Dirty Blonde - Did I screw up?

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Scuba_Steve81

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I hope I didn't screw up!

This is only my second all grain/BIAB batch, so I am still pretty unfamiliar with my grains.

I wanted to make a blonde, but I also wanted to try chocolate malt. Hence the Dirty Blonde!

The issue is, I was plugging the recipe into my calculator. When I came to the Colorado Pale Ale Malt, that option wasn't available. So I used the color rating of 37, and found what Pale Ale Malt also had the same rating. It was a 6 row.

I now just have a hunch, that I was suppose to use a 2 row... Then again, this is just a guess though. I dont even know what the difference between the two are...

So did I screw up the flavor/style?

Here is the recipe. Any other comments/suggestions? Grain is already bought and milled together btw, but suggestions for next time are also welcome. I am subbing Safale US-05 for the yeast as well because my LHBS doesnt carry much liquid. Is that ok?

Thanks in advance!

8 oz American - Caramel / Crystal 60L 34 60 4.2%
10 oz American - Victory 34 28 5.3%
4 oz. American - Chocolate. 29 350 2.1%
10.5 lb Colorado Pale Ale Malt 37 2 88.4%
Subbed 10.5 lb Pale Ale Malt 6 Row?

0.4 oz Magnum 15 Boil 60 min
0.5 oz Crystal 4.3 Boil 10 min
Adjusted bittering hop to compensate for different AA ratings
13.2g Magnum 13
14g Crystal 3.3

1 tsp Irish Moss Fining Boil 15 min.

White Labs - San Diego Super Yeast WLP090
Subbed Safale US-05 instead...
 
The 37 is not the color of the pale ale malt, it looks like the ppg (gravity pts/lb/gallon). Almost all malts are made from 2-row barley unless they specifically say 6-row - if it said pale ale malt I highly doubt it was 6-row. The 05 yeast will be fine for an American ale. With the medium crystal and chocolate in there I'd say it's going to be an amber.
 
You'll have to taste it to find out :D

I just brewed a brown porter with some chocolate malt - took a gravity sample after a week and the chocolate smell is amazing.

Next time, if you aren't sure what you are doing, try to use ingredients that complement the style. Porters are a great match for chocolate malt. Blonde ales - maybe it works, maybe it doesn't, I have no idea. Personally I wouldn't risk a batch to find out, I'd rather have a great blonde and a great chocolate porter. When I get a bit more experience I'll definitely be up for trying interesting combos but for now there's more than enough fun to be had using tried and true recipes.
 
Also US-05 goes great with a blonde ale, just brewed one of those as well using that yeast. Fermented at 65f / 18c using a temp controller, real easy to drink, nice flavour, no weird aftertastes.
 
So did I screw up the flavor/style?

Well, you sort of screwed up the style when you decided to use 2% chocolate malt in a blonde :) I bet it will taste fine, it just won't look or taste like a blonde.

A tiny bit of chocolate malt (<1%) will add some brown color. Think deep gold or reddish. By the time you get up to 2%, you are going to get some roasty chocolate coffee taste in addition to a darker brown color. I don't really care about sticking to style guidelines so I think it will be good ... but just realize if you were aiming for a blonde you are't going to get that.
 
It's almost like a strong bitter but without the bitterness. Add some hop extract to bring the IBUs up and sorted :-D
 
So, how bad did I screw it up tastewise?

Like myelo said, if you really wanted a blonde then yeah you screwed that up. If you don't care about that and are just experimenting I think you'll end up with an amber colored ale that may drink between an amber and a brown, i.e. a little less caramely/sweet and a little more roasty than a typical amber ale. Who knows, might be your favorite beer.
:mug:
 
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