only partially fermentable and 2) it can add too much body and get funky. Personally I've made the mistake of using 15% crystal in a brown ale; it came out with a wierd sweetness that was completely unbalanced.

Edited: Reducing the crystal malt will bring out the hop character and bitterness of your IPA.

 

[Brulosopher]

A good IPA isn't so much defined by its bitterness as much as its hop character... later hop additions will give you more character.

 

[duboman]

A good IPA isn't so much defined by its bitterness as much as its hop character... later hop additions will give you more character.

Actually both, an American IPA will typically be 40-70 IBU per style also with intense, fruity, citrus aroma and a DIPA will be that on steroids!

 

[ajf]

I agree with most of what has been said (cutting down the crystal, and reducing the mash temp). I partially agree with reducing the 60 minute hop addition because that would increase the amount of flavoring/aroma hops, which seems to me to be rather lacking (for an American IPA). I would keep your original 60 minute hop addition unchanged, but use at least 2 - 3 oz of the late hop additions, and at least 1 oz for dry hopping.
What I would recommend is that you look at the suggestions, and adopt them if they make sense to you, but ignore them if they don't make sense to you. Then brew the beer. Then, taking the other suggestions one at a time, rebrew, and compare the results against the original. That way you will know the effects of the changes, rather than relying on other peoples assumptions.

As for the amount of sparge water you need, that will depend on your equipment. You need to measure the volume you have collected from your first runnings, and subtract that from your required pre-boil volume. The difference will be the amount of sparge water you need. If you prepare less sparge water than you require, you can top up with water. If you prepare more sparge water than required, you will have a better idea for the next brew.

Hope this helps.

-a.