Black Rye Ipa?

[biggaydan]

Hey guys,

I am going to try my hand at all grain within the next few days. I have made a good amount of extract beers but I think I am ready for some grain. I used brewtarget and different recipes from here to build the following. I would love a critique or any suggestions.

10.5# marris otter
1# carafa III
12 oz Rye malt
8 oz carapils
8oz victory malt
4 oz chocolate malt

I am plannning on using simcoe/amarillo/cascade

What do you guys think? Should I steep the carafa, as to not pull out too much flavor? Do I need to omit/add anything?

 

[stpug]

Carafa III Special (aka Dehusked)?

You could just add the dark grains about 5 minutes before draining your runnings to keep from pulling any (too much) astringency, or just steep them separately, or just toss them in the full mash.

 

[biggaydan]

Yes dehusked.

 

[stpug]

You could just add the dark grains about 5 minutes before draining your runnings to keep from pulling any (too much) astringency, or just steep them separately, or just toss them in the full mash.

 

[biggaydan]

Thank you.. Other than that any suggestions on the bill?

 

[DonMagee]

Do you want any roasty notes in the beer? If not try midnight wheat. It will add a LOT of dark color without any flavor to speak of. I love the stuff.

 

[stpug]

On paper, your grainbill looks fine to me. Another school of thought is to keep the grainbill simple. My personal experience has been that when using simple grainbills it takes less time for the flavors to meld together (because there's less flavors to meld), but I've had some really great beers that had more complex grainbills. In the case of a rye black ipa, I would aim to have a dark beer where the rye holds it's own to the hops. I would probably try to avoid too much roast with just using carafa III or avoid almost all roast with midnight wheat. This is how I might personally alter this grainbill for myself:

11.5# US 2row or MO
12 oz carafa III special or midnight wheat (added at last 5 minutes of mash)
12 oz Rye malt
maybe some crystal 60, maybe not

Mash 152F for 60 min.

Hop schedule that complements the rye (maybe some chinook too).

I think the star of your beer should be the dark color without being astringent; the spiciness from the rye; and the hops.

 

[biggaydan]

Thanks guys!

Brewed yesterday. Woke up to that beautiful sound of an airlock bubbling away! I appreciate the input/critique.