Hopping help

[Levers101]

I'm going with the following recipe, can anyone give me suggestions as to whether my planned hop schedule is okay:

MALTS
4.5 oz British Crystal 50-60 L
6 oz Caramunich
6 oz Caravienne
6 lbs Light DME

HOPS (all pellets)
1.1 oz Cluster 6.9% AA @ 60 min*
0.3 oz Magnum 12.3% AA @ 60 min
1 oz Cascade 6.4% AA @ 20 min
0.8 oz East Kent Goldings @ flameout
* = 1 oz hop bags seem to contain about 1.2 oz when I get them.

Safale US-56 yeast

Is this too much in the way of hops for say an amber/red ale? Too much in the way of finishing hops, perhaps I should remove them all together?

Any suggestions, critiques, or insults?

 

[david_42]

I'd cut the Cascades to 1/2 oz. EKG is a nice mellow hop that won't dominate the brew. No doubt there will be a few hopheads that disagree, but reds aren't mainly about hops. Widmer's PNW Red '06 is a nice hoppy ale, but I can't call it a Red.

 

[seyahmit]

I'd say your hops are way off the chart for an Amber. My guess would be to keep the Cluster for bittering and finish with the goldings and don't use the Magnum or Cascades in this beer. Save them for a Pale Ale where these hops would be really nice.

Here is a ProMash report for your beer as you described it.

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

10-B American Ale, American Amber Ale

Min OG: 1.045 Max OG: 1.060
Min IBU: 25 Max IBU: 48
Min Clr: 10 Max Clr: 17 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Extract (Lbs): 7.03
Anticipated OG: 1.060 Plato: 14.75
Anticipated SRM: 11.6
Anticipated IBU: 63.0
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 5.88 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.051 SG 12.63 Plato

Formulas Used
-------------

Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential Used.
Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points.
Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg
Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis.

Color Formula Used: Morey
Hop IBU Formula Used: Rager

Additional Utilization Used For Plug Hops: 2 %
Additional Utilization Used For Pellet Hops: 10 %


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
85.3 6.00 lbs. Generic DME - Light Generic 1.046 8
4.0 0.28 lbs. Crystal 55L Great Britian 1.034 55
5.3 0.38 lbs. CaraVienne Malt Belgium 1.034 22
5.3 0.38 lbs. CaraMunich Malt Belgium 1.033 75

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.10 oz. Cluster Pellet 6.90 35.6 60 min.
0.30 oz. Magnum Pellet 12.30 17.3 60 min.
1.00 oz. Cascade Pellet 6.40 10.1 20 min.
0.80 oz. Goldings - E.K. Pellet 4.75 0.0 0 min.

 

[Levers101]

Thanks for the ProMash on it. I'm not exactly sure what I want it to be, its mostly a clean out the freezer/cabinet brew. I guess I mis-spoke saying that it was going towards a style. I'm just looking for more of a session beer. I'd like the hops to be close to balanced, with perhaps a little bit more malt that hops in it. Maybe I'll cut the Cascades back to 1/2 oz or so, but since I'm not doing a full 5 gallon boil I should have less utilization, so it shouldn't be the full 48 IBUs on the maximum side. Thanks for the suggestions.