Too much black malt

[kestlemill]

I made a beer a while back and it has just come to condition. It's been in the bottle for just 2 weeks so really fresh. There's a problem with it - it has a really long and really, really bitter aftertaste. I was trying to make a smoked imperial stout but it doesn't taste very nice.

What do people think?

Is the black malt, or something else, the problem?
How should i alter the recipe to improve it?
And might it get better with age, and if so how long will it need to age for?

Here's the recipe:
I used 4.5kg pale malt extract
1kg smoked malt
570g roasted barley
300g chocolate malt
330g black malt
-Final vol 23 litres.

(To add insult to injury it is unlikely i got any sugar out of the malts due to none of them being diastatic, so it is also much weaker than intended. But that's another story!)

Thanks for looking.

 

[RobWalker]

That's a very dark and smoky beer. The reason it tastes like that is, well, the ingredients. I would cut the black to 100g for a start, never used dark though.

Could you not brew up a simple light ale and mix it in? That's what I'd do at this point...brew it up strong with a small volume to bring the abv up too. With those ingredients, age will sort it out somewhat too.

 

[Dronfieldbrewer]

Far too much black malt...and choccy, I would have dropped them both to about 70-80gms. i have never used smoked malt so cannot comment on the kilo of that, perhaps a bit of over kill.

It will mellow with age. I brewed a chocolate mild a year ago, it still is choakingly harsh so chucked it down the bog.

The suggestion of doing a pale brew with the same hop schedule might be the way to go, you will end up with loads of the stuff though and if you don't like what turns out could have wasted your time.

Personaly I would cut losses and chuck it

 

[Runwell-Steve]

+1 on the too much Black Malt. You can get away with that much chocolate, but only if thats the only Dark Malt you have, certainly all that Black Malt will have tipped this over the edge.

I think this may be one to chalk up to experience, and pour down the drain, sorry, I can't really think of a way to rescue this.

 

[RobWalker]

Well, if the light brew was 23l too, that'd leave you with about 150g black and chocolate and 250g barley with 500g smoked malt. Is that the German stuff btw? Raulchmaltz or something? You should be okay if so, as you can use it as a base malt. Of course, you will have 10 gals of it :p

 

[shocker]

That and throw a party : :party:

the good news - theres all this free beer to drink
the bad news - Theres all this free beer to drink :cry:

sorry , couldnt resist....I'll get me coat......

 

[kestlemill]

lol, as i suspected, it's not positive news. Also, thanks for the 'helpful' comments! I think I will cellar a few bottles and go back to the drawing board on this one. Wish i hadn't used any black malt - not a good flavour at the best of times!

 

[shocker]

I did apologise ! Seriously though , I think nearly everything useful has been said above . I used too much crystal malt in a brew of lager yesterday ....I was looking to add some colour and body and made it dark brown instead whoops , as they say .

Its a harsh learning curve , this grain brewing , when you are used to it all being sorted for you in kits , and I say "you" in the sense of "we" . But to be positive theres always the chance it will age well , and the mix idea is sound . Theres always mulling too , especially around christmas . Your brew sounds like it could be a powerful base for many other things , so dont give up hope

all the best mate

shocksi :

 

[graysalchemy]

Next time you brew why not post up your recipe first so that more experienced members take a look at it and perhaps suggest alterations for you.

Also look at other peoples recipes, you soon get an idea of how much of is best for a particular style. And finally I would get a copy of Graham Wheelers book and find a commercial brew you like and then adapt it to your taste. Eventually you will evolve your own recipes which you are happy with.

:thumb: :thumb: