Belgian IPA Recipe Critique

[No_Nrg]

I have the below idea for a Belgian IPA. I've never tried brewing this style before and wanted to run it by you guys before moving forward. I was a little unsure of the grain bill and whether the fruity hops would clash with the yeast character. This is from Brewers Friend recipe builder:

Brew Method: BIAB
Style Name: Specialty IPA: Belgian IPA
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 2.2 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 3.2 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.047
Efficiency: 65% (brew house)


STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.068
Final Gravity: 1.011
ABV (standard): 7.45%
IBU (tinseth): 74.16
SRM (morey): 7.66

FERMENTABLES:
90 oz - American - Pale 2-Row (90%)
10 oz - Belgian - Cara 20L (10%)

HOPS:
17 g - Simcoe, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 14, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 67.98
19 g - Citra, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 13.9, Use: Aroma for 1 min, IBU: 3.25
19 g - Mosaic, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 12.5, Use: Aroma for 1 min, IBU: 2.93
19 g - Citra, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 13.9, Use: Dry Hop for 3 days
19 g - Mosaic, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 12.5, Use: Dry Hop for 3 days

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 156 F, Amount: 3.95 gal
2) Temperature, Temp: 150 F, Time: 60 min, Mash Temp

YEAST:
White Labs - Belgian Strong Ale Yeast WLP545
Fermentation Temp: 66 F


Thanks for the help.

 

[Aristotelian]

To me, your recipe is more of an American IPA that happens to have a Belgian yeast. Aside from the yeast, everything about this is American IPA.

I just brewed a Belgian based on De Ranke XX Bitter. They are supposed to use Brewers Gold and Saaz hops. I kept the Saaz but substituted Galena that I happened to have on hand. I put WLP550 in Brewtarget but I actually used yeast from a culture from bottle dregs. I thought this came out very close. Here is my recipe.

Batch No. 16.4 Name Belgian Bitter

Style Belgian Blonde Rating
Brew Date 4/23/2016 Bottle Date
Batch Size 2.5 Gal
Yeast De Ranke XX
Recipe
Base 1 Pilsner Malt (kg) 2.0 83.33%
Adj. 1 Table Sugar 0.200 8.33%
Adj. 2 Home Toasted Biscuit 0.100 4.17%
Adj. 3 Carapils 0.100 4.17%
Total 2.4
Hop 1 Galena 12g 60m
Hop 2 Saaz 10g 30m
Hop 3 Saaz 12g 10m
Hop 4 Other
IBU 59.9

Mash Temp 145F 15m/154F 45m Ferm Temp. 64F-68F
OG 1.064 FG 1.007
ABV 7.598 Att. 90.63%
Eff. 74.5
Method Notes Att.2 89.06%
Step mash, 6.25 qt @ 158F for 15 min, 1.25 qt @212F for 45 min, pour over sparge to 2.25 gallons, top off to 2.5 gallons end of boil. Pitched at 70F. Ferm started at 64F rising to 68F. Bottled at 3 weeks.



Taste Notes

 

[Jimbodaman]

Nothing Glaringly wrong about the recipe it's a nice basic IPA recipe with belgian yeast. Definitely optional but consider adding belgian candi sugar I think it would enhance the "belgianess" . Also I dry hop for 5 days and no more than 7, it may take longer than 3 days to impart the character.

 

[matt2778]

Looks good to me, 545 is my go to Belgian ipa yeast. I typically get quite a bit of peppery/spicy notes from 545 and it attenuates like a champ with minimal effort. I make a monster triple ipa that it takes from 1.085 to 1.007 in a week.

 

[No_Nrg]

Nothing Glaringly wrong about the recipe it's a nice basic IPA recipe with belgian yeast. Definitely optional but consider adding belgian candi sugar I think it would enhance the "belgianess" . Also I dry hop for 5 days and no more than 7, it may take longer than 3 days to impart the character.

What would the amount of candi sugar for this size batch? Maybe 2-3oz of a 40L?

 

[No_Nrg]

I was considering using a Belgian pilsner malt in place of the American 2-row but was unsure about what I've read of needing extended boil times due to expression of DMS. Is the 90 minute boil really needed with this grain?

 

[Joker_on_Jack]

I do my Belgian Double IPA with Special B as my crystal and Belgian pils as my base malt. It has a nice dark hue to it but fits in the guidelines. I also use fruity hops, Simco and Amarillo. Due to the fruity hops I like to use Wyeast 3522 Ardennes, it gives a more subtle Belgian flavor that complements the fruity hops. My beer does end up closer to a Raging ***** clone and doesn't show Belgian flavors as dominant but does have a nice unique flavor.

 

[andrewmaixner]

What would the amount of candi sugar for this size batch? Maybe 2-3oz of a 40L?

clear "candi sugar" is literally just table sugar. sucrose. They change the name, make it into big crystals instead of small, and charge 10 times more for it.
Sucrose is commonly used to help dry out IPAs. Use a 1 to 1.5 pounds per 5gal at the end of the boil, or dissolve it and add to fermenter when krausen starts to drop.