Help with Deschutes Bachelor Bitter Clone

[popsicleian]

On a recent vacation to Oregon, I visited the Deschutes pub in Bend and absolutely loved their Bachelor Bitter, which is a pub-only offering. I emailed the brewery to ask for recipe help, and they were kind enough to provide many of the details. I'd like some help trying to piece together the rest, particularly the hop schedule.

Below is what I know for sure, from the brewery's response:

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12.4 Starting Plato

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50 IBU

2-row Pale – 84%
Crystal 75 – 14%
Wheat – 2%

Hops:
1st: Nugget
2nd: Delta
3rd: EKG
4ths or hopback: EKG (We use a heavy dose of the EKG hops on the back end for aroma and flavor)

Single infusion mash, target 154F temp
63F Fermentation temp w/ an English ale yeast​

For my recipe, I copied the grain bill exactly, percentage-wise (I'm doing a 4 gallon batch, FWIW). The crystal malt % seemed high, but I thought the beer was perfectly balanced and not at all sweet when I drank it at the pub, so I just went with it. My LHBS didn't have Crystal 75, so I used about 2/3 Crystal 80 and 1/3 Crystal 60.

For yeast, I have read that Deschutes uses something resembling 1187, but I have 1318 on hand, so I'm going to use that.

The hop schedule is where I could really use some help. First of all, I couldn't find Delta, so I'll have to sub Willamette. I'm also really hesitant to aim for 50 IBUs--I didn't perceive the bitterness as very high at all, and my wife (who doesn't like hoppy or bitter beers) didn't either. Will the high % of crystal malt and the high-ish mash temp mask those 50 IBUs if I do aim for that? Does anyone have any specific suggestions/tips on laying out the hop schedule?

Thanks in advance!

 

[popsicleian]

Planning to brew this tonight, and I'm thinking I'll use the hope schedule below, for an estimated total of about 43 IBUs:

0.2 oz Nugget Pellet 14 First Wort 9.04
1 oz Willamette Pellet 5 Boil 20 min 16.14
2 oz East Kent Goldings Pellet 5 Whirlpool at °F 30 min 18.73

Anyone have any thoughts on that, or the 154 for mash temp?

 

[porterpounder]

I had a similar concern regarding the amount of crystal malt in Fresh Squeezed, but when I brewed it it turned out to be just right. The yeast they used subdues bitterness a bit and floccuates out hard, so that should work out for you even at 50 IBUs. Mash of 154 is standard for their ales and give a nice body without being overdone.