IPA recipe help for a newbie!

[Nige]

Hi all, help needed!

I have brewed about half a dozen batches of various styles (extract + steeped grains) and I am having trouble getting a good IPA. I can do a real nice Bavarian Wheat so I think its a recipe issue and not a brewing process problem.

I believe my first IPA was too sweet because I used 1kg of crystal malt (in a 23L batch). My second one was a rubbish colour and too bitter which I put down to using the wrong extract and too much bittering hops. I have been surfing the net for recipes to figure out where I am going wrong and came up with the recipe below.

 

Very keen to know if the below recipe looks sensible? I am particularly unsure about the ratio of crystal to carapils and munich grains as I am just starting to learn their various characteristics.

 

Batch size 12L (half batch in case it’s another fail)

 

0.85kg Briess Golden Light malt extract

0.85kg Briess Sparkling Amber malt extract

250g Pale Crystal

125g Carapils

50g Munich

 

25g Chinook @ 60m

25g Chinook @ 30m

50g Cascade @ 1m

 

Saf US-05 ale yeast

 

Thanks in advance, any other suggestions welcome!

[Crusader-Rob]

Nice looking recipe, chinook and cascade are a good combo.

You don't need to wait 4 weeks for bottle conditioning, although the flavour will be a bit more well rounded. I'm finding in the warmer weather the beer is carbed after about 10-14days, i normally test a bottle after 10 days and chuck a bottle in the fridge overnight, then if its good to go, i get stuck in.