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**TimBrewz** · 01-22-2013, 12:44 AM

Also I have found the color, though low in beersmith or beertools comes out very dark from caramelization in the boil. This is not a roasty style so go easy on the dark grains.

Cheers, Tim

hoppus · 01-22-2013, 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by climateboy

Hey all--I'm in the middle of making my first schwarzbier--wort boiling now--and my gravity reading puts post-boil gravity at 1.062, which will result in a fermented ABV of about 6.8%.

The recipe called for hitting 1.055, but in adjusting for color (I wanted it darker), I forgot to track the gravity in Beersmith.

So, is this too strong for a Schwarzbier? I'm not going for a competition, but I want something that will still be smooth and not hit you over the head. Should I dilute? How to do that without affecting taste? Or leave as is?

Thanks,

CB

I brewed a slightly modified version of NortherBrewers Schwartz and hit an OG of 1.063. I lagered it for 6 weeks, and I'm actually sipping on it right now. At 6.5% it's really more of a Schwarz"bock" than anything else, but I'm loving it. Some times little mistakes can result in great new beers. As long as you don't mind a bit of extra wait for it to condition, I say don't dilute what could be a great discovery.

**climateboy** · 01-22-2013, 08:58 PM

I ended up diluting it, just because I didn't want such a big beer (I'm planning a pipeline that will end with my wedding in August). Also, I hadn't diluted before, so it was good to learn the lesson of how to avoid, and how to fix.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. A Schwarzbock does sound good--this will be my first lager, so looking forward to experimenting more in the future.

CB

hoppus · 01-23-2013, 12:26 PM

Sounds good, and congrats on the nuptials! I think I'm also going to try post-boil dilution in the near future. I'm limited in how much wort I can boil, so I've been toying around with doubling the grainbill of low OG batches and then diluting it to 10gallons post-boil.

**climateboy** · 01-24-2013, 02:24 PM

Thanks!

Actually, I diluted with 15 minutes left in the boil. Took a gravity reading from the kettle, then used Beersmith's dilution tool. Worked perfectly, and I didn't have to worry about sterilized water, or my own, perhaps unfounded concerns that diluting the wort after boil would affect flavor. I stopped the timer when I added the dilution water, then restarted when the boil got going again. Then I added the 15 minute hops.

**TimBrewz** · 01-25-2013, 12:19 AM

Glad it went well. Post results please.