Hello, I bought a bag of Weyermann Barke Munich (6-8°L) and was thinking of doing a dunkel with 99% Barke Munich and 1% Carafa Special. The malt smells fantastic but will it be too light in color and flavor for a traditional dunkel?
I am basing my recipe on Kai’s dunkel which is 99% Weyermann Munich II (8-10°L).
An alternative is I could use a 50/50 mix of Barke Munich and Weyermann Dark Munich 8-10°L. Maybe that would give it complexity.
Any comparisons or experience between the Weyermann Barke Munich and the Weyermann Munich II would be very valuable. Thanks!
This is the last Dunkel I did, with Barke Munich. At around 16.5 SRM it’s on the lighter end of the spectrum but within style. The recipe itself comes in at just over 14SRM - I bumped up the last couple of SRM+ with Sinamar which works very well. It was a really nice beer. Barke Munich is bready, toasty, aromatic and rich, without the pronounced dark fruit character of the standard Weyermann dark Munich IMO. Love Barke Munich!
OG 1.053
IBU 23.5
SRM 16.5 adjusted with Sinamar
81.4% Barke Munich
6.4% Pils
6.4% Pale ale malt
4.8% Caramunich II
1% Carafa II
Interestingly, I’ve got two bags of this same malt on the way. I too was planning on using Kai’s recipe of 99% munich/1% Carafe II.
However, I wasn’t going to worry about the color. Two scenarios:
Scenario 1: If I manage to work everything out and brew with low oxygen techniques, I’ll just adjust the percentage of Carafa II in subsequent batches. I think it’d be best to just start with the known recipe, then tweak from there.
Scenario 2: I don’t get all the parts to brew low oxygen, and opt for a “historic Dunkel” and decoct the whole thing. Ought to solve the color issue nicely, but if not, I’ll again tweak on subsequent batches.
Here’s a Dunkel that I made with 99% Barke Munich and 1% Black Prinz. All my friends and I really liked it, so the keg didn’t last long. I think you’re going to like it.
Thanks for the pics and advice, those look like real tasty dunkels. I think I’ll go ahead with 99% Barke. Sometimes that dark munich flavor is a tad too rich for me in high gravity beers especially in doppelbocks. Maybe I’ll try the Barke in a doppelbock to tone the intensity down a bit.
