Um, I know this is a philosophical issue but if we, as in anyone making this, can we really say that THIS recipe is ... well anything except a good starting point for whatever modifiations a modifier makes.
The only way you can say this recipe rocks is to make it like specified... If you read, BM took many batches to perfect, his hops type and schedule did not come out 'willy nilly' he experimented, nailed it, and won medals because of it.
So, you can say you made something with this as the base recipe and IT rocks but you can't say you made BM's recipe unless you use his proportions and hops/hop schedule.
And, to this I say, at least make this as specified once or you are missing out on something really good ...
The only way you can say this recipe rocks is to make it like specified... If you read, BM took many batches to perfect, his hops type and schedule did not come out 'willy nilly' he experimented, nailed it, and won medals because of it.
So, you can say you made something with this as the base recipe and IT rocks but you can't say you made BM's recipe unless you use his proportions and hops/hop schedule.
And, to this I say, at least make this as specified once or you are missing out on something really good ...