First Partial Mash

[Beeaann]

This is my first thread, my first partial mash, and my fist time writing a recipe. Advice with any of these would be mmuch appreciated.
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Recipe: Bean's Brew
Style: American Black IPA
TYPE: Partial Mash

Recipe Specifications
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Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 3.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.060
Estimated FG: 1.015
Estimated ABV: 6.0%
Estimated Color: 34
Estimated IBU: 77
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients
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3.30 Lbs Briess Gold LME
1.00 Lbs Mutton's Light DME
5.50 Lbs American 2-Row (Rahr)
1.00 Lbs De-Husked Carafa® III (Weyermann®)
1.00 Lbs Extra Special Malt (Briess)
1.00 Lbs Smoked Malt (Weyermann®)
6.00 Oz Centennial Pellet Hops(8.1% AA)
American Ale Activator Wyeast ACT1056

Boil
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3.30 Lbs Light LME @ 60min
2.0 oz Centennial(8.1% AA) @ 60 min
1.0 oz Centennial(8.1% AA) @ 30 min
1.0 Lbs Light DME @ 15 min
1.0 Tsp Irish Moss @ 15 min
1.0 oz Centennial(8.1% AA) @ 5 min

Mash
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8.5 Lbs grain
2.75 Gal Spring water
150 degrees F (after strike)
45min

Sparge
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8.5 lbs grain
2 gal Spring water
150 degrees F (after strike)
15min

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I'm planning on mashing in an 8 gallon pot and sparging in a 5 gallon pot. Im wondering if the grain bill is to big?

I used this site for all my estimates. I dont have much expeirience with many calculators.
http://powersbrewery.home.comcast.net/~powersbrewery/mastercalculator.html

Also going to dry hop with 2 more oz of centennial, thinking of throwing an oz of amarillo in it too.

Really not sure if I want to use the smoke malt in it. I think I might jus substitute with an extra .5lbs of 2 row(I bought a 6lbs bag) and a little extract.

 

[strambo]

I just did my first PM using a BIAB method. I didn't stir the grains nearly enough and thought my temp was low so I heated some more. Anyway, I ended up mashing too high (160 or so), so I'm sure I've got extra unfermentable sugars. I just took a grav. reading after 4 days in primary 1.022. Didn't taste bad, it's a porter so a little extra sweet is OK. I'm gonna leave it in primary for 3 weeks anyway, I'm sure it will come down some more.

I'm about to do a half-batch and do it AG...I'm gonna make sure and stir until the center of the grains temp is the same as the water outside the bag.

I wouldn't use the smoked malt, not for a first recipe...make adjustments based on how this batch turns out. I'm a total noob, but make up my recipes with Beersmith, I keep them fairly simple to start though. My Pale Ale is great, we'll see how my PM and AG half batch porters work out.:cross:

I also added all the extract just before flameout. I figured the PM wort was fine for the hop additions esp. since I wasn't boiling full volume.

 

[TTB-J]

Hop additions are a little off, you're lacking in late additions, which will give you flavor and aroma. I would move a portion of your 30 min. addition to the beginning to keep your IBUs roughly the same, but take the rest and put them in in the last 10 minutes or so. You've got a pretty hefty grain bill there and you're probably going to be hard-pressed to find any hops in your flavor profile if you've just got 1 oz going in at 5 minutes. I too think you could do without the smoked malt, it has the potential to muddy up your flavors and the two pounds of other specialty malts should be good to give you nice, dark color and some roasty notes on the back end.

You'll want to raise the temperature of your sparge in order to preserve your mash profile and to make sure you're extracting as many sugars as possible out of the grains. I normally target for 170.

 

[Jayhem]

That is a lot of Carafa! I'm only using 4 oz of that stuff in my 5 gal porter and it's supposed to come out dark brown - black.

I did my first partial mash last week and I found that 45 min was not enough for my 6 lbs of grain in 2.0 gal of water. I should have went to 60 min mash. Also after you sparge be sure to sit the bag in a strainer over a large bowl and let it drip for a good 30 min. I didn't let mine drip and probably wasted about 2 cups of thick sweet wort that drained out later and fill the bottom of my trash can!

Also with an 8 gal pot why not do a full boil? If you sparge with more water you can get better efficiency.