RCE beer - Black Hops

[FedoraDave]

This is the recipe BeerRust and I came up with. I brewed this on 10/5, and the fermentation took off like a rocket! I'm looking forward to tasting this one.

https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/black-hops-5

Be advised that we cold-steeped the specialty grains (30 minutes). The guy at the LHBS told me we'd have no worries about tannins anyway, but we just felt the cold-steep would insure the best balance between malt and hops, and let the bitterness of the hops shine through.

Be advised, also, that this is 2.5 gallon batch.

[BlackDuck]

Interesting recipe you guys have there. I'll be interested in hearing how the cold steeping works with those grains. I wonder how much roasty, chocolatey flavor you'll get. Or will it impart mostly color with just a touch of the flavors.

Did you taste any of it the other day when you brewed it?

[FedoraDave]

No, I don't taste my beers while I'm brewing them; it just doesn't equate to the finished product to me. But I always smell all the ingredients, and the cold steep smelled nice and roasty. Hopefully, it'll be a good balance with the hops, and we'll have a nice malt backbone and some classic Northwest hops going on.

[BlackDuck]

Makes sense. I was just curious if you were getting the roasty flavor in it. I'll follow this thread that's for sure. I love the hop choice that you guys are using. And I've considered cold steeping grains in the past, but have never done it. So, I'll be interested in your thoughts when it's finally done.

[Beer-lord]

Ooooooh, Cascade and Amarillo. I'm sold.
I'm thinking that S-04 will get it lower than 1.021 with a 70-75% attentuation so you might get closer to 7% ABV. Either way, I'm looking forward to hearing about it too.

[FedoraDave]

I wound up low on the OG, but I've been getting insane attenuation lately, for some reason, so I imagine I'll be close to 7%, if not higher.

BlackDuck, the aroma of the steeped grains gave off a roasty aspect, but a gentle one, if that makes sense. The LHBS guy advised me to squeeze all that I could out of the grains, since these grains wouldn't have any tannins anyway, so I was only steeping them for flavor and color, so I might as well get as much flavor as possible out of them. I wouldn't necessarily cold steep all the time, but for a recipe such as this, I think it was worth it. The proof will be in the drinking.

[Rebel_B]

Let us know how this turns out for you! I'm not a big chocolate malt fan, but I am a fan of the Black Prinz malt. Here's a picture of a Cascade Dark Ale with only 5.3% Black Prinz, 6% Crystal 40L, the rest all Pale malt. People ask me if there is coffee or chocolate in it sometimes.

image.jpg (58.3 KiB) Viewed 1013 times

[FedoraDave]

There's only two ounces of chocolate, as compared to 1/3 lb of Black Prinz and 1/3 lb of 40L. I think rather than contribute to the flavor, it just sort of adds a slight, almost imperceptible influence. Sort of like using just the right amount of salt when cooking. A dish may not taste salty, but without the salt, the other flavors wouldn't be as prevalent.

Also, that's one real good-lookin' beer! I can almost taste it.

[Rebel_B]

There's only two ounces of chocolate, as compared to 1/3 lb of Black Prinz and 1/3 lb of 40L. I think rather than contribute to the flavor, it just sort of adds a slight, almost imperceptible influence. Sort of like using just the right amount of salt when cooking. A dish may not taste salty, but without the salt, the other flavors wouldn't be as prevalent.

Also, that's one real good-lookin' beer! I can almost taste it.

I can almost taste it too! When I get home from work in about an hour, I'm going to pour myself one. Or more....

[BeerRust]

This is the recipe BeerRust and I came up with. I brewed this on 10/5, and the fermentation took off like a rocket! I'm looking forward to tasting this one.

https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/black-hops-5

Be advised that we cold-steeped the specialty grains (30 minutes). The guy at the LHBS told me we'd have no worries about tannins anyway, but we just felt the cold-steep would insure the best balance between malt and hops, and let the bitterness of the hops shine through.

Be advised, also, that this is 2.5 gallon batch.

Hopefully I will get to this one next week. Life got busy, oh well. And believe it or not the LHBS was out of Cascade. I will try again next week, or may have to find a substitute, which maybe tricky since most sub Amarillo for Cascade.