Grain substitution/recipe adjustment question

[DVCNick]

Say I have a recipe that calls for 10lb pale 2-row and 1lb Caramel 20L.

I'm making this up as I go, so bear with me. Say for the sake of argument the pale 2-row is 1.5L. So I have (10*1.5)+(1*20) = 35 total "darkness units". divide by 11lb total grain = 3.18 "darkness units" per pound average in the recipe.

If I had a Pale Ale malt, that was, for the sake of argument, exactly 3.18L, would substituting 11lb of it for the grain bill result in the same beer? Or is my understanding of how the L scale works here completely off base?

 

[Jag75]

My guess is color maybe but not taste . Interesting thought however .

 

[Carolina_Matt]

Jag is correct that it would only be comparable color, not taste. Along the same lines, 1/2 lb of 20L and 1/2 lb of 60L will not yield the same beer as 1 lb of 40L.

 

[eric19312]

I doubt color would be same either. SRM is defined by absorption of light at a single wavelength. We perceive light accross a larger spectrum. Brad Smith explains it well on his blog. Link at the bottom.

"Limitations of Beer Color and Color Estimates

No matter how accurately your color estimate or measurement is, you need to recognize that all existing beer color systems have very real limitations. The SRM color system, for instance, is measured from the absorbance of a single wavelength of light. It can’t tell the difference between similarly colored red beers and amber beer, for example. The subtle hues of red and brown may look identical at the 430nm wavelength.

In fact, it is not possible to specify the precise color of a beer with a single “beer darkness number” such as SRM. The subtle variations in red, brown, gold, copper and straw can’t be captured in a single dimension beer color system. Irish Red is a good example – if you do an estimate of the color for an Irish Red you will likely get something that does not look very red at all on the color card. Yet the addition of a tiny amount of roasted barley gives it the distinctive red hue that the SRM system simply can’t capture."

http://beersmith.com/blog/2008/04/29/beer-color-understanding-srm-lovibond-and-ebc/

 

[DVCNick]

Interesting, thanks guys. I didn't know that about SRM either.
I guess I'll need to come up with another plan to use up my Pale Ale malt.

 

[balrog]

Like taking molasses in some water, has dark flavor; not same as light brown sugar in little water might be same "look" but taste much different.