First "Original" Recipe ... Help and Suggestions Appreciated!

Hey There BrewCrew!

I am diving into my first truely "Original Recipe"....I started from and Idea and built grains (And Extract) around it.:fro:

I AM LOOKING FOR SUGGESTIONS AND COMMENTS so please CHIME IN!

I'm shooting for

Color & Body: a medium bodied, Dark Amber Colored Ale
Flavor Profile: nutty and sweet profile with a moderate bitterness
ABV: 5% or so


My Concern:
1. Too strong of an effect of Roasted Barley & Chocolate Malt on color and Flavor

2. Too Bitter from the centennial hops (I like their use in Rogue Mocha Porter)

3. Too Dark of Color and Too light of a body

The Recipe

5 Gal Batch Size
Partial Mash Brew

Grains
2 lbs. - Breiss 2-Row Base Malt
1 lb. - Breiss 2-Row Caramel 10L Malt (Considering 20L)
2 lbs. - Caramel Vienna Malt
0.5 oz.- Chocolate Malt
0.5 oz.- Rosted Barley

Extract
3 lbs - Muttons Dry Amber Malt Extract

Hops
1 oz. - Centennial Hops @ 60 Minutes (Possibly Change...this is a little TOO bitter)
1 oz. - Amarillo Hops @ 5 Minutes

Yeast
Wyeast PacMan Ale yeast if Available otherwise Wyeast 1059

Yeast Nutrients
Yes

Possible Additives
Maple Syrup
Honey

Any Help is Appreciated!

There won't be anything Amber about this beer -- it'll be black. Generally, I find a pound of dark roast grains always gets you into the Robust Porter or Stout range of color. You've got .5 lb chocolate & .5 lb Roasted, so that qualifies. Plus you've got amber extract & some crystal and the caravienna. You'll get some black goodness out of this, but it won't be what you intend, not even close.

If you really want something dark amber, I'd keep .25lb total of either chocolate or roasted. That is, drop one altogether, cut the other to .25 lb. (I'd keep the chocolate.) If you keep the total around .5 lb of these two, you've probably sitting in the brown ale color category.

its not .5 LBS its .5 - 1 OZ so 1/32 - 1/16 lb of each...Just a Hint of Chocolate and Roasted Barley

I ran the calc on Brewmasters Warehouse and got calcs in the SRI range of 14.9 - 17 depending on ingredient switches but i have no Idea how accurate the calc tends to be. I'm thinking to use a 20L and the 1 oz range of both chocolate and roast barley.

does that change how you think it will turn out?

I think the pound of 10L along with the 2 lb of vienna will make it too sweet. I would cut that total from 3 lb to 1.5. I would also elminate the roast barley completely, and up the chocolate to 2 oz. All the roast will do at .5 oz is adjust color ever so slightly (so leave it in if you want a slightly darker, redder tinge). The 2 oz of chocolate will barely be noticeable. Hops look good, just tweek the IBU to your preferences. Toss out the additives, I just don't find them necessary for what you're looking for. They won't add to the flavor, but they will dry out the beer more than you might like in an amber.

+1 to decreasing the amount of caramel/crystal malts. Keep the percentage under 15% of the total grist (including the extract).

Speaking of which, opt for Pale/Light extract whenever possible. Amber and Dark extracts get their color from specialty grains added by the manufacturer; you have no control over what's in it. Most widely-available Pale/Light extracts are 100% barley malt, so you're basically getting a concentrated pale-malt wort.

Now, I'd omit the 10L Crystal and use a pound of Caravienne in this, just for giggles, and call it a day. Caravienne is a lovely if underused specialty grain, and offers a different sort of sweetness than straight Crystal malt. I prefer it.

I also agree with not using sugar additives. Amber Ale is all about malty-sweet goodness, and adding sugar will only dry it out.

Bob

RECIPE v2.0

5 Gal Batch Size
Partial Mash Brew

Grains
3 lbs. - Breiss 2-Row Base Malt
2 lbs. - Caramel Vienna Malt
2 oz.- Chocolate Malt
1 oz.- Rosted Barley

Extract
3 lbs - Muttons Dry Amber Malt Extract

Hops
1 oz. - Centennial Hops @ 60 Minutes (Possibly Change...this is a little TOO bitter)
1 oz. - Amarillo Hops @ 5 Minutes

Yeast
Wyeast PacMan Ale yeast if Available otherwise Wyeast 1059

Yeast Nutrients
Yes

Brewmasters Warehouse Calc Est. Stats
OG: 1.054
FG: 1.011
IBU: 32.5
SRM: 16.3
ABV: 5.6