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A friend of mine gave me a beer and said let me know if you could make a beer just like that.
Im trying to develop my knowledge in designing recipes, so I got to thinking about it.
On the label it said dark ale, unfortunately I forget the brand. I poured it into a glass, and it was just on the lighter side of what I would call a brown ale in color. Light-ish body, pretty strong carbonation. No real hop aroma to speak of, but it had a bitterness backbone to it.
There wasnt much sweetness and the malty/bready flavors that I love in dark beers were quite thin. Really, the first thing I thought of while drinking it was that this beer might be something that a BMC drinker would buy when theyre feeling edgy and daring. In other words, its more of a quaffer than something to be savored.
Here is what I was thinking: starting with a 2-row or maris otter SMaSH, then augmenting it with just enough chocolate malt to get the desired color (say 10ish percent, or is that too much)? I was thinking chocolate malt so that I can get the color but without the sweetness of crystal malts and without the roasty and bitter flavors of roasted barley and black malt. Primarily bittering hop additions, say 1-1.5oz per 5gal of Tett or Magnum at 60 min? Mash at 150ish, and pitch S-05?
Frankly, the beer was drinkable but I didnt enjoy it very much, and I certainly dont wish to tie up my fermenters to make it. So, I plan on trying to encourage my friend to invest in some gear and brew this himself (hes been toying with the idea anyway). But, Id like to provide some guidance on the recipe if I can.
Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
Im trying to develop my knowledge in designing recipes, so I got to thinking about it.
On the label it said dark ale, unfortunately I forget the brand. I poured it into a glass, and it was just on the lighter side of what I would call a brown ale in color. Light-ish body, pretty strong carbonation. No real hop aroma to speak of, but it had a bitterness backbone to it.
There wasnt much sweetness and the malty/bready flavors that I love in dark beers were quite thin. Really, the first thing I thought of while drinking it was that this beer might be something that a BMC drinker would buy when theyre feeling edgy and daring. In other words, its more of a quaffer than something to be savored.
Here is what I was thinking: starting with a 2-row or maris otter SMaSH, then augmenting it with just enough chocolate malt to get the desired color (say 10ish percent, or is that too much)? I was thinking chocolate malt so that I can get the color but without the sweetness of crystal malts and without the roasty and bitter flavors of roasted barley and black malt. Primarily bittering hop additions, say 1-1.5oz per 5gal of Tett or Magnum at 60 min? Mash at 150ish, and pitch S-05?
Frankly, the beer was drinkable but I didnt enjoy it very much, and I certainly dont wish to tie up my fermenters to make it. So, I plan on trying to encourage my friend to invest in some gear and brew this himself (hes been toying with the idea anyway). But, Id like to provide some guidance on the recipe if I can.
Any help would be appreciated, thanks.