Used 2lbs instead of 2oz

So I brewed a 10g batch of a bier de Garde recipe from the book brewing classic styles today.
The grain bill called for:
23lbs 2 row
6lbs Munich
1.5lbs cara Vienna
2 lbs cane sugar
2oz black patent
So the lady at the brewery didn't notice that the black patent was oz instead of lbs and milled everything together. So when the wort started coming out black I investigated and saw 2lbs black patent written on the grain bag. I finished the beer and pitched yeast, but I'm kind of wondering what to anticipate as far as balance and being drinkable.
Anyone ever faced anything similar, and if so what was the outcome?

Just call it a German porter, haha. It should be a fine beer, just not exactly what you were going for.

Yeah, it should still be awesome. You just made a Stout de Garde, or something.

Does even a porter use that much Black Patent Malt? I don't know because I'm not a fan. For me it would be undrinkable, but heck you may like Black Patent.

That's a crap-ton of black patent. Did you taste the sample? I bet it's ROASTY to beat hell.

I gotta laugh out of this. 2 lbs of black patent! Woooooooooo! I agree with the post above, not just a ton, but a crap-ton!

I bet I can guess the color of the beer!

I probably wouldn't continue to shop at a store if they didn't say "are you sure you want 2lbs black patent? 2oz looks more appropriate for this recipe."

You might want to brew a second batch of pale ale or blonde and mix the two to try to cut down that roast character.

guidry said:

i gotta laugh out of this. 2 lbs of black patent! Woooooooooo! I agree with the post above, not just a ton, but a crap-ton!

I bet i can guess the color of the beer!

Click to expand...

srm 50+

ReverseApacheMaster said:

You might want to brew a second batch of pale ale or blonde and mix the two to try to cut down that roast character.

Click to expand...

Best advice yet. Brew something uber light and mix the two together before bottling/kegging. You'll still have the equivalent of a porter in terms of color and toastiness.

Keep us posted on the results

tre9er said:

Best advice yet. Brew something uber light and mix the two together before bottling/kegging. You'll still have the equivalent of a porter in terms of color and toastiness.

Click to expand...

Hell id bottle or keg it straight up, and keep it around for mixing for months/years to come. It would probably take many to mix into directly.

ReverseApacheMaster said:

You might want to brew a second batch of pale ale or blonde and mix the two to try to cut down that roast character.

Click to expand...

This is probably what I am going to do if it's awful.

Unfortunately they are the only place that has brewing supplies in the area, and they use interns to take care of home rew orders. They are primarily a brewery.

I can't imagine how that is going to be even palatable, even with mixing...

JollyIsTheRoger said:

It should be a fine beer

Click to expand...

I doubt it. Black patent is really roasty and can get way overpowering in much smaller amounts than 2 lbs.

BrewThruYou said:

I doubt it. Black patent is really roasty and can get way overpowering in much smaller amounts than 2 lbs.

Click to expand...

But do remember this is a 10g batch.

Was going to say, that's a lot of BP but it's not necessarily an absurd amount given the batch size. I'm sure you'll notice it, though!

quadmx08 said:

Hell id bottle or keg it straight up, and keep it around for mixing for months/years to come. It would probably take many to mix into directly.

Click to expand...

Might be a good idea. Keep it kegged and squirt a shot of it into pale ales when you're feeling like a little "kick". A few ounces of BP makes a huge difference in a beer...I'm starting to agree that 2lbs. is probably so much even mixing it 50/50 won't help.

I did a similar thing once. I was supposed to have 1.5 oz of roasted barley (300 SRM) in a 10g batch and ended up with 1.5 lbs. It was too over the top for me initially, but after sitting for several months, it mellowed out and became a really good beer. Give it some time.

I understand some employees aren't fully into homebrewing and are just doing their job... but I feel like if the employee saw 2 POUNDS of black patent mixed in with the rest of the crushed grain bill, they probably should've confirmed that that's exactly what you want first. I understand it may seem out of the ordinary to us and maybe not the employee, but how many people are coming in asking for 2 pounds of black patent to be mixed in with the crushed grains of their grain bill?

EDIT: Nevermind... saw it was for 10 gal... not completely absurd then.

Not a bad idea to make your next brew a light-colored belgian pale ale or saison, just in case blending is in your future.

Since the patent malt is going to be quite edgy, you might consider blending in a lot of fruit (raspberries) and adding some brett to finish up the fermentation.

Another option is to blend with a 2-row/honey malt beer. The honey malt sweetness will cut the bitterness of the black patent.

A third option might be to brew a 2-row and chocolate malt 50/50 with high sulfates and blend. The heavy chocolate flavor might turn the brew into something very nice.

Brew on!

I can imagine the 2 pounds of sugar really drying the beer out further accentuating the rough burnt character. Once I saw how dark that wort was I would have left the sugar out, mashed a lot higher to retain body and added some more hops. But whats done is done and time might help tame it some.

From what I understood Black Patent is generally just for color, and doesn't really change anything, other than color, unlike the Carafe grains.

Koryb said:

From what I understood Black Patent is generally just for color, and doesn't really change anything, other than color, unlike the Carafe grains.

Click to expand...

