Planning to brew this up on New Year’s day:
12 lb Maris Otter
5 lb Munich
1 lb Carared
Infusion mash at 152. Batch sparge.
1 oz Ahtanum (FWH)
1 oz Cascade (FWH)
1 oz Summit (60 min)
1 oz Ahtanum (15 min)
1 oz Cascade (15 min)
1 oz Ahtanum (5 min)
1 oz Cascade (5 min)
1 oz Ahtanum (dry hop)
1 oz Cascade (dry hop)
Wyeast 1450
Think this will finish too sweet with the munich and carared? I’m open to suggestions on both the malt bill and hop schedule. Thanks!
Some AAU’s or IBU’s might help.
Whose Munich ?
Looks fine, 6% crystal is quite restrained. Munich isn’t sweet, just bready.
If you are worried about sweetness add in some sugar to dry it out a bit. I personally would do more maris (14) and less munich (3) and I believe the amount of cara is good. I have found too much crystal really messes with the beer. I’m not a fan of the FWH, but let us know how it goes.
Cheers !
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I’m still really new to all-grain, so I basically wanted somebody to tell me if it sounded completely nasty. Sounds like it will be okay. 
I ran it through Beersmith, and reduced the Munich to 4 pounds to get it down to an expected abv of 9.1% (it was pushing 10%). Considering reducing it even more to shoot for 8.5%. I’m a little worried about the yeast tolerating that high of an alcohol level. Will the Denny’s 50 be fine up to 9% or so?
Also, I came up with 75.8 IBUs, which is on the low end of the style guidelines in Beersmith. I could up the Summit to 1.5 oz and get it to 95 IBUs, but I’ve heard that after a certain level of IBUs is reached, any additional IBUs are not noticeable. I will probably just leave it as it is unless somebody really thinks it is too low.
Thanks again!
I like the grain bill, but also agree about adding some sugar. I add some sugar to all of my IPAs and APAs because I like them to be on the dry side. I’d pull out a little Munich and Marris Otter and add cane sugar to get the gravity back up to where you want it. For a beer that big, I’d use at least 1lb of sugar. But again, this is just my personal preference.
I also agree about the first wort hops. I’ve used them many times and really don’t see the advantage. I’d much prefer to use these (1 oz Ahtanum (FWH) 1 oz Cascade (FWH) at flame out or add them to your dry hopping. Then up your 60min summit addition to get some IBUs back.
The saturation point is around 100 IBUs, but your 75 IBU level seems nice. A lot of times people will use an IBU roughyl equal to the expected OG of the wort. You can certainly go higher though.
I don’t know that I agree with the need to add sugar, there are plenty of IIPAs out there that have good body, restrained malt sweetness and malt character that balances the hop character. Its jut what you like I guess.
I also applaud your reducing the ABV to the low end. While yeasts can certainly ferment a 10% ABV wort, you’ll find it easier to get a good result with a lower OG. The really high gravity worts are tough to control the ferment on, they tend to warm up and run away, causing a lot of fruitiness. Plus, an 8.5% ABV has plenty of alcohol and yet it can drink smoothly and deceptively. And you can drink a couple of 12oz bottles and still have your wits about you. Get into the 10%+ ABV and to my mind you’re talking an 8oz portion in a snifter. Thats the way the bars do it anyway.
Good luck, I think you’ve got a good plan and most importantly, you’re thinking about the recipe up front which is great. Tailor it to your palate, your visino of what a IIPA should be.
I don’t really see the point of using Marris Otter and Munich malts in a double IPA. They’re both excellent malts, but with all the hops you have rollin in this beer I think they’re going to dominate and cover up the nuances that those malts lend to a beer. And while I agree with adding sugar to dry the beer out it kind of defeats the purpose of using those malty malts. I would go with a domestic 2-row as the base and save the MO and Munich for a style that’s more malt forward where they’ll shine.
That said, I’m sure the way your recipe is will make a very tasty beer :cheers:
thats not going to be a iipa by style guides.
I would at least double the dry hop
I would have more hops at flameout/hop stand/0 min
add some sugar
use hop extract
Good points everyone. Thanks for taking the time to think about my recipe. I am going to go ahead and take another pound of Munich out of the recipe to get the OG a little lower. Grain bill will now be 12 pounds Marris Otter, 3 lbs Munich, 1 pound Carared.
Thought long and hard about adding sugar, but I don’t think I’m going to add it to this one. My hope is that with just 1 pound of Carared it won’t finish cloying. If it does, I will know to use the sugar next time.
