Black is Beautiful ingredients

[landoa]

Hello,

I would like to make this stout but had to substitute key ingredients that are available here in Switzerland, using this: Brewing grain substitution chart

For example, I can't find chocolate malt and had to substitute Carafa Special II, the closest I could find.

Also, I we don't have Caramel 120, so I subbed Special W.

We don't have Black Patent, so I went with Carafa III.

It just seems like i'm getting further and further from the original recipe. It also seems like these malts may be rather similar, I don't know. Perhaps its an opportunity to simply the malt bill if these different, similar subbed ingredients don't necessarily bring much to the recipe?

Also, IBU is at 67 for this recipe - do you find that to be too high??

I think I will be my next brew - thanks for any suggestions!

 

[brewgar]

Can't read your recipe.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Assuming the original recipe is here : Recipe: Black Is Beautiful Imperial Stout

then this would be the original malt/grain bill

MALT/GRAIN BILL 9 lb (4.1 kg) two-row pale
2.1 lb (953 g) flaked oats
1.75 lb (794 g) Carafoam
1.6 lb (726 g) caramel malt (120L)
1.4 lb (635 g) black malt (500 SRM)
1 lb (454 g) dextrose/corn sugar
11 oz (312 g) chocolate malt (350 SRM)

I don't have experience with the various Cafa & Cara malts, so I'll "drop out" of the discussion for the moment.

 

[landoa]

Can't read your recipe.

can you see the attached PDF?

cheers

 

[landoa]

Assuming the original recipe is here : Recipe: Black Is Beautiful Imperial Stout

then this would be the original malt/grain bill



I don't have experience with the various Cafa & Cara malts, so I'll "drop out" of the discussion for the moment.

I think I had copied from this a while back: Black is Beautiful Homebrew Recipe

Ingredients:

• 10 lb. Pale malt (2 Row)
• 2 lb Oat, flaked
• 1 lb Chocolate malt
• 12 oz Barley, flaked
• 12 oz Crystal 120 malt
• 12 oz Roasted barley
• 8 oz Chocolate rye malt
• 4 oz Black (Patent) malt
• 1 lb Corn sugar (dextrose)
• 1 oz Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus (CTZ) hops, 15.5% a.a. (60 min)
• 2 oz Cascade hops, 5.5% a.a. (20 min)
• 2 oz Cascade hops, 5.5% (10 min)
• 1 package California Ale Yeast (White Labs WLP001)

Specifications:
Yield: 5.5 US gallons
Original Gravity: 1.081
Final Gravity: 1.016
ABV: 8.70%
IBU: 65
SRM: 46
Efficiency: 82%

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I think I had copied from this a while back: Black is Beautiful Homebrew Recipe

Given the source (and history) of the original recipe, I'll suggest the that the original recipe is more likely to be nicely layered than muddled with too many malts.

So a simpler grain bill may miss something that the original has.

can you see the attached PDF?

It's like 3 or 4 steps to view it on a current version of iOS/iPadOS. It's also a two step process to view it on Windows 10 / Firefox. If you set the bar high enough, people will drop out of the discussion.