IPA With These Ingrediants?

[Helper]

Hello Everyone,

So I decided I wanted to do a partial mash 'Helper's IPA' but I think I'm going to need some help myself. I got all of the ingredients on a whim, and once I started thinking about it I think I might have a pathetic brew on my hands!

Here are the ingredients and the brew plan (5 gallon batch):

3 lb 2-row Rhar
3 lb Muntons Light DME
1 lb of Muntons Amber DME

1 oz Magnum 12.0% AA
3 oz Simcoe 12.9% AA

Wyeast English Ale Yeast II (1335)

Because I got the ingredients without thoroughly thinking this through, I plan on making a 2 liter yeast starter with a gravity of 1.040 with my amber malt and just pitching the whole thing into the fermenter.

I planned on heating 2 gal of brew water to 155 deg F and doughing in my 3 lb of crushed 2-row and letting them go for 1 hr. I plan to 'sparge' by rinsing the grain bag with 1.5-2 gal of 170 deg F water.

After adding what is left of my amber DME I'll mix in the 3lb of light DME and bring to a boil. Once at a boil I'd like to hop with:

1 oz magnum 60 min
.5 oz simcoe 30min
.5 oz simcoe 10 or 15 min + whirlflock tablet

I'll cool to around 65-70 (depends on the temp of the yeast starter) and pitch my yeast.

I was thinking of letting that ferment in the primary for 7 days, doing a diacetyl rest for 2 or 3 days, then racking to a secondary and dry hopping with 2 oz of simcoe for 2 weeks.

My main questions and concerns are:

Should I make a yeast starter with my amber DME?

Is my mouth feel going to be okay or should I add more/different grains?

How do my mash temps/times look?

Are my hop times/ quantities enough or too much?

And what about my fermentation and dry hopping?

I've read a few things to try and get a feel for a similar recipe but I haven't found one that comes close so I'm worried about getting an over hopped-poor mouth feel brew.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Sincerely,
Helper

 

[Yooper]

I"d suggest adding the rest of the amber extract at flame out, to avoid a "thick" boil and to avoid it darkening.


As far as for the mash, I'd use 1.5-2 quarts of water per pound of grain, so for three pounds of grain you want 4.5- 6 quarts of water in the mash. Hold that at 150-155 for an hour. Sparging with up to 1.5 gallons of hot water is fine.

The problem I see is that you simply do not have enough fermentables for an IPA. You'll be lucky to get 1.050, and probably a bit lower than that. You need at least another pound of light DME, preferably two.

For the hopping, I'd change the schedule a bit because 30 minute hops won't give you flavor and it won't give you the full bittering potential of the hops either. You need a bit more bittering at 60 minutes if your magnum hops are 11.6% AAU like mine. You also do not have enough hops for an IPA. You need more hops, and will have to get some more for dryhopping.

I'd do this with the recipe you've got:
3 lb 2-row Rhar
5 lb Muntons Light DME (add 3 pounds of this at the end of the boil with the rest of the amber DME)
1 lb of Muntons Amber DME


If you only have 1 oz magnum and 3 ounces simcoe, you could hop like this:

1 oz magnum 60 (or use more magnum here if you have it and save the simcoe for later)
.5 oz simcoe 60
1 oz simcoe 15
1 oz simcoe 5
.5 oz simcoe 0
Dryhop with 2 ounces of hops of your choice 7 days before packaging.

I love simcoe, but I don't use it alone like that. It's better in combination with citrusy hops like cascade, amarillo, or even centennial or ahtanum. It's a bit strong on its own. But if there are a couple of commercial all-simcoe beers that I like and I could see making an all-simcoe flavor/aroma hops if you like it!

 

[Helper]

Sounds good, thanks! Do you think I should add some carapils or crystal malt to add not only mouthfeel but also fermentables?

 

[Yooper]

Sounds good, thanks! Do you think I should add some carapils or crystal malt to add not only mouthfeel but also fermentables?

If you want to, a little crystal malt can be nice. But then leave out the amber extract and use all light and/or extra light DME. It won't boost fermentables more than a couple of points though and won't replace more DME.