Maple Ale Recipe?

[Ijp11]

My first take at Maple Ale open to critiques.

5 Gal batch.

9Lbs. 8 oz. Pale 2-Row US
2Lbs. Caravienne Malt
1Lbs. Caramel/Cryastal 20L
8 oz. crushed and roasted pecans mashed for 30min.

BOIL

60 min 2 oz Willamette
1 oz maple syrup at burnout

Yeast fermantation

i pkg. White labs wlp002 English ale

Secondary

Steep 5 oz. maple coffee beans whole for 20 hours before kegging/bottling

Any tips for single infusion mash all grain recipes?
First try!!!

 

[Bosh]

That's a lot of crystal malt. Also I'd ditch the nuts. 1 oz of maple will also be entirely undetectable. I used a pound once and had a hard time tasting it, but that was with a very flavorful grain bill.

 

[JimRausch]

Agreed, 1oz. of maple syrup in a 5G batch is a bit like peeing in a swimming pool. If you look around a little, you'll see posts using more than 1 qt. and still not getting any maple flavor.
Last year I used 8 gallons of maple sap as my mash/sparge liquor and at bottling time primed it with maple syrup(5oz.). Perfectly carbonated, very nice caribou slobber-type brown ale, but no maple. This year I'm trying the same again, but will add a pint of syrup late in the fermentation, and yes, I'll use a little bit of maple extract.
I do tap my own trees, so I have access to sap and eventually syrup.

 

[JimRausch]

To continue on the basics of your post- a 1st time infusion mash:
Your recipe looks like a basic English brown, so I'd shoot for a mash temp of around 150 for an hour. I disagree with Bosh, and would keep the pecans. I did a mash with filberts once and man it was delish. I kept scooping nuts off the top of the mash.
I have never used Caravienne, but believe it is a light crystal malt, so I might cut out the C-20, and add 4 oz. of a darker crystal- I like c120. And I love adding a little(4-8oz.) of Biscuit malt to my English styles.
Personally, I've never successfully added coffee to any beer yet, and I have decide that I don't like commercial 'coffee' beers, so I have no useful hints on the use of the coffee beans.
Good luck! Creating your own recipe is fun- especially if it turns out good. Take copious notes, and especially tasting notes so you'll know what you want to change next time.

 

[Ijp11]

Thanks