And get the sulfate levels up. That lends dryness.
Same here, I like to dry out IPA and IIPA as much as possible, and at that point the background flavor of crystal malt gets kind of unpleasant. I used to use 8 oz or so of C20 through C60, which is fine when it’s fresh, but as soon as the hops begin to fade, out jumps that flavor. So to Denny’s point, the flavor I’m trying to get in IPA/IIPA is just the base malt and hops, and that calls for zero crystal malt because I just don’t like it. If you do like the flavor, by all means, brew the beer you want to drink. There’s nothing wrong with not using crystal malt in this kind of beer, though. Just as there’s nothing wrong with using over 10%, if you like the way it tastes.
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I absolutely agree! The reason we homebrew is to make what we want to drink. My only point was to not “artificially” limit yourself. Learn how to use your ingredients and use whatever you like.
Denny we were referring to 2 different balances/flavors. You’re talking about getting a big crystal flavor and using hops to balance. I’m talking about getting big flavor from hops and using a little crystal to cut that a bitterness a bit.
