Almost Black IPA

I made my first attempt at a black IPA but it did not turn out as dark as I desired. I did some research on this site about what grains people were using in their black IPAs. I saw many people were using carafa III. When I got to my LHBS they only had Carafa II, and I asked them about it. They kept recommending I use roasted barley at 350L instead of Carafa II when I told them I wanted a beer with some roasted dark character but not the harsher burnt flavors. Anyway, I went with the roasted barley, but they did not ask me how much I was going to add to the mash (and I didn't ask how much to add). I planned on using a half pound of the dark malt and along with the crystal 120L to get the black color and some nice roasted character. The beer was pretty dark brown, but not as black as I wanted. Should I try using a whole pound of roasted barley next time, or should I try a Carafa II or III? If you use Carafa, how much are you adding to the mash for a black IPA?
Here is the recipe I used:

Batch Size 5.75 Gal, 60 minute mash at 153, single batch sparge
12 lb. 2-Row
1 lb. Crystal 120L
.5 lb. Roasted Barley 350L
1 lb. Corn Sugar

60m 1 oz. Chinook
15m 1 oz. Centennial + 1 oz. Cascade
5m 1 oz. Centennial + 1 oz. Cascade
Dry Hop: 2 oz. Citra for last 7 days

US-05 Yeast
OG: 1.070

I just bottled my black ipa. I used 1 lb caraffa III, 1lb c-80 & 4oz chocolate malt in 10 gal and its darker than a porter.

OG 1.074

I'm afraid I can't speak to the carafa II/III situation, but just thought I'd chime in that Midnight Wheat seems to be a popular addition for adding a lot of dark color without the harsh burnt flavors.

Yeah midnight wheat, black prinz or carafa III all work great for black IPA. I did a black IPA that was all base malt and a pound each of crystal 60 and black prinz malt. It was pretty darn black.

Looks like a whole lb. of dark malts will do the trick for next time. Thanks for the input. I think I will try one of the carafa malts or the midnight wheat for the next black IPA.

BaronAaron said:

Looks like a whole lb. of dark malts will do the trick for next time. Thanks for the input. I think I will try one of the carafa malts or the midnight wheat for the next black IPA.

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Definitely go that route. I actually regret using Crystal malt in my black IPA at all. It is a bit too malty for my taste in IPA with only 1/2 lb C-80 and 2oz chocolate malt per 5 gallons. Next time I am doing 6oz midnight wheat and 6oz Carafa III in 5 gallons with only 4 oz of C-80 for head retention and nothing else but base 2-row.

jtejedor said:

Yeah midnight wheat, black prinz or carafa III all work great for black IPA. I did a black IPA that was all base malt and a pound each of crystal 60 and black prinz malt. It was pretty darn black.

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How much roasted characteristic did you get out of the Blackprinz? Was it just color?