Dark beer without choc. malt?

Grains, malts, hops, yeast, water and other ingredients used to brew. Recipe reviews and suggestions.

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brewdude
Light Lager
Light Lager
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2001 11:36 am

Dark beer without choc. malt?

Post by brewdude »

Does anyone know if it is possible to make a beer
that is as dark as stout but not use choc. malt to
achieve the dark color? I'd like to make a dark beer
for St. Pat's Day but I don't like the choc. malt
that is required for stouts. I do like bocks but so
far the color I've gotten with them hasn't been really
too close to a stout. Do you think that using, say, 3#
of 60 deg. crystal in a batch could get me close to what
I'm looking for?
BillyBock
Imperial Stout
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Location: Ohio

Roasted Grains

Post by BillyBock »

You mention you don't like chocolate malt. Do you like any of the other roasted grains, like roasted barley, or black patent? You can achieve darker colors with crystal, but the proportions would be quite high and you might run the risk of making a cloyingly sweet beer. I ran some trials with the tools on this site. Here's some examples, they all assume 80% extraction, a final fermenter volume of 5.5 gals, and a starting gravity of about 1.040-1.043. (1) 5# pale, 3# 60L crystal produces an SRM of 16. (2) 5# pale, 3# 120L crystal, SRM=24. (3) 7# pale, 1# roasted barley, SRM=23. (4) 7# pale, 1# black, SRM=30. (5) 4# pale, 4# 120L, SRM=29. (6) 4# pale, 3# 120L crystal, 1# roast, SRM=29. Ultimately, the answer to your question will depend on what flavor aspects you're looking for in the final product. There are some good books and websites that discuss the flavor contributions of various grains. A final idea would be to darken your wort with an extended boil, maybe 2-3 hours instead of 1 hour.
brewdude
Light Lager
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Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2001 11:36 am

Thanks

Post by brewdude »

Thanks for the reply. Just like your formulas indicated,
it would take a very high amount of dark crystal. This would
be good for me. It's the 'burnt' flavor of choc. malt
that I really don't care for. I've never used patent malt
but I would assume it has the same type of flavor as choc.
I really appreciate you doing the math for me and I
think I will try a batch using the heavy crystal formula.
I think my new supplier carries the 120 deg. stuff too-
this will be a good test for him. Thanks again.
brewdude
Light Lager
Light Lager
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2001 11:36 am

FYI- Billy

Post by brewdude »

I made my St. Pat's Day brew. Followed one of your formulas.
Used 7# 2-row, 4# 120L crystal, myh homebrew Wyeast 1056.
The color looks great! Nice and dark, the wort had a
pretty strong caramel flavor like you predicted. OG was
1.044, higher than I was expecting but I did use a
different mill for the 2 row this time. IF anything
could be wrong with this batch it might be that I undershot
on the hops. We'll see in a few weeks. Ain't this a
great hobby??
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Mesa Maltworks
Strong Ale
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Location: Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island

Try...

Post by Mesa Maltworks »

Have you given consideration to trying "de-husked" malts? ie.. Dehusked Chocolate 300
brewdude
Light Lager
Light Lager
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2001 11:36 am

Thanks

Post by brewdude »

Wow, I cna understand the stuff your talking about .
Is it easily available? Never heard of dehusked grains.
The batch I made with 4# 120L crystal is in the
fermenter and is looking good, nice color too. When
I tasted the wort I might've gone a bit lite on the
hops, considering all that caramel flavor. It still
looks good. Thanks for the help!
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