A Schwarzbier ?

[poptop]

Hi

So I'm a rookie at hacking a kit , I'd like to try a Schwarzbier , going for more malty & sweet and less bitter
please give me feed back on this

1 Thomas Coopers pilsener can
1kg dark dry malt
500g extra light dry malt
250g carafa II steeped
250g cara aroma steeped
yeast strain :2206 Bavarian lager wyeast

not sure about the hops yet , I have Fuggle,sterling,bullion,cluster,crustal and liberty on hand at the moment .

is this anywhere near a schwarzbier?

 

[Liam_snorkel]

I suggest ditching the dark dry malt and switching it with light dry malt, and bumping up the amount of carafa 2 to compensate up to the desired colour. It will come out tasting much better.

 

[stewy]

I would get rid of the Dark DME. Instead of that i would use 1kg of Briess pilsen light DME.
I would consider throwing in maybe 100-150 grams of Carafa special iii. it is dehusked so you won't get the astrigency, just the colour, and stick with the current amounts of carafa/cara aroma. Are you comfortable doing a mini-mash? Schwarzbiers often contain Munich malt, which requires mashing. If you are comfortable to have a crack at that then throw in around 400grams of Munich. Same process as steeping, just need to control the temp. (can be done by putting pot in oven, wrapping in sleeping bag, using hotplate). heat water to 70C, add grains and try to keep at 66-67C for 45 mins. Little bit more fiddly but will improve the flavour.
As for hops, they tend to normally use German Hallertau, so out of the stock you have Liberty is probably the closest substitute. Presume you have temp control to ferment at lager temps?

good luck!

 

[poptop]

this is my 3rd can I'm doing , not up to mini mash yet , I live in Canada so yea I can keep it cold enough lol . so ditch the dark dry malt and up the light malt ?

 

[Liam_snorkel]

yeah, switch the dark dry malt for light dry malt, and bump up the amount of carafa 2 to compensate.

If you haven't bought the ingredients yet, try getting carafa 2 special, it's de-husked and less astringent as stewy said.
An alternative would be to cold steep (steep the grains in room temperature water overnight) instead of the usual hot & short method, it will yield a smoother flavour for your roast malts.

 

[poptop]

I've already bought supplies , I'll do the cold steep over night . Thanks guys

 

[poptop]

How much more carafa II would you add to make up for the DDM , and would you just dry hop it and how much hops , as I'm not going for bitterness just aroma an flavor
Thanks

 

[Liam_snorkel]

Maybe up to ~300g, Have a search for Ianh's kit & extract spreadsheet on here and plug the recipe in and have a play around.
I'm not sure re hops. Too much and you're at risk of turning it into some kind of American style black ale

 

[poptop]

With the overnight cold steep , you have to boil to sterilize afterwards ?

 

[Liam_snorkel]

yeah, boil the resulting liquor for 10min (minimum). you could use this to dissolve the dry malt