Ratio of malts

in general ,if you want a lighter american style ale, is a ratio of 10 to 1 ok for 2 row and crystal ??
i mean 5 pounds of 2 row and 8 ounces of crystal both in the full mash ??? and what about carapils?? it seems to come up in recipes for light ales often…
or what do you think??

I try to keep my crystal/caramel malts below 5%. Some people go higher but I seem to find that too sweet with a higher FG.
I shy away from carapils. Just mash a little higher and you’ll get similar effects.

for a 1 gallon batch I was thinking 2.75 lbs of 2 row and .25 lbs of medium crystal. BIAB.
1.5 ga water mash and .5 ga. water sparge. That would leave about 2 ga. for pre boil.
1/4 ounce Cascade hops in the boil and 1/4 Cascade in the last 10 minutes of 60 min. boil.
THis is just my guess for a golden ale. I have looked at a bunch of recipes though.
DO you think this will go??? Later I will try a split between 2 row and wheat.
I am only going to do 1 ga. batches cause I dont drink much.

[quote=“Loopie Beer”]I try to keep my crystal/caramel malts below 5%. Some people go higher but I seem to find that too sweet with a higher FG.
I shy away from carapils. Just mash a little higher and you’ll get similar effects.[/quote]

If your beer is too sweet, it’s not enough hops, not necessarily too much crystal.

Yes, sweetness can be tamed with hops…. But another factor that help to get it “lighter” is to adjuncted with sugar, maybe drier is the key word… I do use crystal farms powdered sugar, which is derived from beets….Stuff I’ve read in how to brew like a monk, which can be applied to any style that doesn’t need to be “sweet” per say…. Sneezles61 :cheers:

[quote=“Denny”][quote=“Loopie Beer”]I try to keep my crystal/caramel malts below 5%. Some people go higher but I seem to find that too sweet with a higher FG.
I shy away from carapils. Just mash a little higher and you’ll get similar effects.[/quote]

If your beer is too sweet, it’s not enough hops, not necessarily too much crystal.[/quote]

Denny I get that but at some point there needs to be a balance. I don’t want a 100 IBU APA because I used 3lbs of crystal malt.

do you think thats enough cascade for a 1 gallon batch??

Hard to tell without knowing the AA% of your cascade. Cascade on average is 5%-6% so that should get you around 18-20 IBUS.

[quote=“Loopie Beer”][quote=“Denny”][quote=“Loopie Beer”]I try to keep my crystal/caramel malts below 5%. Some people go higher but I seem to find that too sweet with a higher FG.
I shy away from carapils. Just mash a little higher and you’ll get similar effects.[/quote]

If your beer is too sweet, it’s not enough hops, not necessarily too much crystal.[/quote]

Denny I get that but at some point there needs to be a balance. I don’t want a 100 IBU APA because I used 3lbs of crystal malt.[/quote]

I didn’t mean to imply that you could disregard common sense! Only that setting an arbitrary limit for crystal limits the flavors you can have in a beer. It’s about balance.