How to get Motor Oil black color.

[user 108580]

Hey all. Im trying to figure out how to get that super dark, motor oil black color in my imperial stout. Think Sierra Nevada Narwhal, Firestone Walker Parabola, etc.

Parabola hovers in the 160 SRM range. I'm trying to figure out how I can get this without getting crazy astringent flavors from excessive dark malts.

Here is my current recipe for my Imperial Stout:

Imperial Stout (11 gallon)
Maris Otter (23 lbs)
Roasted Barley (2 lbs)
Crystal 120 (2 lbs)
Black Barley (1 lb)
Chocolate Malt (1 lb)
White Wheat (1 lb)
Dark Extract (10 lbs)

Since I only care about the color right now I wont divulge anymore information unless you think it's necessary.

Beer Tools Pro calculates this out to a 38 SRM which isnt quite that cant-see-any-light-through-it dark color that I'm looking for. Suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[MotorcycleMatt]

toss some carafa III in?

 

[bottlebomber]

You need grain that adds darkness without adding bitterness. Debittered Belgian Black malt is ultimate in my experience, but also MoreBeer has a new malt called Black Prinz that is supposed to also be very good. I have some, but haven't used it yet.

 

[tjpfeister]

Maybe sub in some black wheat in place of the white? http://www.ritebrew.com/product-p/806862.htm

 

[Chemkrafty]

I think Briess also has a black wheat that isn't supposed to add any roasted flavor. Maybe replace the white wheat with that?

 

[WesleyS]

Yep, midnight wheat or chocolate wheat will work. I've also had good success with adding a good portion of dark grains at the end of the mash. You get the color and not all the roasted flavor.

 

[RM-MN]

Sinamar

 

[tgmartin000]

Midnight wheat is great.

 

[bb239605]

Yep, midnight wheat or chocolate wheat will work. I've also had good success with adding a good portion of dark grains at the end of the mash. You get the color and not all the roasted flavor.

A good idea for those dark grains is to use what you need in the mash too hit your necessary pH then cold steep the rest. This extracts color and flavor but little harshness. There is no or very little fermentables in dark roasted grains.

 

[seabass07]

You need grain that adds darkness without adding bitterness. Debittered Belgian Black malt is ultimate in my experience, but also MoreBeer has a new malt called Black Prinz that is supposed to also be very good. I have some, but haven't used it yet.

Black prinz is great. I've used it a few times for color. It's a little darker than caraffa III and there is a touch of roast, but no astringent flavors.

 

[jasonsbeer]

Yep, midnight wheat or chocolate wheat will work. I've also had good success with adding a good portion of dark grains at the end of the mash. You get the color and not all the roasted flavor.

How much time left in the mash do you add?

 

[WesleyS]

How much time left in the mash do you add?

I add it with about 10 minutes left.

 

[dpatrickv]

Carafa III or Midnight wheat malt. I love midnight wheat malt as it accomplishes two things...color and head retention.

 

[user 108580]

I add it with about 10 minutes left.

So if I add say 5 lbs of Carafa III in the last 10 minutes of my mash I would obtain lots of color and very little in the way of flavors, correct?

 

[user 108580]

A good idea for those dark grains is to use what you need in the mash too hit your necessary pH then cold steep the rest. This extracts color and flavor but little harshness. There is no or very little fermentables in dark roasted grains.

So with cold steeping, where/when do I add this liquid? Mash tun as part of strike water? I'd be worried about adding it to the boil kettle as I don't want it to thin the beer out. Is the water to grain ratio about the same when cold steeping (1-1.5 q per lb grain)?

 

[user 108580]

Swapped out the white wheat for Midnight wheat, thanks for that idea, all!

 

[tgmartin000]

So if I add say 5 lbs of Carafa III in the last 10 minutes of my mash I would obtain lots of color and very little in the way of flavors, correct?

Whatever you do, don't do that. We're talking on the order of 0.5 lbs. Using carafaIII for like 30-50% of your grain bill would not be a good idea.

 

[ajdelange]

Weyermann's Sinamar. Color sin amar (no bitterness).

 

[NivekD]

You know you're gonna' hafta' show us this black gold when it's finished don't ya.

 

[user 108580]

Whatever you do, don't do that. We're talking on the order of 0.5 lbs. Using carafaIII for like 30-50% of your grain bill would not be a good idea.

K well now I'm a bit confused. Ya see, adding that much carafaIII (5 lbs) brought the srm from like 34 to 55. So how does a brewery like Firestone walker go about getting an srm of 160 without adding crazy huge amounts of black malts.

Sinamar? Is this the answer?

 

[user 108580]

You know you're gonna' hafta' show us this black gold when it's finished don't ya.

Will do haha. Im kegging it on Fri but it's only the 34 srm version.

 

[user 108580]

Maybe a better question is, what srm gives that cant-see-nothin'-through-it color I'm looking for?

 

[bovineblitz]

Idk where the line is, but 33SRM is black as night

 

[user 108580]

Idk where the line is, but 33SRM is black as night

Hmmm maybe I'll have to wait and see its pour. I tried about a shot worth a week ago from a wine thief and it seemed like more of a deep brown/black.

 

[seabass07]

They're using a different scale if it's that high. Black is black...

 

[ajdelange]

Most likely Sinamar but I'll note that 10% roast barley in a stout gives me 84 SRM. Not much light comes through that.

 

[ajdelange]

They're using a different scale if it's that high. Black is black...

That list looks familiar. I'm curious as to where you came across it and also how the color patches were generated.

 

[bovineblitz]

Most likely Sinamar but I'll note that 10% roast barley in a stout gives me 84 SRM. Not much light comes through that.

Wow. I'm curious about that beer, 10% roasted barley seems like a crazy amount to me.

 

[seabass07]

That list looks familiar. I'm curious as to where you came across it and also how the color patches were generated.

The most reliable source on the internet...google image search for srm scale.

 

[Bierliebhaber]

You're looking for Carafa III Special. It's dehusked so you don't get the astringency.