Will this make a decent Black IPA?

[IndyBlueprints]

I’ve been invited to a “wort share/collab brew” with a local brewery. They are brewing a 20 barrel batch of their Belgian Triple, but right after mash, they are giving each of us (members of my homebrew club) 14 gallons of wort (for a 10 gallon batch). We will then be adding whatever we want to those batches, and boiling in their parking lot. The best beer will then become one of their next beers on tap at their brewery.

Here’s the grain bill:

57% Belgian Pilsner
10% Flaked Wheat
8% Dextrin
7% Flaked Oats
7% Flaked Barley
4% Light Munich
3% Aromatic
2% Vienna
2% Biscuit

Preboil OG is approx 1.069.

After looking at their beers list, they don’t have a Black IPA, so I thought I’d try to make one out of their wort. I don’t think it will be as dark as a Black IPA should be, So I’m thinking I take about 6 oz of Carafa III, and 8 oz of Midnight Wheat, throw them in a grain bag, and steep for 20-30 minutes, prior to starting my boil. As far as the hops go, I’m thinking Citra & Amarillo. 3 ounces of each at 20 minutes, then two ounces of each at flame-out/whirlpool, then post-fermentation add 2 more ounces of each, wait 4 days, then cold-crash and keg.

Does this sound doable, or more of a “Hot Mess”?

 

[thehaze]

It sounds doable. I would say move some of the 20 minutes hops to late additions and add a bit more to the whirlpool.

 

[chickypad]

That's cool, the wort giveaways I've participated in were always post boil so you're more limited. You guys are all bringing your rigs to the brewery?

I'm with thehaze, I'd move all those additions you listed to late/whirlpool and add a little bittering charge of something neutral at 60 if needed.

 

[chickypad]

Also just looked at your steeping grains there. This looks like a pretty pale base wort and you're under a lb of dark roasted grain for a 10 gal batch. I'd about double that. I don't make a ton of these but about every black IPA recipe I see has about .75 to 1 lb of dark roasted malt per 5 gals.

 

[IndyBlueprints]

That's cool, the wort giveaways I've participated in were always post boil so you're more limited. You guys are all bringing your rigs to the brewery?

Yes we are. I've got a single tier, 3 vessel RIMS I'll be bringing. They are roping off the parking lot and we'll be doing a Group Brew. Then in April, we'll be serving the beers at the "Death & Taxes Brew Festival" with about 30 Indiana breweries. The beer of ours that gets the most votes will be their next commercial recipe.

Thanks for the advice guys.