What should I do with my roast barely mistake....mixed in 10x too much

[dlutter]

Today I bought ingredients from the LHBS for a Cherry Belgian Ale. (ingredient list below)

5 lb wheat malt
4 lb pal 2-row malt
6 oz 40 L crystal malt
0.5 oz roasted barley
1 lb rice hulls
1 oz Hallertau pellets at 60 min
White Labs WLP-500 Monastery Ale
2 oz light roast oak chips & 3 lbs tart cherry puree in secondary

I already had 40L crystal, so I told the shop worker to mix the rest all together for me to crush at home except I mistakenly said 5 oz of roasted barley......

2 questions:
1. How dark and roasty is this beer going to be? ie. Are we talking brown ale, porter, or stout?
2. What is the likelihood this will be a good beer if I brew this as is (with or without the crystal malt)?

Brew day is Saturday, so I have time to adjust and brew something different.

Any advice or thoughts are appreciated.

 

[LLBeanJ]

It'll be noticeable, but won't be at all over the top. Ever had an Irish red and detected some roasted malt in the background? That's what about 5 oz of RB in a 5 gal batch will give you.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

It's not going to be porter/stout dark. It will be (assuming a 5gal batch) a dark red to brown - about the upper limits of an Irish red ale.

Roast barley in this amount gives a sort of dryness to the beer, with a light acridity. Noticeable, but not dominant. I don't know how it would go with the belgian yeast. It'd make a good red ale though!

 

[Gnomebrewer]

It'll be noticeable, but won't be at all over the top. Ever had an Irish red and detected some roasted malt in the background? That's what about 5 oz of RB in a 5 gal batch will give you.

I must type too slow....you beat me to it!

 

[dlutter]

Thanks. It is for a 5 gal batch. I'll plan on making a red ale and will work on a finding recipe. One thing I don't care for in most reds is the acridity....What is the best way to reduce this? I have a few leftover lbs of pilsen malt and 2 row malt on hand. Would using these to either make it a higher gravity beer or increase the batch size by about 50% help?

 

[LLBeanJ]

Thanks. It is for a 5 gal batch. I'll plan on making a red ale and will work on a finding recipe. One thing I don't care for in most reds is the acridity....What is the best way to reduce this? I have a few leftover lbs of pilsen malt and 2 row malt on hand. Would using these to either make it a higher gravity beer or increase the batch size by about 50% help?

I think dilution would be most effective, so increase the batch size.

 

[Fedora]

If it's not crushed, then RB should be easy to pick out. Just spread the grain bill out on a table and start picking.

Just like picking rocks out of pinto beans. Or seeds out of shake.

 

[dlutter]

After reading lots of recipes online I think I am going to embrace the red and split the batch.

I'm thinking either a 5 gal batch split 2 ways with the grain and hops as listed: Irish Red lager with Safbrew 34/70 and Belgian Red with WLP 500

OR

splitting it three ways after increasing the batch size to 7.5 gal and trying Flanders Red, Irish Red, and Belgian Red. If I go that route I will increase the pale malts by about 50% with my 2 row and Pilsen malts and add in 3 oz of 120 L crystal. I'll keep the 1 oz Hallertau at 60 min and add in 0.5 oz of Tenttnanger at 10 min. I'll take 1 gal and pitch the dregs of a Flanders Red. Half of what is left will be an Irish Red lager and the other half will be a Belgian Red.

Any thoughts on small batching the Flanders, adding the Tettnanger, or the 120 L crystal? I figure if I'm going to experiment then I might as well try some things that I never have and might never try again.

 

[wilserbrewer]

If it's not crushed, then RB should be easy to pick out. Just spread the grain bill out on a table and start picking.

Just like picking rocks out of pinto beans. Or seeds out of shake.

I like this idea....shouldn't take too long to long to pick out a few ounces....

 

[jmcquesten]

If it's not crushed, then RB should be easy to pick out. Just spread the grain bill out on a table and start picking.

Just like picking rocks out of pinto beans. Or seeds out of shake.

Hahaha. Back when there were still seeds. I hope we're past that now.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I once tried to pick out an ounce of black malt, but my patience quickly ran out. The beer turned out fine.

 

[Fedora]

I once tried to pick out an ounce of black malt, but my patience quickly ran out. The beer turned out fine.

You don't have kids?

 

[dlutter]

Thought I would close this thread out with how it turned out. I ended up brewing the beer as the recipe was written and then splitting the batch to ferment half with WLP 500 and half with Saflager 34/70. I could sense just a hint of roastiness in the lager but not in the belgian ale when I transferred to secondary. After bottling, I don't get any roast flavors. Below is a pic of how the color turned out. All in all, I'd brew it again as a red although I'd still like to try the original recipe

 

[wilserbrewer]

1/2 oz to 5 oz is not fatal...10 oz to 100 oz could put it in the dumper class for my taste...

Glad it worked out for ya

 

[OleBrewing]

If it's not crushed, then RB should be easy to pick out. Just spread the grain bill out on a table and start picking.

Just like picking rocks out of pinto beans. Or seeds out of shake.

or separating fly crap from pepper

 

[jmcquesten]

Thought I would close this thread out with how it turned out. I ended up brewing the beer as the recipe was written and then splitting the batch to ferment half with WLP 500 and half with Saflager 34/70. I could sense just a hint of roastiness in the lager but not in the belgian ale when I transferred to secondary. After bottling, I don't get any roast flavors. Below is a pic of how the color turned out. All in all, I'd brew it again as a red although I'd still like to try the original recipe

Thanks for updating. Could help someone else in the future.