Black Lager

ok, simple question (i hope) I'm an extract brewer, due to space more than anything else, but have recently been sent a recipe for a black IPA which involves steeping midnight Wheat and caramel malt at 65degrees for 25 minutes to impart the colour. question is...i've got some grain left over, would doing the same and adding to a lager work, to produce a basic black lager?

before you start, anyone telling me to switch to all grain gets straight ignored...if it was an option, believe me i'd have already done it!

as you were...answers on a postcard please

 

Switch to all grain... Jk

I don't see why this wouldn't work assuming you have enough grain to reach the color /flavor you'd like.

 

Not yet, the black IPA will be my first "big scale" attempt, so prepared for it all to go a bit Pete tong to be honest, but it's all a learning curve.

My first steeping experiment is gonna be oats to add a pastry kinda flavour to a gallon of raspberry donut porter I'm trying out as part of a Christmas brew...hopefully my imagination isn't writing cheques my abilities can't cash

 

I brew a dark lager that has both Chocolate Wheat and Chocolate Malt in the recipe. Both are providing color, the Chocolate Malt providing a great malty finish to it. But if all you want is color, the Chocolate Wheat will do it. Don't know what your recipe calls for, but I'd try 8 ounces of Choc Wheat steeped. Maybe 10 ounces if you want to make it nice and dark.

BTW, that grain is crushed, correct? If it's whole, you won't get all that much color from it.

 

The IPA recipe is 8oz of each

Your brew looks great, hoping mine turn out to just not be a total failure

 

Williams homebrew supply has a Baltic black lme that works great for black lager and could also make a black IPA.

 

By 65 degrees, hopefully you mean oC. You should steep 150-170F. Your proposed recipe is very similar to Northern Brewers Ace of Spades. I brewed that recipe this past year and it came out great, one of my better efforts. It will have a lager character, though, but I suspect would still be great. You could split your batch, do one as an ale and one as a lager. I frequently substitute chocolate wheat (have used both weyermann chocolate wheat and briess midnight wheat) for chocolate malt in black ipas and porters. Tones down the chocolate/coffee flavor somewhat. Not saying better, just different. Go for it.

 

Yes, being in the UK, i tend to work in Celsius, but can think in both when I'm working. Liking the idea of splitting the batch, might give it a go for comparison purposes

 

You might want to consider cold steeping

https://homebrewacademy.com/cold-steep-dark-grains-experiment/

http://beersmith.com/blog/2011/11/17/brewing-beer-with-dark-grains-steeping-versus-mashing/

 

Not come across this before, but I suppose it's not much different to cold brew coffee? Could be worth a go...