Glug, my first two all-grain batches used GW 2-row as the base, and I just felt like they were lacking a certain malt character that I am hoping to have in this one. That is my thinking behind using the maris otter and Munich. I know the hops will mask some of the nuances, but i am hoping they contribute to more malt fullness behind the hops.
As to FWH vs Flame-out, I am really torn on this one. I have never used FWH, so was going to include them as kind of an experiment. On the other hand if there really isnt a big flavor contribution from them, I would rather just add them later in the boil. Maybe I will keep the FWh, but add another 2 oz at flame-out.
I will put the changes into Beersmith and post the final recipe tonight. Brew-day is tomorrow. Thanks again for all the help!
grainbelt, I saw your post after I posted mine. I think I will take your advice and up the dry-hops. Not going to add sugar or use hop extract. I’m not planning to enter it into any competitions, so if it doesn’t quite meet style guidelines I can live with it as long as it tastes good to me. Thanks!
I don’t think a pound of Carared is going to make it too sweet, it will help with some body to balance the alcohol. Like I posted earlier, it should be a good beer.
[quote=“grainbelt”]thats not going to be a iipa by style guides.
[/quote]Really? I’d say he’s right on target.
14C. Imperial IPA
http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style14.php#1c
Vital Statistics: OG: 1.070 – 1.090
IBUs: 60 – 120 FG: 1.010 – 1.020
SRM: 8 – 15 ABV: 7.5 – 10%
[quote=“Glug Master”]I don’t think a pound of Carared is going to make it too sweet, it will help with some body to balance the alcohol. Like I posted earlier, it should be a good beer.
[quote=“grainbelt”]thats not going to be a iipa by style guides.
[/quote]Really? I’d say he’s right on target.
14C. Imperial IPA
http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style14.php#1c
Vital Statistics: OG: 1.070 – 1.090
IBUs: 60 – 120 FG: 1.010 – 1.020
SRM: 8 – 15 ABV: 7.5 – 10%[/quote]
I can make hundreds of beers with those statistics that are not IIPA’s
I have not read the comments above, so I apologize if this is a bit repetitive. My first impressions are:
I’d love to taste that beer. Let us know how it turns out.
[quote=“Glug Master”]I don’t really see the point of using Marris Otter and Munich malts in a double IPA. They’re both excellent malts, but with all the hops you have rollin in this beer I think they’re going to dominate and cover up the nuances that those malts lend to a beer. And while I agree with adding sugar to dry the beer out it kind of defeats the purpose of using those malty malts. I would go with a domestic 2-row as the base and save the MO and Munich for a style that’s more malt forward where they’ll shine.
That said, I’m sure the way your recipe is will make a very tasty beer :cheers: [/quote]
I don’t know, a IIPA can have a nice malt presence. I kind of thought the MO and Munich combo might be interesting, in fact I may use something like this in an IPA just to see how they play together.
I did wonder whether that was enough dry hops, but then I often make IPAs without dry hopping at all and they are still good beers. Again, it boils down to whether you want something that is truly a hop bomb, or something with more balance. They both fit under the IIPA style umbrella.
Uh oh. I think I really screwed this up. Just got back from the LHBS with my grain, and was looking at the receipt with the maltsters and doing some research. I had no clue which Munich to buy, and I ended up with 3 lbs of Gambrinus Dark Munich. Reading some descriptions online that make it sound like it is closer to a crystal than a munich. Like a dumb%ss I crushed all my grain together. If I can’t use this stuff I have to toss $20 worth of grain and start over. On the otherhand, I don’t want this beer to suck. Aarrgh! Anyone use the gambrinus dark munich before?
Its not crystal, its just kilned a little darker than light Munich. 15 vs 8. So your beer will look a little darker and have a deeper, bready flavor. I wouldn’t hesitate to brew this grain bill. Its probably good that you reduced the Munich somewhat.
From what I’ve read, it’s actually around 35L, rather than a typical German Dark Munich of around 15.
From the company’s description:
Gambrinus Munich Dark (Munich 100) (30-35°L)
Deeply kilned Munich malt with the color and flavor characteristics of roasted malt and the mellowness normally associated with Munich malt.
I’ve decided to replace my malt and get some German Munich. I just don’t think “roasted malt color and flavor” has any place in this brew. I’ll have to find another use for the malt with the Gambrinus dark munich. Dont want to just throw it away, but that will be a different thread.
Well that’s a bummer.
