Carafa Special 3 in Black IPA

[dan125]

I was planning on brewing a black IPA tomorrow with the grain bill below, using the carafa special for the first time, but after trawling the forum/web for info on this I'm a bit concerned that I might be using too much.

I've used the same amount of Dingemanns de-husked roasted barley in a recent oatmeal stout with good results, so thought the CS3 would be similar - but what do you think?

24L batch
MO - 6KG
Carafa Special 3 - 500g
Wheat malt - 250g

 

[MyQul]

I've never made this style but my Greg hughes book recipe for black IPA has 170g for 23L

Here's a recent thread discussing the GH black IPA

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=60200

 

[dan125]

I've never made this style but my Greg hughes book recipe for black IPA has 170g for 23L

Here's a recent thread discussing the GH black IPA

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=60200

Thanks MyQul I saw this thread and its one of the reasons I'm not sure.
GH has the choc malt as well which I reckon will have a stronger flavour than CS3.
Trouble is if I reduce the amount of CS3 too much the beer's gonna be dark brown rather than black (according to software)

 

[GHW]

I followed the Greg Hughes grain bill to the letter and it was as black as ink. I don't think you'd need any more cs3 in there. What I would say is that it doesn't impart that much flavour so I wouldn't use it as the only roasted malt in a black IPA, it'll end up tasting more like a regular iPa, just black. Which kid of defeats the point (in my opinion, others may disagree!). I'd add a bit of chocolate in. Or for something different a bit of chocolate wheat or choc rye. I'm going to try both of those in a black IPA sometime in the future.

 

[Dads_Ale]

I used the following for my Black IPA;

Final volume - 32 litres
Pale malt - 6kg
Cara 3 - 200g
Wheat malt - 800g

The above was all in the mash for 90 mins.
I also cold steeped 100g of cara 3 for 30mins and added to the boiler (to give extra colour)
Not jet black but black enough...:smile:

I reckon BIPA is difficult to get right as too much roastyness does not go well with the US hops (if making an American version

 

[MyQul]

Perhaps a touch of black malt too?

 

[dan125]

I followed the Greg Hughes grain bill to the letter and it was as black as ink. I don't think you'd need any more cs3 in there. What I would say is that it doesn't impart that much flavour so I wouldn't use it as the only roasted malt in a black IPA, it'll end up tasting more like a regular iPa, just black. Which kid of defeats the point (in my opinion, others may disagree!). I'd add a bit of chocolate in. Or for something different a bit of chocolate wheat or choc rye. I'm going to try both of those in a black IPA sometime in the future.

Ta Gareth, I only want a mild flavour from the grain, keeping the brew hop dominated. so think I'll stick with just the CS3 for this brew and adjust next time I brew the style if its not roasty enough - just a case of how much to use.

 

[GHW]

Ta Gareth, I only want a mild flavour from the grain, keeping the brew hop dominated. so think I'll stick with just the CS3 for this brew and adjust next time I brew the style if its not roasty enough - just a case of how much to use.

Yeah, the choc will definitely add more burnt notes. I really liked those in mine though, which was made with a lot of citra and cascade. As always it's a matter of personal preference.

 

[MyQul]

How about replacing some or all of the wheat in your recipe with midnight wheat?

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Midnight-Wheat-Malt-500g-Crushed.html#.Vsg-bMtugQk

 

[ManseMasher]

GH recommends no more than 5% mate, your current bill comes in at just over 8%.

 

[Dads_Ale]

How about replacing some or all of the wheat in your recipe with midnight wheat?

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Midnight-Wheat-Malt-500g-Crushed.html#.Vsg-bMtugQk

Damn..... Now there is more malt I need to buy...:grin:

 

[dan125]

How about replacing some or all of the wheat in your recipe with midnight wheat?

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Midnight-Wheat-Malt-500g-Crushed.html#.Vsg-bMtugQk

Wish I'd known about that before ordering grains earlier in the week

 

[dan125]

GH recommends no more than 5% mate, your current bill comes in at just over 8%.

Yeah I think I might be overdoing it a bit.
If I knock it down to 400g (6%) the brew comes in bang in the middle of the colour range for the style - according to beersmith, so I might compromise with this.

 

[rodabod]

It'll start to get really roasty as you get over 5%. I usually went something like 5% with half of it only added at the sparge stage.

 

[dan125]

It'll start to get really roasty as you get over 5%. I usually went something like 5% with half of it only added at the sparge stage.

Thanks Rodabod - what I don't understand is; as the CS3 is supposed to be smooth, de-bittered, etc, and I would need to add all 500g (approx. 8%) to make the beer really black. If I substitute any other dark grains (that aren't de-husked) won't the beer be even roastier than it would if I use just the CS3?
Should I have just stuck with de-husked roasted barley, is this less intense?

Suppose I could increase the amount of MO until my 500g of CS3 only makes up 5% of the grain bill - but would end up with an OG above 1.080 :drunk:

 

[ManseMasher]

What software are you using? Is the EBC in it correct? The only reason I ask is that when using beersmith I always check the stored ingredients say the same as the real thing. If they don't (which has happened, especially with hops) then I change the figures.

 

[ManseMasher]

I've just checked beersmith - it has cs3 as having an EBC of 1034.3! All suppliers list it as 1300 - 1500. That would certainly change the percentages.

 

[pgl150]

I'm about to brew this next weekend but I'm mindful of some of the comments from those that have already brewed it. I was going to follow Gregs recipe to the letter although I had to get Black Malt rather than Carafa 3 to order from the one supplier!

I am wondering about adding around 2% crystal malt to add a little sweetness. What does everyone think (it's my first AG!)?

Also, in brewers friend if my supplier lists the crystal as 145 EBC what do I enter under UK Crystal Malt as there are loads of numbers for it?

Thanks

Paul

 

[dan125]

What software are you using? Is the EBC in it correct? The only reason I ask is that when using beersmith I always check the stored ingredients say the same as the real thing. If they don't (which has happened, especially with hops) then I change the figures.

I'm using Beersmith on my phone, and yes I've changed the EBC to 1300 for the carafa

 

[ManseMasher]

I'm using Beersmith on my phone, and yes I've changed the EBC to 1300 for the carafa

Every site I've looked at gives the EBC as 1300 - 1500. Have you tried upping the EBC to see what it does to the percentage? Maybe to 1400?