Carafa III overpowering Black kolsh

[DAlexander]

I kegged my Black kolsh a few days ago and forced carbbed yesturday afternoon. Towards the end of the night I got her hooked up to the tap and poured a glass. Color was just right, carbonation seemed good but the aroma was quite roasty, dang. After a few sips I just had to walk away as the coffee like bitterness was just to much. I haven't had Carafa do this to me before but this was my first late addition attempt. I added 2lbs @ laughter to my 10 gallon batch. Maybe I was to critical as I had "kolsh" in mind when I tilted that pint, but for know I just can't get over it. I am really hoping that some of the astringency fades over the next few weeks. My black IPAs and APAs didn't seem to carry this but the carafa was mashed completely and aromatic hops were prominent.

Has anybody else had this issue with CARAFA? Will it balance out? Should I get over it and replace my morning coffee with a pint of this? Or should I find somebody who likes it and make a keg-trade?

 

[SpeedYellow]

I mainly stick to Carafa II, but seems to me that 1 lb per 5-gal would be way too much for a "black kolsch". I would have thought 0.25 lb, maybe up to 0.5 lbs. I wouldn't expect it to fade much. Blending it with something else may be your best bet.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I prefer Carafa II Special (dehusked) for beers like the one you had in mind. Carafa III is pretty strong stuff!

 

[Phunhog]

Since you are only using the Carafa for color have you tried adding it at either vorlauf or during the sparge? That way you won't extract anything but color.

 

[paraordnance]

3-4 oz per 5 gal batch would be sufficient. 2 lbs, yeah no kidding you can taste it. Try reducing amount next time. Kolsch yeast accentuates malt flavor even more compare to other yeasts so you don't need that much

 

[Clanchief]

I'm actually planning on using some Carafa III myself in a Black IPA, around 12 oz. in a 5.25 gallon batch, with an OG somewhere around 1.086 by my calculations. Is that going to be too much? I have 14 lbs of 2 row as my base, 8 oz. of Caramel 60, and then the 12 Carafa III.

 

[DAlexander]

I was told by a Distributor that all CARAFA is dehusked now.

I did add it to vorlauf, not lauter (my bad). I also remember my milling being a bit tight and have been informed that a tighter mill will release more of the tannins from heavy roasts. So I may next time try a a very coarse mill and add it to sparge at 1.5 oz instead of 2.

Does water quality have anything to do with accentuating bitters from roasted grains? I use city water, that is fairly hard in all me beers. I havent felt the need to mess with my water profile at all until now. My brown ale and black kolsh have both not turned at as smooth as I'd hoped. And they have been the first beers to turn out weird since I moved 1 1/2 years ago. I was on well water before. Guess Im gonna have to get a water test done.

 

[paraordnance]

I was told by a Distributor that all CARAFA is dehusked now.

I did add it to vorlauf, not lauter (my bad). I also remember my milling being a bit tight and have been informed that a tighter mill will release more of the tannins from heavy roasts. So I may next time try a a very coarse mill and add it to sparge at 1.5 oz instead of 2.

Does water quality have anything to do with accentuating bitters from roasted grains? I use city water, that is fairly hard in all me beers. I havent felt the need to mess with my water profile at all until now. My brown ale and black kolsh have both not turned at as smooth as I'd hoped. And they have been the first beers to turn out weird since I moved 1 1/2 years ago. I was on well water before. Guess Im gonna have to get a water test done.

I think you would have been better if you cold steep your Carafa overnight and add it at beginning of boil. This way you can control how much to add. I don't think mill settings play such a big role unless you grind your grains to flour.
Water will have affect but without looking at your water profile its hard to say. I have very alkaline water (220 ppm) and I can't brew light beers without adjustments or RO dilution. Dark malts on the other hand acidify mash enough to get it in right pH range. Call your city and ask for water profile, they will be glad to provide it to you.

 

[ICWiener]

I don't think it's your water. 2 lbs is just way too much. Even debittered malt is still roasty in large enough quantities.

Next time cut it waaaay down, look into cold steeping, and you can also try using blackprinz malt. I find it to be more mellow than any of the caraffas.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I was told by a Distributor that all CARAFA is dehusked now.

This link (to the maltster's site) suggests very much otherwise:

http://www.weyermann.de/usa/faq.asp?umenue=yes&idmenue=62&sprache=2

 

[Beernik]

I used 4oz each of Carafa II and Carafa III in a black bock (5gal) and that was roastier than I wanted.

 

[DAlexander]

This link (to the maltster's site) suggests very much otherwise:

http://www.weyermann.de/usa/faq.asp?umenue=yes&idmenue=62&sprache=2

BSG only carries the dehusked variety.