How about this IPA

[emacgee]

Just throwing together a recipe and was looking for some input on this
~8lbs light extract (liquid/dry depending on whats available)
1/2-1lb vienna
1/2 lb crystal 10 or 20
1 lb honey

1 oz Simcoe 60
1 oz Simcoe 20
1 oz Centennial 10
1 oz Amarillo 10
1 oz Simcoe and Amarillo @ KO

Should I lean towards more steeping grain? Hoping the honey helps dry this out. Is that too much extract with the honey, I know one lb won’t add that much to the gravity but I’m not trying to make a super strong IPA and I'm thinking 8lbs extract is going to do that.

 

[cuinrearview]

Yum! Leave it alone and ferment it cool.

 

[DeathBrewer]

It will be a fairly strong IPA, but looks pretty good. I'd cut down on the extract and add an extra 2 lbs of vienna, since you have to mash that anyway. You can just steep 3 lbs of vienna + specialty grains in 1 gallon of water @ 154°F for 30 minutes.

Use 6 lbs of DME and the honey and you've got a decent IPA with a good malt backbone that isn't too strong in alcohol.

 

[cuinrearview]

It will be a fairly strong IPA, but looks pretty good. I'd cut down on the extract and add an extra 2 lbs of vienna, since you have to mash that anyway. You can just steep 3 lbs of vienna + specialty grains in 1 gallon of water @ 154°F for 30 minutes.

Use 6 lbs of DME and the honey and you've got a decent IPA with a good malt backbone that isn't too strong in alcohol.

This plan will work as well. You really can't go wrong as long as you don't muddy it up with a hodge-podge of specialty grains. Just throw in a ton of citrusy american hops and keep in the the 7% range(give or take) and ferment in the low 60's. DB likes his vienna and I'd bet the bottom dollar he makes some fine beers.

 

[emacgee]

It will be a fairly strong IPA, but looks pretty good. I'd cut down on the extract and add an extra 2 lbs of vienna, since you have to mash that anyway. You can just steep 3 lbs of vienna + specialty grains in 1 gallon of water @ 154°F for 30 minutes.

Use 6 lbs of DME and the honey and you've got a decent IPA with a good malt backbone that isn't too strong in alcohol.

Any suggestions on how to make this more than decent?

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

I like to use some honey malt. I've never used actual honey in an IPA. Not a big fan of honey beers but in an IPA I might actually like it.

I also concur with Death's suggestions. Also you might wanna dry hop for more aroma. Aging it will help mellow it too.

 

[Saccharomyces]

I don't do knockout additions, I dry hop.

otherwise this will come out good, though I'm with DB on upping the Vienna. 2# (or more) would be nice. It's pretty mellow, you can get away with more than you'd think. I tasted a 100% Vienna pale ale once that was one of my favorites.

 

[bob1852]

I don't do knockout additions, I dry hop.

Can you help me with why you wouldn't do both?

 

[emacgee]

Yeah, I was planning on giving this a smell/taste after primary and then deciding whether or not I wanted to dry hop.

 

[emacgee]

I like to use some honey malt. I've never used actual honey in an IPA. Not a big fan of honey beers but in an IPA I might actually like it.

I also concur with Death's suggestions. Also you might wanna dry hop for more aroma. Aging it will help mellow it too.

One pound of honey shouldn't really add any flavor but should serve to dry out the beer a little more by adding some really fermentable sugar.

 

[Jaybird]

I am a big fan of adding honey to my IIPA. It just adds that little something that you just cant get from sugar alone. It's that 1 more thing that you can't put your finger on, and I like that in a big beer.
Cheers
JJ

 

[DeathBrewer]

Any suggestions on how to make this more than decent?

The honey malt is a good idea. It will give it a nice little sweetness and will indeed taste like honey over time. This will give it a unique character and make the brew stand out. I would use no more than 4 oz...maybe even stick to 3 oz.

As stated, the honey will only serve to dry out the beer...which is good for this brew. So what I would suggest is:

6 lbs dry light extract
3 lbs Vienna Malt
1/2 lb Crystal 10
3 oz Honey Malt
1 lb Honey

1 oz Simcoe 60
1 oz Simcoe 20
1 oz Centennial 10
1 oz Amarillo 10
1 oz Simcoe and Amarillo @ KO

 

[emacgee]

The honey malt is a good idea. It will give it a nice little sweetness and will indeed taste like honey over time. This will give it a unique character and make the brew stand out. I would use no more than 4 oz...maybe even stick to 3 oz.

As stated, the honey will only serve to dry out the beer...which is good for this brew. So what I would suggest is:

Sweet, thanks a ton for the suggestions. Should I just do a mini mash with the vienna and honey malt? If so what temp/time would you suggest? I'm also thinking about adding the honey a few days into fermentation so that the yeast is nice and healthy before they get that extra sugar kick. I did this with another brew but that was with a honey addition of like 5 lbs. Is 1 lb too small an amount to worry about that with?

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Well I would say 4 to 8 oz of honey malt. But for your first time using it, try 4oz.

 

[DeathBrewer]

Sweet, thanks a ton for the suggestions. Should I just do a mini mash with the vienna and honey malt? If so what temp/time would you suggest? I'm also thinking about adding the honey a few days into fermentation so that the yeast is nice and healthy before they get that extra sugar kick. I did this with another brew but that was with a honey addition of like 5 lbs. Is 1 lb too small an amount to worry about that with?

That'll work fine. I almost always "step up" when using adjuncts such as sugar, honey or sometimes extract.

Use all the grains in your minimash. I would mash at 152°F for 45-60 minutes and then sparge for 10 minutes at 170°F. Let me know if you need more help with the mash.

 

[emacgee]

Ok, so I’m going to start dry hopping this thursday. Primary has slowed significantly and thursday will be one week from the beginning of fermentation. I’ve got two ounces of simcoe and an ounce of amarillo i can use. I also have an ounce of cascade I can throw in there. Should I toss that in there or leave it out? How long should I leave the hops in there? 7 days? 10 days? Suggestions welcome

 

[DeathBrewer]

Are you using a secondary? Be sure fermentation is completely finished before you add hops, or you'll just be wasting them.

 

[emacgee]

I'm going to add dry hops to the primary on this one. I'm planning on dry hopping and then racking to a secondary and playing with some oak while it clarifies for a little bit. I would normally dry hop in the secondary but since I'm racking it to clarify and adding the oak I decided to keep it in the primary to reduce the number of times I would rack it and expose it to oxygen. I'll probably wait a couple more days to add the dry hops based on how this ferments out over the next couple of days.