How to create a Black IPA

Using the old Keep It Simple method, is it nothing more than taking your favorite IPA recipe and tweeking the grain bill to include about 5 % carafa II or III special?

Been looking at Stones Self Rightous recipes and 21 amendment black IPA's recipe and it "seems" like this was the approach.

Sound about right for developing one of these beers?

Yes, I use 8% carafa III in mine as the sole dark malt.

bobjohnson said:

Using the old Keep It Simple method, is it nothing more than taking your favorite IPA recipe and tweeking the grain bill to include about 5 % carafa II or III special?

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It depends if color is the only thing you're after.

Some people want chocolate and/or coffee flavor, increased roastiness, fuller body from oats, and to make use of darker crystal malts.

bobbrews said:

Some people want chocolate and/or coffee flavor, increased roastiness, fuller body from oats, and to make use of darker crystal malts.

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Yeah, I agree...it's a style that's hard to pin down. If you make it too roasty/chocolate, people call it a hoppy porter. If you make it taste like a regular IPA but dark in color, people call it an IPA with food coloring/sinamar. There's a middle ground somewhere, but a lot of people disagree on what that should be.

BrewThruYou said:

Yeah, I agree...it's a style that's hard to pin down. If you make it too roasty/chocolate, people call it a hoppy porter. If you make it taste like a regular IPA but dark in color, people call it an IPA with food coloring/sinamar. There's a middle ground somewhere, but a lot of people disagree on what that should be.

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Concur.

For my personal preference in creating a Black IPA, I want a little more sweetness and roasty flavor to show up, but not dominate the brew. In addition to Carafa, I whould throw a pinch of chocolate malt and crystal 80/120.

And thank you for getting the name of the beer style right...