Please Critique My First Recipe - English IPA

[Harrier]

Crooked Wing English IPA

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Wyeast 1968
Yeast Starter: 1L
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1.060
Final Gravity: 1.017
Mash Temp: 154 F
IBU: 50
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 11
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 30
Tasting Notes: I shot to get all the stats right in the middle of the style guidelines. Thoughts?

Amt Name Type # %/IBU
11 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 77.2 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt – 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 2 8.8 %
1 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3 7.0 %
1 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 4 7.0 %
1.50 oz Challenger [7.50 %] – Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 31.5 IBUs
1.00 oz Challenger [7.50 %] – Boil 30.0 min Hop 6 16.1 IBUs
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] – Boil 10.0 min Hop 7 2.5 IBUs
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] – Boil 0.0 min Hop 8 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg London ESB Ale (Wyeast Labs #1968) [124.21 ml] Yeast 9 -
2.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] – Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop

 

[Harrier]

A few questions:
1) Should I go with Maris Otter to make it more "English"? Would you even be able to notice the different base malt with a hoppier beer?
2) Does my choice of yeast seem appropriate?
3) Any other suggestions?

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Looks tasty to me! And I do think you would notice if you went with MO. I would if it were convenient. I know several brewers who use MO as their base for almost every brew. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[balauru_327]

I think 60 min. boil is to low. The 1.017 FG is high, at what temperature did you ferment? did you make an aeration of the beer, when adding the yeast?
MO is more indicated for an English beer.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

I think 60 min. boil is to low. The 1.017 FG is high, at what temperature did you ferment? did you make an aeration of the beer, when adding the yeast?
MO is more indicated for an English beer.

I disagree about the hops. 1.5 oz of Challenger is great. English IPAs are waaay less choppy and aggressive than our American counterparts have become. The attenuation is what the program spit out. London will probably attenuate lower, but he is mashing at 154 to create a maltier, less fermentable beer. And he is creating a recipe here...hasn't brewed it yet. I like using a blend of base malts with 30-60% MO even for some American style beers. It just adds a layer of depth and complexity.

 

[Harrier]

So, Tanstaafb, after substituting MO for part of the 2-row, you think that this looks good enough to go forward with?

 

[lebucheron]

Is that much cara-pils normal? (wondering if I should be adding more to my recipes.)

 

[kingwood-kid]

You can make a fine UK-style IPA using 100% MO, although mixing in some specialty malts is fine. WY1968 is low-attenuating, so with that and a high mash temp, you shouldn't need the carapils, unless you like using a spoon. I would use MO as the base, and mix in a small amount of the British crystal malt of your choice. If you're concerned about head retention, 4-8 ounces of carapils or torrified wheat should do the trick.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

You can make a fine UK-style IPA using 100% MO, although mixing in some specialty malts is fine. WY1968 is low-attenuating, so with that and a high mash temp, you shouldn't need the carapils, unless you like using a spoon. I would use MO as the base, and mix in a small amount of the British crystal malt of your choice. If you're concerned about head retention, 4-8 ounces of carapils or torrified wheat should do the trick.

Good advice. I always mash low as I like dryer beer, so I usually use a little dextrine malt, flaked oats, or flaked/ torrified wheat to add body and head retention. Good catch Kingwood-kid! You could make this beer with just MO, hops, and yeast. Would you consider 1# crystal to be a small amount or would you scale back kingwood?

 

[kingwood-kid]

I make most of my beers without any crystal, so what I would do may not be what others should do. I would consider 1# to be on the larger side. I would suggest 8-12oz C-55 or 4-6oz British dark crystal, depending on what flavor profile sounds better; a few ounces of each could also be good.

 

[Harrier]

Early indications are very promising. I checked that gravity after 5 days and had a taste: currently at 1.015 (may come down a tad, but likely not much more, kreusen is clearing), perhaps a little bit sweeter than I would hope (but it is warm and uncarbed, so might be about right), and the bitterness in the finish is present, but not as assertive as in an American IPA (true to style). I'm pretty happy with the results at this early stage. I'll give it another week and then dry hop. I haven't decided whether I'll go with 2 or 3 oz of EKG yet.

 

[kingwood-kid]

If it's too sweet, you can add a little bit of a hungrier yeast and wait another couple weeks. Don't worry about the flavor profile of the second yeast, just the attenuation. If you have a few bottles of something with US-05, you can just add the dregs. As you said, cold and dissolved CO2 will lessen the sweetness.