Too many specialty grains?

I was planning on brewing northern brewers big honkin' stout extract kit tomorrow but wanted to raise the abv with some DME and add some more black malt but don't want to go overboard, does this look like too much?

For
5.5 gallons

Partial Mash
0.5 lbs English Roasted Barley
1.5 lbs English Black Malt
0.25 lbs Weyermann Carafa III
0.25 Briess Caramel 120

9.15 lbs Dark LME
1 lb Dark DME

2 oz willamette
2 oz cascade

 

The dark extract already has a good bit of dark grains built into it to make it dark, adding so much more on top of that is overkill.

 

If you're trying to make a darker beer than the night sky, go for it Maybe swap for some light LME if you want those grain flavors specifically

 

I see that is pretty much the NB recipe. To up the ABV I would just use light dry extract to make up the difference. There is already plenty of color and malt backbone in there.

 

Thanks, i think ill switch the dark DME to light and change the 1.5 lbs of black malt to the original .5 lbs

 

Good plan. Black malt (for me) is to be used sparingly. Hope it turns out well!

 

When I was doing extract with specialty grains, or partial mash, I preferred my DME additions to simply be for abv. Even in all grain, you substitute the extract for more base malt, and don't overdo the specialty grains. If it were me, I would go all light DME (not necessarily pilsner, but still light, or golden light), then add whatever specialty grains I wanted. The partial mash is basically to get a little conversion out of the specialty grains, and to practice what it's like to do all grain (and of course, for those BIABers who don't have enough room to go completely all grain).

Keep it simple. Plug it into a calculator, and don't go more than is necessary.

 

What you have is actually extract with specialty grains. For a true PM, you need some base malt (i.e. pale) to convert your dark malts. Not a big deal. Just wanted to be sure you weren't trying to mash them. And, yes, you should back waaayyy off on the black malt. If it is black patent, I would do .25 lb. If it is debittered (black prince), you could do .5 lbs. You could call this Midnight Stout