Substituting malts for a Mild

[LemonJelly]

I planned on brewing a mild for the first time this weekend and I have a question about substituting.

My base recipe is
7lb Maris Otter
1lb Crystal 75
6oz Chocolate malt
1oz Carafa II

Im trying to use up some extra specialty malts I've had laying around and I want substitute the Crystal, Chocolate, and Carafa II malt with what I have:
Crystal 60
Pale chocolate
Carafa III

Is it possible to make something that would be similar to the original recipe with what I have on hand?
Also the recipe calls for London ESB but I have US-04, would that be an ok substitute?

 

[IslandLizard]

Those malts would work.

You want to use a bit more Pale Chocolate (say 20-25% extra) since the roast is a bit less full than the Chocolate it replaces. I prefer the flavor of Pale Chocolate, but it also depends on the maltsters. Compare the color of both so you have an idea how much is needed.

At the given quantity Carafa is more for color than flavor, so the extra darkness of the III will compensate somewhat for the lighter Pale Choc.

To reduce astringency I would steep the III at 150F and add the black potion after the boil, when the wort has chilled to around 160-170F, to pasteurize. You could do that with the Pale Chocolate malt too, but is not as important.
I prefer to use (dehusked) Carafa Special, to help with further astringency reduction.

For Milds the yeast's limited attenuation is very important. You want a lot of body and some residual sweetness left. ESB yeast (WY1968/WLP002) is a low attenuator, perfect for Milds. I'm afraid S-04 will make it too dry.

 

[LemonJelly]

Those malts would work.

You want to use a bit more Pale Chocolate (say 25% extra) since the roast is a bit less full than the Chocolate it replaces. I prefer the flavor of Pale Chocolate, but it also depends on the maltster.

At the given quantity Carafa is more for color than flavor, so the extra darkness of the III will compensate somewhat for the lighter Pale Choc.

To reduce astringency I would steep the III at 150F and add the black potion after the boil, when the wort has chilled to around 160-170F, to pasteurize. You could do that with the Pale Chocolate malt too, but is not as important.
I prefer to use dehusked Carafa, to help with further astringency reduction.

For Milds the yeast's limited attenuation is very important. You want a lot of body and some residual sweetness left. ESB yeast (WY1968/WLP002) is a low attenuator, perfect for Milds. I'm afraid S-04 will make it too dry.

Thanks for the info.

 

[IslandLizard]

Thanks for the info.

YVW!
I changed a few numbers and things, please recheck.

Mashing very high (160F) and as short as possible, followed by a solid mashout may prevent S-04 taking it down too far, but I always suspect she has much more of a mind of her own.

I've got some WY1099 (Whitbread, Sweet) which is the lowest attenuating (sacch) yeast available apparently. It will be used for some very low gravity Milds (<3% ABV).

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Something to consider is using a bit of everything for a little more complexity. Instead of 1# Crystal 75 use 8oz C75 and 8oz C60. Also something like 4oz each for the chocolate and pale chocolate. Nothing crazy but enough to add some depth to the beer.

 

[cshamilton]

Something to think about, most British Milds have no roasted/chocolate malts. Some have crystal malt, but historically that wasn't always the case. The flavor came from inverted sugar syrup and the dark color from brewer's caramel.

Check out http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com for info on the history