Too much Caramel Malts?

[John Murray]

I had a successful brew day 2 weeks ago and hit all my numbers in a 5.5 Gal BIAB batch
SG was 1070 and I used one pack of 05 dry yeast. 24 hours into fermentation the kroison was almost 2 inch think and healthy storm and now 2 weeks later has settled, but I am still seen little cake shooting stars so I am waiting till I see some clearing before bottling.

with this recipe I was going for a not so dry IPA, but after reviewing more information I realized I might have made something more like a sierra Nevada Celebration Ale.
and I may have added too much caramel 40 which was 2lbs?

I was going to dry hop with another 2 ounces of chinook or any suggestion I get, but my question is could this be a type of beer that I should not dry hop?

has anyone brewed something like the sierra Nevada celebration or used close to 2lbs of caramel 40 in a 5.5 Gal Batch to fermenter?

and does anyone have any comments on if I used too much Caramel 40?
I know it's not certain until it is ready to test myself but I am just wondering if I should dry hop this brew or not? and what do you think the final gravity should read on this brew with the 2 lbs of Carmel 40? maybe 1015? instead of my usual with dry yeast 05 at 1010

Grains
13 lbs 2 Row
2 lbs Carmel 40
produced a starting gravity of 10.070 after boil.

Hops
2 oz centennial 60 min
2 oz centennial 20 min
2 oz Chinook 5 min

(2 oz dry hop or not to dry hop? that is the question)
Thanks in advance, John

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Your final gravity will depend on your mash temperature, time and pH. Caramel malts aren't as sweet when they are mashed, compared with steeping. So, you have about 13% crystal with no other specialty malts and no strong base malts, I think that should work OK - certainly not a dry IPA, but not too sweet. Most brewers limit crystal malts in IPA to 5% (maybe up to 10%), but there are commercial examples in the 15% to 20% range, so it can definitely work. There should be enough bitterness from those hops to balance the sweetness. The dry hopping will come down to your personal preference - do you want hop aroma to be at the front, or a balance of malt and hop?

 

[John Murray]

Your final gravity will depend on your mash temperature, time and pH. Caramel malts aren't as sweet when they are mashed, compared with steeping. So, you have about 13% crystal with no other specialty malts and no strong base malts, I think that should work OK - certainly not a dry IPA, but not too sweet. Most brewers limit crystal malts in IPA to 5% (maybe up to 10%), but there are commercial examples in the 15% to 20% range, so it can definitely work. There should be enough bitterness from those hops to balance the sweetness. The dry hopping will come down to your personal preference - do you want hop aroma to be at the front, or a balance of malt and hop?

Thank you that sounds logical, I would like some good Hop aroma but I don't want them to clash with the sweetness. does anyone know if the celebration brew by SN is dry hopped or not?
so you are saying if I don't dry hop I may have a more balance? so that may be my vote as you said I do have enough bitterness from the hop additions, and this would lower the chances of contamination or oxidation when dry hopping into the primary fermenter. I mashed this at 153 in a 5.3 PH roughly

and yes I scaled up a dead ringer clone I made that was great but I shouldn't have scaled up the specialty malts with the grain bill when trying to get more volume and ABV, that is my lesson learned

 

[cswant88]

The last beer I brewed had 1lb caramel 60 and 4oz caramel 120. That put caramel malts at 14.6% of my grain bill, and that beer turned out smooth and delicious. You've got 2lbs in a 15lb batch, that's 13.3% of your grain bill. All that is to say, it might be ok.

Dry hopping is a personal preference. If it were me, I would not. I'm not a hop head, and you've already got 6oz in there.