Wow, that would take a while to empty out. Lots of…brown ales? 
I believe he attempted a 50% honey malt batch one. Aka drain-o…
Wow. Sounds like arse.
Sorry for the high jack, but if limiting to about 5% or less in an IPA, whats the appropriate (?) % for a darker maltier beer such as a big American Brown ale?
Edit for poor typing skills
You could use 4% in place of that amount of crystal. All kidding aside, it’d work well here. Especially in a Janet’s Brown or Noti-type beer.
Definitely not a fan of honey malt in an IPA, but then again, I’m not a real fan of honey malt. It’s one of those ingredients that I tend to pick up right away in most beers that have it. I find the flavor off putting.
I’m sure there’s a way to sneak it past me, but at least with my friends beers and also with commercial beers known to have it, I just get turned off by the flavor.
My standard IPA uses 2.5% Honey malt. No other crystal malts. It does add some sweetness, and it can get away from you in a hurry as you add more. I like using it in small amounts to add a touch of color and a little sweetness. Basically use it all the time in hoppy beers.
That grain bill is somewhat similar to mine.
BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Ralph’s Springtime IPA 2016
Brewer: Roger
Asst Brewer: Ralph The Wonderdog
Style: American IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)
Recipe Specifications
Boil Size: 5.70 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.20 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.063 SG
Estimated Color: 8.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 97.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 72.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
8 lbs 8.0 oz Brewer’s Malt, 2-Row, Premium (Great Wes Grain 1 70.8 %
3 lbs Munich 10L (Briess) (10.0 SRM) Grain 2 25.0 %
8.0 oz Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 3 4.2 %
1.00 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 4 16.5 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 5 23.3 IBUs
1.00 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 6 12.1 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 7 17.1 IBUs
1.00 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 6.6 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 9 9.4 IBUs
1.00 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 30. Hop 10 5.1 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 30.0 Hop 11 7.2 IBUs
1.0 pkg Nottingham Yeast (Lallemand #-) [23.66 m Yeast 12 -
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 12 lbs
IIRC, I’ve used up to 10% honey malt w/o issues. It’s all about what else ya do to balance it.
Good point. I did a blonde ale with lime zest, lemongrass, and 7-8% honey malt and it was nice. I tried it again with a lot less honey malt and the other ingredients became overpowering…
Fremont Brewing in Seattle has a great IPA that’s 2-row, munich and honey malt. It is a little sweet, but not overly so. I’ve tried coming up with something something similar and my grain bill looks a lot like gymrat’s. Interesting how that’s worked out in this thread.
What it really comes down to is how much you like honey malt, or any other specialty grain. Put whatever specialty grain in whatever beer you think you’d like it in. Although I do agree with the idea of starting out with a small percentage the first go round.
My house IPA has 2% Honey malt. It adds a little depth of flavor w/o being sweet, and a little color too. For me it is like Naked Oats. I like them in small quantity.