I have time to brew this weekend and looked to see what I had on hand to work with. I am new to recipe formulation and want to do a few beers to learn about and perceive for myself how different hops and grains contribute to the various aspects of the finished product. I really want to start out with a simple slate and build on it. I have 10 lbs of Rahr 2 row, 1 lb each of crystal 40 and 80, 4 oz of columbus and plenty of s-05. I am thinking of the 10 lb 2 row and 1/2 lb crystal 40 mashed at 152* for an hour. The hop schedule I have planned is .5 oz FWH, .50z at 10 min, 1oz for 15 min whirlpool and 1 oz dryhop. That puts me at about 43 IBUs according to beersmith.
The questions I have are: Should I add .25 of the crystal 80 to boost the color or leave the grist alone to get a feel for the rahr 2-row? I am leaning towards no 80 but suggestions are welcome.
What about the hop schedule? I want to get a good feel for the flavor/aroma of Columbus but I like a balanced APA and like I said previously, I want to be able to get a feel for the contributions from the 2-row. I would be left with 1 oz of hops. Keep it for another day or add it elsewhere (2 oz. dry hops).
I will also add that I will be playing with some new equipment - Pump and whirlpool arm so I really want to maintain some type of whirlpool addition.