I think my Schwarzbier is a Dunkel

Beer Recipes
1

What do you think?

I’m not getting the slight roastiness that I thought I would from the Carafa.  Perhaps because it is the dehusked variety.
I haven’t had commercial examples of either style so I can only go by the guidelines at this point.

Whichever it is, it’s very tasty.

Thanks for any advice.

OG: 1.049
FG: 1.011
SRM: 19.3
IBU: 22.4

Best Pilsen 4.00 lbs
Best Munich I 4.16 lbs
Best Munich II 0.34 lbs
Wy. Caramunich III 0.38 lbs
Wy. Dehusk Carafa III 0.38 lbs

Hops AA% Loss% Type Oz Time
Hallertau 6.4 15 Pellet 1 60
Hallertau 6.4 15 Pellet 0.25 30
Hallertau 6.4 15 Pellet 0.25 2

2

Personally, I prefer Schwarzbier to have almost no roasty to it (for instance, Monschof has too much for my taste).  Yours looks fine, although, if you want more roast than you’re getting, I’d up the Carafa.  Should get you a little more roast and should also get your color darker as you’re at the light end of the SRM range for a schwarz.  I also like my Schwarzbier schwarz :slight_smile:

3

I have had the Warsteiner dunkel and it was VERY roasty, almost too much so.  In a schwarz, like an irish red, you are looking for more of a dry finish attributable to the carafa, and of course the color.  Most of the Schwarzbiers I have had were very smooth.

4

I was going for the light end of the style.

It just seemed like there was an overlap b/w the two styles and I was having second thoughts on the category if I were to enter it into a comopetition.

I’m sure the flavor will change slightly over the next few weeks.  That has been my experience with Alts that I’ve lagered.  After 6 weeks in cold condioning the flavor continues to change in the serving fridge and man does it get tasty.  I wish I had more space for cold conditioning.

5

Tasting another glass tonight.  I’m getting some roastiness this time.  I only get it up front and then the maltiness takes over.

Maybe my taste was off last night… or maybe I didn’t blow off enough and still had some yeast masking it… or maybe the fact that it was still 35F from the lager firdge.

6

Yes, there is definately overlap between these next time I brew a dunkel I want to use all the malts I use in my schwarzbier but in differen proportions.

Kai

7

Because the Carafa has no husk, it has a subdued roasty quality to it (or sometimes none at all).  Furthermore, it is actually inappropriate to have too much roast character in a schwarzbier.  There should be dark fruit and a small amount of cocoa for sure, but not the same roastiness you might expect from a stout or porter.  From what you’ve posted, it actually sounds like your beer is right on the money.

8

BJCP guidelines aside, the range of level of roast you can find in German Schwarzbiers is actually fairly large. It ranges from none (Schwarzbiers brewed with dark crystal instead of roasted malts, for example) to intense like a Porter. I don’t like the ones that have an intensive roast character and the more popular brands don’t have that either.

Kai

9

Thanks for all the comments.

I’m submitting it to NHC as a Schwarzbier so I guess I find out in a couple months.

10

You can submit it in both subcategories if you want!  :slight_smile:

11

Did the rules change from last year? I thought I remembered one beer per category.  Guess I’ll have get around to reading them for this year.

12

You can enter one beer per category.  But one beer can be entered into the categories that it could do well in.

If I have 2 American IPA’s I can only enter one in category 14B, for example.

If I have 1 German Pilsner, I could enter it in 2A, and if I thought it could do well as a Dortmunder, the same beer could go into 1E.

13

Thanks.  That’s what I thought.

14

There’s a difference between one beer per category and one category per beer.