Imperial Porter/Black IPA

[thehaze]

Hello,


My best friend has his birthday in 2 months and wants me to brew he some beer. He likes Black IPAs and Porters, like Gonzo. ( Flying Dog )

I have Maris Otter, Black Malt, Pale Chocolate Malt, Crystal 90L and Crystal 150L for this job, all from Crisp UK.

Hops: Chinook and possibly Galaxy or Simcoe.

How woudl you go around it and most important, how much of it in %?

I thought of:

78% Maris Otter
5.5% Black Malt
5.5% Pale Chocolate
5.5% Crystal 90L
5.5% Crystal 150L
Sugar to dry it out.

OG: 1.090
FG: 1.016
ABV: 9.5%
IBUs: 70
SRM: 48
Yeast: Danstar Nottingham

 

[JKaranka]

That looks fairly good but also very roasty. It's definitely more a triple stout than a black IPA. If you reduce the black malt for the srm to hit 30-35 it could be more in the ballpark of Gonzo. Chinook is good as a late hop there. Galaxy / Chinook sounds like a nice, spicy dry hop.

 

[thehaze]

" Very roasty " does not sound bad too me, but could possibly be an issue with my friend.

I would have to ask him.

Others that think the beer would turn very roast as is now?

 

[thehaze]

So I am preparing to brew this in the next 3 days.

My water is as follows:

Ca: 10.19
Mg: 2.56
Na: 2.65
Cl: 3.32
SO4: 6.02
HCO3: 42.7
pH: 7.19

BrunWater calculates the needed baking soda amount to raise the pH to 5.4, at around 10 gr / 0.35 oz for the mash.

For me that sounds like a lot, especially when the Sodium goes up to almost 120 ppm, whereas Cl is at 50 and Sulphate at around 90.

Am I missing something, when using BrunWater? Maybe I am doing something wrong and I do not know it.

 

[thehaze]

Would it be possible to put the recipe through BrunWater and let me know if you get the same results?

I would be very greatful, as to know if I am doing something wrong.

 

[thehaze]

I am in the course of brewing the recipe, after a few tweaks:

86.7% Maris Otter
3.3% Black Malt
3.3% Pale Chocolate
3.3% Crystal 90L
3.3% Crystal 150L

Mash pH was 5.3 with minerals added to get the Black Dry water profile from BrunWater.

So I guess even if I would have stayed with the original recipe, the pH wouldn't have dropped under 5.