Over complicated grain bill?

[welly2]

Was looking for inspiration for a recipe for an IPA which includes amarillo hops as I've a few of them at the moment. Found this one:

http://beerrecipes.org/showrecipe.php?recipeid=7688#sthash.mIoxDYVi.dpbs

Grain bill looks like:

• 8 lbs - Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) (Grain)
• 2 lbs 8.0 oz - Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) (Grain)
• 2 lbs 8.0 oz - Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) (Grain)
• 8.0 oz - Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) (Grain)
• 8.0 oz - Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) (Grain)
• 4.0 oz - Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) (Grain)
• 4.0 oz - Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) (Grain)
• 4.0 oz - Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) (Grain)
• 4.0 oz - Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) (Grain)

While I'm still pretty new to this, I honestly can't see the benefit of including so many different kinds of grain. Immediately, the carapils seems to duplicate what the wheat malt is doing. Is the drinker going to be able to pick up the nuances of all these different grains? Particularly when you've got all these hops in it as well:

• 0.5 oz - Horizon [12.0%] - Boil 75 min (Hops)
• 0.5 oz - Nugget [13.0%] - Boil 60 min (Hops)
• 0.6 oz - Amarillo Gold [9.8%] - Boil 30 min (Hops)
• 1.0 oz - Amarillo Gold [9.8%] - Boil 10 min (Hops)
• 1.5 oz - Amarillo Gold [9.8%] - Boil 5 min (Hops)
• 2.0 oz - Amarillo Gold [9.8%] - Boil 0 min (Hops)

Or maybe they will. That's my question! Why would someone include so many different types of grain for an IPA?

 

[Coodgee]

That's just ridiculous.

 

[manticle]

You can get away with simple grain bills and complicated ones. In either case, you need to be aware of what each will bring and judicious with the quantities.

As a fan of both approaches I still find that way over the top.

 

[Judanero]

With a more hop forward beer like an IPA, I think two or three malts is sufficient if you want a bit of malt character/complexity, with the above recipe I don't think anyone would have such a refined palate to (through the hops) be able to distinguish all of them.

I think maybe the recipe designer is trying to balance out malt characteristics Eg- the sweetness of crystal with the toastiness/biscuit of the victory but has just gone completely overboard.

 

[Adr_0]

A mix of 80% MO, 15% Munich II and 5% Victory would get you most of those flavours and a lot of deliciousness...

EDIT: Vienna swapped instead of Munich would give you a sweeter beer closer to including some of the light crystal, and probably provide more complexity with the Victory.

 

[Benn]

Someone's got shares in ACME grain co.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

3 grains


.....sometimes 4

 

[Rocker1986]

I only used two grains when I brewed my IPA - 6.5kg MO and 400g medium crystal (~25 litre batch).

 

[mckenry]

3 grains


.....sometimes 4

Just like cooking with spices. How many does it take until none of them contribute anything special?

 

[Dan Pratt]

Like most, an IPA that is hop forward should be 3-4 malts. The carapils and wheat do play different roles, one provides body to the beer due to the lower mash generally given to IPAs and the wheat mouthfeel, both are similar but not the same.

Keep the hop schedule and run with a simpler malt process. Me I would go,

92% base
6% carapils
2% crystal

Mashed at 65c for 90mins.

 

[klangers]

Only time a grain bill like that is worthwhile is if you're making a Belgian dubbel or something. Even then, it's a bit over the top.

An IPA like that will be very confusing to the tongue.

 

[welly2]

Like most, an IPA that is hop forward should be 3-4 malts. The carapils and wheat do play different roles, one provides body to the beer due to the lower mash generally given to IPAs and the wheat mouthfeel, both are similar but not the same.

Keep the hop schedule and run with a simpler malt process. Me I would go,

92% base
6% carapils
2% crystal

Mashed at 65c for 90mins.

Last IPA I made was pretty much exactly this and the 25 people who were round the other day and finished my keg had nothing but good words to say about it.

I'm going to experiment with some wheat malt rather than carapils for this next one. I was more interested in ideas for a hop bill but saw this one and had to share. Just seemed nuts to me.

 

[Blind Dog]

It's not that unusual for Homebrew recipes from the US to use a complex grain bill. If the source is sound (eg Gordon Strong), I've found they turn out well. That said, i find you often get a better, cleaner result using the recipe as a guide, but sticking to just 2 or 3 grains. Although there are exceptions

 

[Coodgee]

I suppose maybe it's a recipe that has been brewed hundreds of times and the bloke has refined it over many careful iterations, each time painstakingly comparing it to the last version and backtracking or progressing as a required, one step at a time... and this is just the final product. (or it's just a noob stab in the dark!)

 

[Dave70]

I'd replace the Vienna with rye personally..


But really, no sillier than 60 hop additions.

 

[Yob]

3 grains


.....sometimes 4

http://foundersbrewing.com/our-beer/imperial-stout/

you tried this?

 

[mxd]

I think 7 grains is the most for me and that was in a Bock.

My base (as I like a bit of malt on the back bone.) is "Good" Base (e.g MO, Golden, Briess), Munich 10% and Wheat 5%

 

[Liam_snorkel]

relevant presentation by Drew Beechum:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sSKHzmhrzY

 

[Adr_0]

http://foundersbrewing.com/our-beer/imperial-stout/

you tried this?

I was going to say, porters and stouts 4-5 makes would be normal but too much for pale beers.

Looks like 8 malts? Curious if they can be picked...

 

[Parks]

I've used 7 or 8 in a stout when I was spring cleaning my leftovers.

It was great, but I wouldn't do it under normal circumstances.