Deciphering recipes

[Marshi]

I was reading a post in a different thread about recipes, and I came across this clone recipe for Stone's Imperial Black IPA:

Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU
15.80 lb 2 Row (2.0 SRM) Grain 79.0 %
1.60 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 8.0 %
0.80 lb Carafa III (525.0 SRM) Grain 4.0 %
0.80 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 4.0 %


Now, I understand the measurements of grain and their names (i.e. 15.80 Lb 2 row), but I am confused as to what SRM is and what the percentages mean? Also for the Caramel/Crystal Malt, what does "80L" mean?

Thanks ya'll.

 

[cervezarara]

SRM (Standard Reference Method) is a measure of color. Lower SRM is lighter while higher is darker. The percentages show the percent of the total grain bill the particular grain represents. The L after the crystal grains stands for Lovibond, which is another measure of color, with higher numbers being darker and lower numbers being lighter. 80L would be 80 degrees Lovibond.

 

[frazier]

The '80' represents theamount of caramelization in the grains, corresponding to color (80 SRM) and flavor differences Crystal comes in 10, 20, ... up to about 120. The higher the number, the darker the color and flavor.

Check out this thread by Deathbrewer, stickied above: recipe-formulation-ingredients-descriptions. Lots of great info for other similar question you haven't even asked yet!

Cheers!

 

[Marshi]

Wow, killer guys, thanks so much, I'll check out the reccos.