Brown IPA - looking for comments

[HeuristicsInc]

I was looking at the new 2015 BJCP guidelines and I was excited about the new styles they included - for example, Specialty IPA. The guidelines state:
"the choice of hops and character malts is synergistic – they very much have to complement each other and not clash."
I have to admit, I am not a hop expert, so I was wondering if anyone can comment on whether the malts and hops I've put together for this recipe seem reasonable.

Brachiosaurus Brown IPA (Partial Mash)
ABV 6.8%
IBU 70.9

Pale Ale 2-row 6 lb
Crystal 40 1.75 lb
Special Roast .5 lb
Special B .25 lb
Amber LME 3.3 lb (5 min)
Galena 1oz (50 min)
Galena 1oz (20 min)
Willamette 1oz (10 min)
Galaxy 1oz (0 min)
Cascade 1oz (dry hop 7 days)
California Ale WLP001

What do you think? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
-bill

 

[HeuristicsInc]

Hmm, no comments... planning to buy materials tomorrow; can anybody please comment by then?
-bill

 

[m00ps]

I think you've got way too much crystal malts in there. I would take out the c40 entirely since you've already got sweetness coming from the amber LME and the specialty malts. You can add in some sugar to help dry it out. You want to get as dry a body as possible for the hops to take center stage. Right now, you've got a hoppy brown ale. It will be very full bodied and muddle the hops. You will want to differentiate it from a brown ale so I would take out as many specialty malts as possible. Im not entirely sure on the makeup of amber extract, but I wouldnt use it in an IPA, get some light extract instead

For a brown IPA, I would take a typical IPA recipe and add in 4-6oz blackprinz, midnight wheat, or carafa III. These are all de-bittered black malts that will get you a nice color without too much roast.

What temperature are you mashing? I would definitely mash at 150 or lower for a lean body.

 

[Brew_G]

Agreed with m00ps, but even if you're going for a hoppy brown, I'd argue that you'd have far too much crystal. You don't really know how much is in the amber LME, and 1.75 lbs of crystal is a ton even without the LME.

 

[HeuristicsInc]

Yes, mashing at 148 is the plan. I chose Crystal because the style guidelines mentioned it specifically, but if you both think it'll be too malty I'll drop it. Thanks for the suggestions. Added midnight wheat and some sugar and changed LME to light.
I'll let you know how it turns out...
-bill

 

[Brew_G]

I personally like some crystal in IPAs (up to 12 oz), but many prefer not to have it in there. It's just a personal preference.

Good luck!

 

[HeuristicsInc]

Here's the new version, based on your helpful comments.

Brachiosaurus Brown IPA v2 (Partial Mash)
ABV 6.9%
IBU 78.2

Pale Ale 2-row 6 lb
Special Roast .5 lb
Special B .25 lb
Midnight Wheat .5 lb
Amber LME 3.3 lb (5 min)
Galena 1oz (50 min)
Galena 1oz (20 min)
Willamette 1oz (10 min)
Galaxy 1oz (0 min)
Cascade 1oz (dry hop 7 days)
Dextrose .5 lb (add to secondary)
California Ale WLP001

Brewed it according to the new recipe today. I'll let you know how it turns out.
-bill