Black(ish) IPA Recipe Question

[johnll]

I am doing an all grain Black IPA in a few days (5 gallon batch). I am going for a black (although a light black, leaning kind of towards a brown IPA I guess) with a very very light citrus flavor. My problem is that I do not live very close to a good supplier of the types of grains I need, and when I was last in the closest brewing store I accidentally bought less grain than I was intending. I was had the idea to add oats, which are available locally, to it to add to the grain bill a bit. First question, I know it would add a slight bit of that oatmeally feel to the beer (which I like), but I am not sure how well that would work out, especially because I was planning on adding a bit of orange peel before I realized my slight grain deficiency. Below is my current grain and hop bill. What are everyone's suggestions on the oatmeal/citrus. Would the oatmeal even add the kind of darkness I'm looking for? All thoughts are appreciated.

Grains:
8 lbs Briess 2-row (I meant to get 10, I think the guy at the store misheard me)
1 lb Golden Promise
8 oz. Victory
8 oz. Caramel
4 oz. Black Patent
(maybe 8 oz.-1 lb oats?)

Hops:
2 oz. Amarillo
2 oz. Warrior
2 oz. Brewer's Gold

 

[inthesound]

I don't have any experience with oats, but if you can use carafa special debittered grain instead of black patent, you might be happier. Especially for an IPA.

I put orange peel in a black IPA/CDA. If you're peeling oranges yourself, I recommend zesting them, and staying away from the white of the orange. You'll contribute less bitterness to the finished beer.

 

[adamc]

Or order some midnight wheat. The black patent will give it that bitter, toasty flavor.

Regarding oats and grain bill, just lower your final volume to account for the 2 lbs 2-row. Maybe slightly adjust the other grains.

No need to reinvent your recipe, just make less.

 

[motorneuron]

You can definitely just adjust volume down, as has been suggested. You could also make a full-volume recipe that just has slightly lower ABV. But for a strong IPA, it's also totally acceptable (and not uncommon) to use sugar for a small part of the grain bill to increase the ABV without adding body. You could definitely add up to a pound of sugar to that recipe with no ill effects. I would recommend either making a light home-made caramel or using light brown or unrefined sugar (e.g. turbinado, commonly available under the brand name Sugar in the Raw).

I would advise against using oats in the recipe, because they will provide a mouthfeel--a sort of slickness and chewiness--that is probably not what you want in an IPA. But it's not a disaster if you use a small amount. Oatmeal won't add any color, really, unless you toast it at home in your oven--but that is really not going to give you the kind of flavor you want for any IPA, even a black one. It'll make a roasty, nutty kind of flavor. (You also have to let the home-roasted oats sit for a week or two to let the harsher flavors from roasting dissipate.)

I agree that debittered black would be the best for an IPA. But since you can't do that now (having already bought it), I'd recommend cold-steeping the black patent overnight in a pint of water, and then adding that "tea" to the last five minutes of the boil (to sanitize it). That method will extract color and some of the flavor but will avoid much of the really harsh roasted flavors--achieving something similar to using debittered black.

 

[johnll]

So, essentially what I am hearing I think is that my grain deficiency will affect the ABV more than color and flavor? That was my main concern. If it will mostly only cause an ABV issue, that is pretty easily solved with extra sugar.

Also, I had my grains pre-milled together, so I can't really remove or steep the black patent separately. But it is only 4 oz anyway, which I would not think would add a large amount of the bitter taste. If anyone disagrees, any thoughts on how to take down the bitterness? Maybe slightly lower PH or temp during sparge?