[flbrewer]

OK, I promise this is my last thread about recipes (this week).
I really want to make a great 5 gallon extract brew this go around and forgot I had a ton of other hops available. Would you kindly give me your input on a pale or IPA that I could throw together with these? Don't care if I use some or all of them, 15 minute or 60 minute boil doesn't matter. I would like a lighter colored beer this time (perhaps don't use the Crystal?)
My inventory
9 lbs. Light DME
8 oz Crystal 40
8 oz Cascade
8 oz Chinook
8 oz Columbus
5 oz Centinial
2 oz Mosiac

[Jeff M]

I wouldnt use the mosaic with those other personally.  I would also not use the crystal malt because IPA's prefer to be dry.  Determine what you want for a SG and use that much DME.  determine what you want for ibus.  I prefer int he 40-50 range. I dislike big citrus bitter bombs that make me feel like i was drinking lemon juice.  Splt your hops between 60 min bitter additions, 5-15 minute flavor additionas and 1-3 dryhop additions.

Simple!

Jeff

[flbrewer]

Removing the 1/2 lb of crystal 40 from a previous recipe (1.070) barely moves the OG to 1.069. So yeah, not really an issue.

[HoosierBrew]

OK, I promise this is my last thread about recipes (this week).
I really want to make a great 5 gallon extract brew this go around and forgot I had a ton of other hops available. Would you kindly give me your input on a pale or IPA that I could throw together with these? Don't care if I use some or all of them, 15 minute or 60 minute boil doesn't matter. I would like a lighter colored beer this time (perhaps don't use the Crystal?)
My inventory
9 lbs. Light DME
8 oz Crystal 40
8 oz Cascade
8 oz Chinook
8 oz Columbus
5 oz Centinial
2 oz Mosiac

Well, the 8 oz of C40 isn't a ton - personally, I would use 6 oz and shorten your boil time to 15 minutes. You'll need to account for the hop utilization loss in your software by adding more hops at bittering (see below). I would also add 1/2 tsp gypsum to the boil for the APA, 1 tsp for the IPA to accentuate the hop character.

APA  -  I'd use ~ 6.5 -7 lbs of the DME, bitter with Centennial to ~ 35 IBUs, add 1.5 oz each of Cascade and Centennial after you cool to 170F, let steep for 30 minutes, finish cooling. Dry hop with 1.25 oz each of Centennial and Cascade for 7 days @ room temp.

IPA  -  I'd use ~ 8 - 8.5 lbs of the DME, bitter with Columbus to ~ 50 IBUs, add 1.5 oz each Cascade and Centennial, 1 oz each Chinook, Columbus and Mosaic after cooling to 170F, steep 60 minutes, finish cooling. Dry hop with 1.5 oz each Cascade and Centennial, 1 oz each Chinook, Columbus and Mosaic for 7 days @ room temp.

That should make a couple pretty decent beers. Good luck !

EDIT - I'd be sure to use RO or distilled water with the DME, if you weren't already.

[flbrewer]

Can I get away with using zero crystal in this? Would anyone recommend throwing in some table sugar?

[morticaixavier]

you could totally get away with 0 crystal. or if you want the caramel flavor, but still want a nice dry beer, keep the crystal and swap out 10% of the DME for table sugar.

[majorvices]

you could totally get away with 0 crystal. or if you want the caramel flavor, but still want a nice dry beer, keep the crystal and swap out 10% of the DME for table sugar.

+1 - one of the major differences between all grain and extract is that extracts often don't tend to get dry enough. I like a little crystal malt in my IPAs, but I also don't want them to be too "sweet". With an extract beer + crystal, you will probably have good luck subbing out with sugar to get the beer a bit drier.

[erockrph]

You can get away with no steeped grains for an extract IPA since the hop flavor should be the predominant character, but I find the malt character a bit lacking when I do that - especially if it's 100% light DME. I usually use 7-10% table sugar in my extract IPA's. You can also use something like CaraRed as your steeping grain instead of Crystal malt. It has a much maltier flavor (and less caramel) than normal C40.

Another option is to use ~20-30% Munich LME in place of your XLight DME. That will add some more malt character without going the crystal route. But as it's been said, there's nothing wrong with up to a pound of C40 in an IPA if you like it, just make sure it finishes dry enough.

[Jeff M]

Another option is to use ~20-30% Munich LME in place of your XLight DME. That will add some more malt character without going the crystal route. But as it's been said, there's nothing wrong with up to a pound of C40 in an IPA if you like it, just make sure it finishes dry enough.

I designed(with a coworker) a series of beers at the HBS i work at that uses a can of munich LME and 3lbs of light DME.  Its tasty tasty stuff.

The reason most people tell you to sub in table sugar(i use dextrose typically) is because LME & DME sugar profiles are set in stone, and usually at 75% fermentable.  For some beer styles where you want residual sweetness that ok, but in the IPA/APA style its not very favorable.

Hope that helps,
Jeff