Black IPA, Maris Otter or Pale 2 Row

[wesasmith]

So I'm brewing my first black IPA/ Cascadian Ale (call it what you want) this weekend. My grain bill is fairly simple, 90 percent pale malt, 5 percent Carafa III, and 5 percent Caramunich. I plan on bittering with Chinook, and aroma,flavor and dry hopping with Simcoe and falconers flight.

My question is will the maris otter pair well in a black IPA, or will it make it finish more like an American Strong Ale? I've never worked with MO, and would like to experience with more malt flavors.

Any input is much appreciated

:rockin:

 

[Zoidberg]

I like Maris Otter for regular IPAs although my only Black IPA I made I used Pale us 2 row and I like it a lot. If you plan on aging any of the bottles, past a month or 2 you should use Maris Otter. Once the strong hop flavors wear off the flavors of Maris Otter will have aged nicely and take over the pallet.

The reason I didnt using Maris Otter in my Black IPA is I expected the dark malts to dominate the flavor enough to give long term malt complexity although I could see Maris Otter being a nice addition to a Black IPA.