Hop/Malt Balance

[SmithsonBrewer]

I recently ordered a double IPA recipe kit. The hops in these kits always vary due to availability but this time there seems to be a big difference.

The original recipe called for 4oz of Columbus, 2oz of Zythos Aroma and 2 more ounces EACH of various bittering and flavouring hops.

What came in the kit was 4oz of Columbus and 2oz of Cascade.

The thing is, there is still about 10 pounds of LME along with a pound of corn sugar.

It seems like a 10oz hop recipe changed to a 6oz of hops would require less malt/sugar to get a nice balanced beer. I'm just not really sure what I should do here. Should I not use the Corn sugar? Not use one of the bottles of LME?

 

[watersr]

Depends on the alpha acid content of the hops. 1 oz of hops with an AA of 10% will do the same Job as 2 oz of a hop with 5% AA. Columbus is usually a pretty high alpha hop. Would need to see those numbers to see if they compare.

 

[BigFloyd]

Is your corn sugar a recipe ingredient or for priming?

Regarding the hops, it's not a matter of just comparing # of ounces. The AA level and character varies depending on both the hop variety and there are also batch differences within the same variety of hop.

May I suggest running what you have through a recipe calculator paying attention to what is printed on your particular bags.

 

[SmithsonBrewer]

I figured that it would come down to AA. It just seems like such a substantial difference to the original recipe.

The columbus I have are 15.2 AA and the Cascade are 7.2AA.

Also, yes the corn sugar is a recipe ingredient.

Is there a link for a good recipe calculator?

 

[BigFloyd]

http://http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/calculator/

 

[SmithsonBrewer]

Thanks. According to the calculator everything looks like it will be right on target.

 

[BigFloyd]

I like that calc. It may take a bit of getting used to at first with the drop-down menus for type of batch, etc., but it can be very helpful.