Mutilated1

Recipes 

OK I have this recipe for my house beer, and I want to brew a dark mild.

The house recipe is basically a version of "The Innskeeper" from Northern Brewer with some of our own changes.

1 3.3# Can Briess Light LME ( Amber makes cool substitute )
1# Extra Light DME
1# Dextrose
( Partial Mash / Steep )
4oz Marris Otter
4oz Biscuit
2oz Crystal 40
2oz Crystal 60 ( Original recipe called for 4oz dark crystal not 2 of 40 and 2 of 60, but this is how we like it )

1oz Fuggles @60
1oz Kent Goldings @45
1oz Styrian Goldings @5

1.040 is target OG, FG is 1.010

Anyway, this is my house brew, I brew it 2-3 times a month, but I want to brew a dark version, I guess style-wise it would be a "dark mild" ? What I'm looking for is like a dry stout only not so big, want to keep it around .040 so everyone can have another.

I'm thinking that the hops don't need messed with, and maybe some roasted barley or special B is in order somehow, just don't know what.

Also, I was thinking that I should replace the 1#Dextrose and 1#Light DME with 2#s Dark DME.

What do I need to change in my recipe to get the dark ? I want the roasty kind of dark like roasted barley and not necessarily the bitter chocolate kind of taste.

What do ?

Double_D

Recipes 

I'd try sparging over some roasted barley. Or if you're mini mashing just put it in a separate grain bag and steep it for a little color towards the end of your mash. Doesn't look like you need to change anything other than that to me.

Orthobrewsky

Recipes 

Yes, if you want a roasty mild and want the gravity to stay about the same, I'd take out some of the dextrose and try 3-4 oz of black roasted barley. I think the roast would come across pretty strong in a low gravity ale, so if you were to use as much as 8 oz, it would be more like a low gravity stout.

Mutilated1

Recipes 

low gravity stout is pretty much what I have in mind.

I bought the ingredients a few days ago, but I didn't ever get around to brewing this weekend.

I just sub'd some Special B, Roasted Barley, and Chocolate for the grains, and I've got a pound of Dark DME to sub for the Light DME.

You think I will be ok with the same hops though ? I've also got Cascades and Willalmettes on deck, I'm not sure if I need more hops to offset the dark or not, I really don't want to get to hoppy.

Orthobrewsky

Recipes 

I just re-read you post, so now I see you had mentioned the dry stout idea.

Flavor hops are not really necessary in a dark or a mild, though you can have a little. I think your hop schedule is probably fine. Are you doing a full boil?

Normally a dry stout would have very little crystal, if any. You could stick with the light extract and use more roasted barley or if you use the dark extract you might just want a little.

If you are trying to modify this base recipe to be a dry stout, my inclination is to stick with your extract and crystal as it was, put in about 12 oz. black roasted barley and a half pound to a pound of flaked barley and ditch the other ingredients. You can't get much from the flaked without a mash, but it can still give some body and mouthfeel; it's usually in a dry stout.

Jamil's dry stout from BCS, for example, is 5 pounds light malt extract with 2 pounds flaked barley and 1 pound of black roasted barley for an initial gravity of 1.042. He just has 2 ounces of Goldings at 60 min., but it is a full boil, which gives more bitterness from the hops. Keep in mind that your roasted barley will provide some bitter taste.