Boo-urns

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I attempted to convert one of my extract recipes to all grain. In the extract recipe I used 1# of roasted barley, .25# black patent. (I used a bottle to crush them) For the all grain version I used 1# roasted barley, 1# midnight wheat no black patent. Is there anyway to smooth out this beer? It has what I think an astringent taste up front.

The extract batch came out perfect for me granted it could be because I didn't use a mill.

Any suggestions? The batch is currently being dry hopped.

BigFloyd

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CTownBrewer

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At this point, it will be tough to correct. I'm assuming you want to find a way to add sweetness to this to balance out the astringency from the roasted malt.

I can think of 3 options...

1) Sit on it for a few more weeks & sample again. It could just have the astringency of "green" beer...possibly a combination of the roasted malt & hop bitterness. After it conditions for a little longer, the flavors may blend together better & you'll have less hops left in suspension.

2) Make another beer & blend the two (a milk stout would be a good way to sweeten it up)

3) Add some vanilla beans & let it sit for a couple weeks on it

What style of beer is this? If it's a Black IPA, the vanilla addition would probably make it worse.

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Boo-urns

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So you're saying that time might not heal this batch? At least I saved the yeast.

Boo-urns

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It is a black IPA, I haven't tasted anything similar before. Good idea with the milk stout and blending.

CTownBrewer

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What's the total grain bill?

A few general rules of thumb I live by...
- Only use up to 15% specialty malts in a batch
- If using roasted malt, use no more than 10% in a batch

Since I've never used Midnight Wheat, I have no idea how harsh that roasted wheat flavor will come through...do you know the Lovibond color on that?

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Boo-urns

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11# 2-row
1# Munich (had some laying around didn't want to run and get 1# 2-row)
1# Midnight Wheat (550 lovibond)
1# Roasted Barley
.75# Caramel 60L
.25# Carapils

Boo-urns

Recipes 

It is the first time using midnight wheat but the description is:

Smooth, with no bitter, astringent, dry flavors or aftertaste. Starts slightly sweet. Mild roasted/chocolate/coffee flavors and aroma. Finishes exceptionally clean.

CTownBrewer

Recipes 

That's 13.3% roasted malts, which really isn't too overboard. I would wait a few weeks & taste it again. You may just have a young beer that hasn't had a chance for the flavors to meld together.

If it's still to astringent, you could consider blending a milk stout with about 7% roasted malt & end up in decent shape. It won't necessarily be a Black IPA though...probably more along the lines of a hoppy stout.

I read Mitch Steele's book on hops/IPAs. With Black IPAs, you really don't want to use any roasted barley/wheat/chocolate/black patent. Stick to dehusked Caraffa. It will give you the color without imparting any roasty/astringent flavor. That way, the hops will stand out & pop more.

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DocScott

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That's a lot of roasted malts! I think your best bet is to blend it with a malty or sweet beer or choke it down and move on. Time won't dissipate the flavors enough to make it that much better.