Trying to make a Boardwalk Black Rye clone (Rye CDA)

[SloTimes]

Has anyone else had the Karls Strauss Boardwalk Black Rye? I have never been blown away by a Karl Strauss beer before but I have to say, I loved this one! So much so that I want to try and clone it. I haven't been able to fine a recipe but their website says this:

"When the sun goes down past Crystal Pier, the postcard view of the Pacific fades into the dark. As the tourists head off down the Boardwalk, a distinctly local vibe returns to PB. Boardwalk Black Rye is a spicy black ale with a hop profile that’s pure West Coast. Black and caramelized rye malts add complex spicy and roasted notes, while three massive additions of Ahtanum hops provide the vibrant floral aroma and citrus hop character of a Double IPA. Keep Boardwalk out of the cellar, this hoppy offering is best enjoyed fresh.

stats
Alcohol by Volume: 8%
Color: 80 SRM
Bitterness: 80 IBU"


I have been throwing together a recipe, what do you guys think?

Boardwalk Black Rye Spin Off
Imperial IPA
Type: All Grain Date: 1/3/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal Brewer: Dave DeHaan
Boil Size: 7.24 gal Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: My Equipment
End of Boil Volume 6.24 gal Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal Est Mash Efficiency 78.5 %
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage Taste Rating(out of 50): 30.0

Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
11 lbs Brewers Malt 6-Row (Briess) (1.8 SRM) Grain 1 67.7 %
1 lbs Carafa III (525.0 SRM) Grain 2 6.2 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 3 6.2 %
12.0 oz Chocolate Rye (Weyermann) (245.0 SRM) Grain 4 4.6 %
12.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 5 4.6 %
12.0 oz Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 6 4.6 %
8.0 oz Crystal Rye Malt (Thomas Fawcett) (80.0 SRM) Grain 7 3.1 %
8.0 oz Rye, Flaked (2.0 SRM) Grain 8 3.1 %
1.00 oz Ahtanum [6.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 9 17.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 45.0 min Hop 10 22.3 IBUs
1.00 oz Ahtanum [6.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 11 13.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Ahtanum [6.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 12 6.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 13 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg American Ale Yeast Blend (White Labs #WLP060) [50.28 ml] Yeast 14 -
1.00 oz Ahtanum [6.00 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Days Hop 15 0.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Days Hop 16 0.0 IBUs

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.074 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.017 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 7.4 %
Bitterness: 58.9 IBUs Calories: 151.6 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 56.8 SRM

I think I might be going a little over board on the specialty grains already but I'm still not at the 80 SRM yet. Not really sure what to do... any suggestions?

 

[baldric]

Here's what I might do:

Change the 6-row to 2-row, and add some munich malt to the base grains.
Change the rye flakes to malted rye and increase to 8-10% of the grain bill
Change the Crystal 80 to crystal 120
Add a dash of brown malt
If you're still short of your theoretical OG it's ok to add a small amount of demerrara sugar for a little extra caramel flavour.
Also, you should boil this batch for at least 90 minutes to develop more caramelization, and extra flavour.

That's just my opinion...