burntgraphite
Well-Known Member
Shortly before making a recent switch to All-Grain, I created a Cascadian Dark PM (or Black IPA, if you want to call it that. But it's not. Read on for the full story.) recipe on Beersmith. This recipe was made with what I had lying around, so if there's some strangeness in the ingredient list, meh.
I wanted something IPA-ish, ever so slightly roasty, with a nice hoppy flavor. I added some fresh spruce tips because I love the flavor, and I cold-steeped my dark grains. This is what I came up with:
Golden Light DME 21.9%
Sparkling Amber DME 32.9%
Pale Malt (2 row) 21.9%
Crystal 40L 11.0%
Carafa III 2.7%
Black Patent 4.1%
Chocolate Wheat 5.5%
1oz Cascade, first wort, 60min boil
1oz Nugget, first wort, 60min boil
1oz Chinook, first wort, 60min boil
1oz Willamette, aroma steep 30min
1oz Palisade, Dry Hop 10 days
2oz Fresh Englemann Spruce tips
Notty yeast, 1 pkg
So, here's the story. I cold steeped all the dark grains for 24 hours. Then I took that wonderful smelling liquor, put it in with the pale and mashed at 152. 60 minute boil, then cooled, pitched notty into the fermenter. The fermentation really took off, and bubbling stopped in about 6 days. Not one to be impatient, I waited about a month before throwing some isinglass in there, then I racked, etc. Put it in a keg. Carbonated.
So, I pour myself a glass and it's... hard to describe. So here goes;
Aroma; spicy hop with a hint of roast, and an earthy scent, probably spruce.
Appearance; I'll post a picture tomorrow when the light is better. Deep, deep blackish color with ruby highlights. Transparent, but nigh on black.
Flavor; the Cascade comes through a bit but gets sidelined by the Nugget and Chinook spiciness. More roast character than I would expect, given the cold steep. Huge hop flavor, and then a big earthy backbone from the spruce, but no pine flavor as one might expect.
Mouthfeel; Here's where it gets different. Thick like a stout, with a very resinous dry hop character. Feels like the Guinness I got on tap in Shannon, Ire.
I'm not sure where, or if, I went wrong. I realize this isn't a classic (if such a thing exists) example of this style, but @!#$ is it good. And I didn't get all these tasting comments myself. I have a chalkboard behind my keezer and make people leave me comments in exchange for my beer.
Slainte!
I wanted something IPA-ish, ever so slightly roasty, with a nice hoppy flavor. I added some fresh spruce tips because I love the flavor, and I cold-steeped my dark grains. This is what I came up with:
Golden Light DME 21.9%
Sparkling Amber DME 32.9%
Pale Malt (2 row) 21.9%
Crystal 40L 11.0%
Carafa III 2.7%
Black Patent 4.1%
Chocolate Wheat 5.5%
1oz Cascade, first wort, 60min boil
1oz Nugget, first wort, 60min boil
1oz Chinook, first wort, 60min boil
1oz Willamette, aroma steep 30min
1oz Palisade, Dry Hop 10 days
2oz Fresh Englemann Spruce tips
Notty yeast, 1 pkg
So, here's the story. I cold steeped all the dark grains for 24 hours. Then I took that wonderful smelling liquor, put it in with the pale and mashed at 152. 60 minute boil, then cooled, pitched notty into the fermenter. The fermentation really took off, and bubbling stopped in about 6 days. Not one to be impatient, I waited about a month before throwing some isinglass in there, then I racked, etc. Put it in a keg. Carbonated.
So, I pour myself a glass and it's... hard to describe. So here goes;
Aroma; spicy hop with a hint of roast, and an earthy scent, probably spruce.
Appearance; I'll post a picture tomorrow when the light is better. Deep, deep blackish color with ruby highlights. Transparent, but nigh on black.
Flavor; the Cascade comes through a bit but gets sidelined by the Nugget and Chinook spiciness. More roast character than I would expect, given the cold steep. Huge hop flavor, and then a big earthy backbone from the spruce, but no pine flavor as one might expect.
Mouthfeel; Here's where it gets different. Thick like a stout, with a very resinous dry hop character. Feels like the Guinness I got on tap in Shannon, Ire.
I'm not sure where, or if, I went wrong. I realize this isn't a classic (if such a thing exists) example of this style, but @!#$ is it good. And I didn't get all these tasting comments myself. I have a chalkboard behind my keezer and make people leave me comments in exchange for my beer.
Slainte!
