Been throwing things around on this- let me know what you think
6 Gallon Batch
Base:
9lb Marris Otter
6lb Munich
Specialty:
1.5lb Crystal 120
3oz Special B
4oz Aromatic Malt
8oz Chocolate
8oz Carafa II
Hops:
Czech Saaz 2.25 oz at 60min
Czech Saaz 1 oz at 30 min
Yeast:
San Fran Lager with large starter
Mash at 156F x 50 min
Boil x 90 min
Ferment as close to 60 as possible (any lower will be difficult)
OG: ~1.082
My concerns:
Will the Carafa II provide enough roast character or is it better to go with some black malt? I’m trying to make it as smooth as possible with little astringency
Would caramunich offer any advantage over crystal 120?
I don’t think you will get much roast character. I would lower the crystal to maybe a pound and up your chocolate to .75 or 1 lb., but that’s just my tastes.
If you want it to be smooth and not astringent, I would stick with the carafa and not use the black malt. However, 1lb of carafa and chocolate is a fair amount of roast malt. You may want to consider cutting both back to 6oz or 4oz?
Also, there is negligible difference between special B and C120L. Maybe switch one to a mid-level crystal like 40L, 60L, or 80L for a little more complexity? Cut back the total crystal used to about 1lb.
+1 to hoser’s comments - I used roughly that % of roasted (choc and carafa) in mine a couple of years ago and it came across a bit too much for my tastes. I prefer this style a bit more malty and smooth.
The question is, how will you use the dark grains? My suggestion would be to cold steep them for 8 hours or so, strain the liquor into a pot and boil for 5 minutes while your main mash and boil is happening, then cool down and put in the primary fermenter with the rest of the wort. That will minimize the roast / bitter character and give you smooth darkness.
Revision: I think avoiding the black malt will keep any astringency at bay. That being said I hope to maximize the roast/chocolate tones from the chocolate malt and use the carafa for color and some roast as well. I kept the sum of the 2 under 10% of the grain bill. Bumped the special B up a tad and changed the crystal to 60. Additional thoughts?
Base:
10lb Marris Otter
5lb Munich
Specialty:
.75lb Crystal 60
4oz Special B
4oz Aromatic Malt
.75lb Chocolate
.5lb Carafa II
Looks great! As for your concerns, if you don’t like the astringency, stick with the Carafa II. I think the Crystal vs. CaraMunich is personal preference. I like CaraMunich myself. My only other input would be maybe a lower mash temp. Good luck and have fun. Cheers!
