BeerBorg

I am putting together an Irish Red grain bill. I am using the recipe from Brewing Classic Styles.
Maris Otter 87.8 %
C40 4.1%
C120 4.1 %
Roasted Barley 4.1 % 300 Lovibond

It seems that the different companies have very different roasted grains with the same or very similar names.
I have these dark malts on hand:
Muntons Black Malt Lovibond 470-560
Montons Chocolate Lovibond 328-432
Crisp Roasted Barley Lovibond 700-800

I think that I can just go by the L rating and use the Montons Chocolate that is listed at 328-432. Should I use a little less to allow for the higher L rating?

Is there any difference in the way a Chocolate, Black and a Roasted Barley are different other than how dark they are roasted?
Thanks… I am still trying to use up all of my milled MO.

Hi Banjo. The flavors are different, of course. I assume that the darker malts taste stronger, more "burnt". I made that recipe using Chocolate Malt, and it was a hit. When in doubt about color and the flavor it imparts, I run it through a calculator like Brewer's Friend, and balance the color. Not exact, but close.

If you are adding it simply for color adjustment, and not flavor (IE using just 1oz or so in a 2.5 gallon batch) then you can substitute any similar L colored grain or half as much of grain with 2x the L rating, etc. Just don't substitute 2x as much of a LOWER L rating grain. Because then you will get unwanted flavor. Simply make sure you do not use more grain.

But if you are adding more then just an amount for color adjustment then it's not that simple. They do not taste the same. And you can't just extrapolate the difference based on color - for example 300L British Roasted Barley adds a much stronger bitterness then 480L British Chocolate, which is actually pretty mellow in that regards. And British Chocolate doesn't taste the same as Briess American stuff - the American stuff to me always is harsher, regardless of L rating.

As examples Black Malt / Black Patent Malt is malted first. When roasted it becomes intensely bitter and like charcoal. Roasted Barley is unmalted, and it doesn't burn the same way when roasting (less sugars/starches), it's mellower bitterness, and it ends up tasting more like bitter coffee. And chocolate malt is actually the mellowest of them all, especially British chocolate malt.

EDIT: In your case, I think it's safe to go with proportionally less Chocolate malt, as it should be primarily for color.

I find I get a smoother tasting red ale coloring with chocolate malt than I do coloring with roasted malt or barley. Either way I use 4oz in a 5 gallon batch.
This is the recipe for the last batch I made.
BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Ralphs Winter Knucklehead Red 2015
Brewer: Roger
Asst Brewer: Ralph the Wonderdog
Style: Irish Red Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 5.70 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.20 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.051 SG
Estimated Color: 17.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 46.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 72.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
6 lbs Brewer's Malt, 2-Row, Premium (Great Wes Grain 1 61.5 %
3 lbs Munich 10L (Briess) (10.0 SRM) Grain 2 30.8 %
8.0 oz Caramel Malt - 40L (Briess) (40.0 SRM) Grain 3 5.1 %
4.0 oz Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain 4 2.6 %
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - First Wort 60.0 min Hop 5 24.1 IBUs
2.00 oz Fuggles [5.20 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 6 15.0 IBUs
2.00 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 7 7.2 IBUs
1.0 pkg SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) Yeast 8 -


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 9 lbs 12.0 oz

Thanks for the info. I have some Munich maybe I'll use that in addition to the chocolate.
I brewed a stout once and didn't know what I was really using for the Dark Roasted grain component. It tasted like charcoal.

That would be too much roasted barley.

Gymrat wrote:That would be too much roasted barley.

Or black patent. It's more charcoal like then Roasted Barley. Roasted Barley would be the "listed ingredient" in most dry Irish stout recipes. I think simply subbing black patent for the roasted barley would give you charcoal vibe at equal proportions. So that could be it too.