Not correct. In quantities above a couple of ounces it contributes roasty/burnt flavors. Heavy use can taste downright ashy.

If you dont like it send it my way, i love me some 6% roast/burnt character

Landshark67 said:

Since the patent malt is going to be quite edgy, you might consider blending in a lot of fruit (raspberries) and adding some brett to finish up the fermentation.

Another option is to blend with a 2-row/honey malt beer. The honey malt sweetness will cut the bitterness of the black patent.

A third option might be to brew a 2-row and chocolate malt 50/50 with high sulfates and blend. The heavy chocolate flavor might turn the brew into something very nice.

Brew on!

Click to expand...

I was thinking something along these lines too. Might want to consider adding lactose or maltodex in addition to fruit or chocolate to help thicken up the body in order to shift the brew towards something sweeter. I think sweetness or thicker body will help cover up the harsh roasty profile.

So I just took my first gravity reading. OG was ~ 1.090 and its around 1.028. This also means I had the first taste that would hint what this beer is going to be like. It was phenomenal, I wanted to steal a whole half pint from the fermenter after the first sip. We'll see how it is when it's done though, it still has a ways to go.

Not sure what other posters in this thread are talking about. Milk stouts commonly use 1 lb of Black Patent in a 5-gallon batch, so 2 lbs in 10 gallons isn't outrageous at all - and this is a much bigger beer than a normal stout. My suggestion to the OP - if the beer it too harsh as is, add lactose to turn it into a lovely milk stout. But it'll probably turn out fine as is.

Thankfully it was 2lb in 10 gallons, not 5!!! That's a dark beer, man! That said, should still be drinkable, maybe even tasty.

ArcaneXor said:

Not sure what other posters in this thread are talking about. Milk stouts commonly use 1 lb of Black Patent in a 5-gallon batch, so 2 lbs in 10 gallons isn't outrageous at all - and this is a much bigger beer than a normal stout. My suggestion to the OP - if the beer it too harsh as is, add lactose to turn it into a lovely milk stout. But it'll probably turn out fine as is.

Click to expand...

I agree, 1lb per 5 gal doesn't seem excessive to me at all. I feared the black patent before I actually used it in a couple stouts recently instead of roasted barley (one a Sierra type clone which calls for it). I think I like it better actually. Hopefully the cane sugar doesn't dry this one out too much.

Whoops - accidental stout! I'm glad you got conversion with all that patent. It should be tasty, though - don't listen to all the black patent fear mongering. Your beer will not taste like licking an ashtray if you use more than 2oz.

This sounds good. I kind of want to try making something like that.

TheCarnie said:

So the lady at the brewery didn't notice that the black patent was oz instead of lbs and milled everything together. So when the wort started coming out black I investigated and saw 2lbs black patent written on the grain bag.

Click to expand...

AZ_IPA said:

I probably wouldn't continue to shop at a store if they didn't say "are you sure you want 2lbs black patent? 2oz looks more appropriate for this recipe."

Click to expand...

xjmox14x said:

I understand some employees aren't fully into homebrewing and are just doing their job... but I feel like if the employee saw 2 POUNDS of black patent mixed in with the rest of the crushed grain bill, they probably should've confirmed that that's exactly what you want first. I understand it may seem out of the ordinary to us and maybe not the employee, but how many people are coming in asking for 2 pounds of black patent to be mixed in with the crushed grains of their grain bill?

EDIT: Nevermind... saw it was for 10 gal... not completely absurd then.

Click to expand...

I don't understand. Is this a store that measures the grains for you? Every one I've ever been to is a DIY setup (milling included).

AndrewD, some places keep the grain bins behind the counter to prevent any ... um ... 'accidents' caused by customers - so they do measure and grind the grains for the customer, then hand them a premixed bag. (My LHBS doesn't even have bins, but just sells grain in pre-measured bags of 1#, 5#, or 10#.)

Chriso said:

AndrewD, some places keep the grain bins behind the counter to prevent any ... um ... 'accidents' caused by customers - so they do measure and grind the grains for the customer, then hand them a premixed bag. (My LHBS doesn't even have bins, but just sells grain in pre-measured bags of 1#, 5#, or 10#.)

Click to expand...

One of the ones I've been to has a shop vac parked next to the mill and plugged in at all times.

Black gold... Texas tea!

AndrewD said:

One of the ones I've been to has a shop vac parked next to the mill and plugged in at all times.

Click to expand...

My use of 'accidents' more meant carelessness, such as spilling grain into adjacent bins, etc. Anything that would compromise it and cause product waste. Not just a lil' dust.

Sometimes an "accident" turns out to be something quite phenominal. Take Stone's Arrogant Bastard. They were making a Pale Ale and upping the batch size, when they miscalculated and accidentally added too much hops and too much malt and from that a FABULOUS beer was born. Perhaps yours will be something we are all brewing someday! Keep us posted on this and a few pictures would be awesome!

Chriso said:

My use of 'accidents' more meant carelessness, such as spilling grain into adjacent bins, etc. Anything that would compromise it and cause product waste. Not just a lil' dust.

Click to expand...

No, the shop vac is for the pounds of grain that gets spilled by people when they pour the grain into the hopper without shutting the bottom first. I did it my first time.