First time brewing a dark ale

[Matrix30]

I've done lagers, pilsners, and australian pale ales for a few years and i wanted to try my hand at a dark ale. I was just wondering if anybody had advice for a first time dark ale like

 

[Leezer]

I’d recommend making Yoopers Oatmeal Stout, a tried and true recipe found on this site. Was the first dark beer I made. I thought I wouldn’t like dark beers until I tried this one and it has become one of my favorites.

 

[RM-MN]

Be patient with your dark ale, whichever recipe you choose. They taste smoother with extra time in the bottles. A really fresh stout can have some pretty harsh flavors.

 

[Miraculix]

Be patient with your dark ale, whichever recipe you choose. They taste smoother with extra time in the bottles. A really fresh stout can have some pretty harsh flavors.

Exactly!

You can minimise the harshness by steeping the dark grains/malt over night in cold water and adding the liquid to the last minute of the boil.

You would need to use more of the dark stuff then you would use when mashing with it.

Or you can just throw in the dark stuff for the last ten minutes of the mash.

If you want something tasty and simple, 10% roast barley, 10% medium crystal, rest pale malt. Any bittering hop for 25-35ibus (depending on og and your taste). Og between 1.05 and 1.06. Ferment with s04. Prime with 5g sugar per liter.

 

[TGFV]

Be patient with your dark ale, whichever recipe you choose. They taste smoother with extra time in the bottles. A really fresh stout can have some pretty harsh flavors.

I always try to let mine sit at least a month longer than my paler ales. My last dark ale (a dark mild I over bittered, whoops) had a strange and unidentifiable taste that took me ages to figure out (it tasted like vegemite of all things). But two months in the bottle and a month in the fermenter and it's turned out great, if a bit too bitter for how thin it is.

 

[FatDragon]

Prime with 5g sugar per liter.

Or less. I often prime my stouts and porters <4g/L (table sugar) and it's just right for my taste. Maybe it's from drinking nitro stouts early in my drinking years, but a porter or stout that's carbed higher than about 1.8 volumes feels like it has too much bite for the style. I also like a lot of oatmeal in mine. My go-to is ~1.055 with about 10% roasted barley, 10% raw buckwheat, 20% oatmeal, and 60% whatever base malt's lying around at the time. I'll use English hops (usually Fuggles or EKG) to about 35 IBU (calculated) and maybe another ounce around the 10 minute mark. S-04 is nice, as is M-15. Last time I co-pitched those two and got a great flavor profile and body, as well as rock-hard flocculation that means I can share bottles with people who drink from the bottle and they don't have to worry about a mouthful of yeast.

 

[Miraculix]

Or less. I often prime my stouts and porters <4g/L (table sugar) and it's just right for my taste. Maybe it's from drinking nitro stouts early in my drinking years, but a porter or stout that's carbed higher than about 1.8 volumes feels like it has too much bite for the style. I also like a lot of oatmeal in mine. My go-to is ~1.055 with about 10% roasted barley, 10% raw buckwheat, 20% oatmeal, and 60% whatever base malt's lying around at the time. I'll use English hops (usually Fuggles or EKG) to about 35 IBU (calculated) and maybe another ounce around the 10 minute mark. S-04 is nice, as is M-15. Last time I co-pitched those two and got a great flavor profile and body, as well as rock-hard flocculation that means I can share bottles with people who drink from the bottle and they don't have to worry about a mouthful of yeast.

I agree. 5g/l is at the upper end and I wouldn't go further (I tried and didn't like it).

Regarding oats, they are really good for yeast health and probably also extend shelf life of the beer quite a bit but they don't do much else. I tried it in blind tests, no impact on taste or mouthfeel at all. Also lines up well with what Scott janish wrote about this topic.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

What style of dark ale? Brown ale (American or British), Porter (many varieties), Stout (many varieties)? Do you have a commercial beer as a guide, or what sort of flavours are you thinking?

 

[FatDragon]

I feel like they make a difference in body that contributes to the mouthfeel I want. Maybe I'd get the same mouthfeel with base malt in place of the oats. I'm not interested in rolling those dice - brewdays are too precious with two kids and two side jobs. This is the only recipe I intentionally repeat with minimal variation. Everything else I brew is subject to my moods and ingredient stocks. I keep this one the way it is because I know this is how I like it.

 

[Miraculix]

I feel like they make a difference in body that contributes to the mouthfeel I want. Maybe I'd get the same mouthfeel with base malt in place of the oats. I'm not interested in rolling those dice - brewdays are too precious with two kids and two side jobs. This is the only recipe I intentionally repeat with minimal variation. Everything else I brew is subject to my moods and ingredient stocks. I keep this one the way it is because I know this is how I like it.

Yes, I thought the same til I did blind tests with the same beer, one brewed with and one without oats (was at least 20%, but don't remember the exact number).

But anyway, no mistake by using oats, there are other very good reasons why to use them. Google "Scott Janish case on brewing with oats", that should lead you to a very good article, much more informative than my mumbling.

 

[FatDragon]

I read it when somebody (might have been you) linked it on another post a few days ago. Good evidence for using oats.

 

[Miraculix]

I read it when somebody (might have been you) linked it on another post a few days ago. Good evidence for using oats.

Yeah, might have been me, I notoriously quote this thread as there are so many misconceptions about oats around which seem to stay forever....

 

[Oxen Nerang]

It is easy to make and is based only on ingredients that don't need mashing. All the malts and malt extracts used here can be simply boiled to extract flavour.