My fisrt recipe: American IPA of course... ' Merica

Dare I ask: Can we say “balance”? Thoughts of any sort? Constructive criticism very welcome…

Hopville Link: http://hopville.com/recipe/1664693

%	LB	OZ			
72%	9	0	Rahr 2-row Pale
8%	1	0	Victory Malt
8%	1	0	Rice Hulls
8%	1	0	Briess Caramel 20L
4%	0	8	Briess Caramel 40L
			

boil	20 min	1oz	 Warrior
boil	10 min	1oz	 Crystal
boil	10 min	1oz	 Simcoe 
boil	5 min	        2oz	 Crystal
boil	1 min	        2oz	 Mt. Hood
dry hop 5 day	1oz	 Crystal
dry hop 5 day	1oz	 Mt. Hood

Wyeast American Ale II (1272)
yeast in form with high flocculation and 74% attenuation

Specific Gravity
1.061 OG (1.055 to 1.064)
1.016 FG (1.014 to 1.017)
Color
10° SRM

Bitterness
61.2 IBU
10 HBU
BU:GU 1

Alcohol 6% ABV 5% ABW
Calories201 per 12 oz.

Looks pretty good, personally I would drop the Victory as I like my IPA’s simple. Usually about 10% Crystal and 2 row with 1:1 BU:GU which you are spot on for. Also unless your system really requires it you shouldnt need rice hulls for a simple batch like that. All they do is suck up precious wort IMO.

I would never brew anything over 200 calories/12oz.

That is quite a bit of color malt for an American IPA. I would go with 10% crystal max. I love Victory malt in a brown ale, but I don’t know how it will work with the pineapple character of Simcoe. I definitely think balance is important in an IPA. It does need some malt character, but the hops should be the star in an American IPA. I also don’t think you need the rice hulls unless you are pulverizing your malt or had a stuck mash with your system in the past.

Why?

I used 0.5 lb of biscuit in my last IPA and that worked wonders. Of course that goes away from american a bit but I only used half a pound…

It’s interesting to me how different people have different tastes. I would be tempted to cut out the crystal malt altogether or at the very least use nothing more than 20L and not very much of that at all. Of course, I generally try to dry out almost every beer I make. The Dogfish Head 60 clone I make has base 2 row and a bit of brown malt and that’s it. I also really like a bit of biscuit, especially in English brews, it adds some interest. I also agree, you shouldn’t need the rice hulls but I always keep some around just in case bad stuff happens.

As far as hops go, Crystal and Mt Hood are awfully mellow for a style like this, don’t you want the traditional chewing on a pine tree/grapefruit flavor? Warrior is a great choice for a bittering hop, I have had very good luck with it.

Any good resources I can use/visit to learn about what type of hop results in what type of hop flavors?

Me too, but I found a touch of victory really helped an ordinary bitter recipe that I wasn’t happy with.

I’d definitely drop some of the specialty malts. i would limit the victory and crystal mix 10% or less

the mix of that much crystal and victory will leave you with a sweet finish that might combat your hops in a unpleasant way.

why rice hulls?

Why?[/quote]
Bad joke man. I’ve never even considered calories when brewing.

Why?[/quote]
Bad joke man. I’ve never even considered calories when brewing.[/quote]
Or drinking. Or eating.