Need To Make A Dark Beer

[Renegade]

DON'T CRINGE FOLKS: I need to quickly knock out a darker beer style, and wont get a chance to place an order with the HB shop for a while so I'll have to turn to the supermarket shelves for a kit or two. SO i'm wondering what the outcome might be with something along the lines of 1/2 kg mashed pils, 200g crystal, a kit of stout and a kit of cerveza. Doesn't need to be overly high in alc, somewhere around 5% is fine.

I also have a few hop varieties, but no idea what would suit a beer like this. I have POR, Nelson Sauvin, Amarillo, Cascade (maybe) & Hersbrucker in the freezer

Any ideas ? No toucan stout recipes please, I dont need it to be that 'stoutey' in flavour. Perhaps something more like a porter is what I have in mind (although can you even make a porter with kit cans - I suspect some specific malts are required)

 

[petesbrew]

DON'T CRINGE FOLKS: I need to quickly knock out a darker beer style, and wont get a chance to place an order with the HB shop for a while so I'll have to turn to the supermarket shelves for a kit or two. SO i'm wondering what the outcome might be with something along the lines of 1/2 kg mashed pils, 200g crystal, a kit of stout and a kit of cerveza. Doesn't need to be overly high in alc, somewhere around 5% is fine.

I also have a few hop varieties, but no idea what would suit a beer like this. I have POR, Nelson Sauvin, Amarillo, Cascade (maybe) & Hersbrucker in the freezer

Any ideas ? No toucan stout recipes please, I dont need it to be that 'stoutey' in flavour. Perhaps something more like a porter is what I have in mind (although can you even make a porter with kit cans - I suspect some specific malts are required)

Swap the stout kit for a dark ale kit. Or even a real ale kit for a brown ale (what i'm using in a toucan right now).
Also head over to the honey aisle and look for Wanders malt Extract. It's around $9 for a 1kg can.

If you have any, some choc grain would be perfect steeped with this
Not sure on the hops side, depends what you're after..

 

[Fourstar]

Sounds decent enough to me. Depends on what style of 'stout' you want to knock out. go cascade/amarillo if you want US stlye or say POR for an aussie export. I dont think there is much to gain by mashing 1/2 kilo of pilsner in such a dark beer. i'd do a mash with some flaked barley and pils to get the body from the flaked. thats about it really. IMO, omit it.

Any Kit based beers focusing on a dark style as a 'toucan brew' i'd always go with your direction 1 can of dark and 1 can of a light malt low hopped beer.

Another direction i'd take is to go as far as 2 cerveza tins and steep my own roast barley/s and crystals to give it a fresher roast/crystal/grain character.

Cheers

 

[Pennywise]

+1 on the dark ale kit, with about 300g choc malt. I've used Willamette in this type of recipe and liked it very much, could use EKG as well if you can get your hands on any in time. If you can't I have some Willamette, I'd be glad to swap for some hersbrucker (never used it before), where are you located?

 

[WarmBeer]

The Cascade Choc Mahogony Porter makes a nice dark beer if you tart it up a bit.

Not sure how easy the Cascade's are to find in the supermarket any more, I think Coles and Woolies have dropped the range, but you might be lucky.

Add a kilo of LDME, or in your case the mashed Pils and the Crystal. Add 200gm Choc if you've got any handy.

Maybe 500gms of honey, although I used Lactose, will give some more residual sweetness.

Go a small amount (25-30gm) of the Amarillo or Hersbruker at 15mins, and I think you'll be on a winner.

 

[Bribie G]

I'd go the Coopers Real Ale as well, it's quite dark to start off with and fairly bitter for a Coopers so just needs some flavouring up. If you are just looking for commercial strength and if the beer is to impress somebody then, as well as some dark steeping grains I'd actually go a kilo of BE2 from the supermarket plus the tin of Saunders as suggested. Many a drinkable ale made on Saunders before the LHBSs came along.

 

[Renegade]

Thanks all. No chocolate malt at hand (and as mentioned Im only going down the supermarket path because I wont be able to place an order for a while) so am limited to the hops listed also. A honey addition might be a good idea, jack up the ABV a bit too. How about some coffee beans for a bit of character ?

Sorry HB79, Im in Sydney.

edit........... which kit would give me that 'nutty' flavour that I have tasted in porters before (if any - perhaps this is the fresh grain usage at play)

 

[petesbrew]

Thanks all. No chocolate malt at hand (and as mentioned Im only going down the supermarket path because I wont be able to place an order for a while) so am limited to the hops listed also. A honey addition might be a good idea, jack up the ABV a bit too. How about some coffee beans for a bit of character ?

Sorry HB79, Im in Sydney.

edit........... which kit would give me that 'nutty' flavour that I have tasted in porters before (if any - perhaps this is the fresh grain usage at play)

Have a look around for Wazza's Honey Porter recipe. Seen a lot of people rave about it. ( I did it but was no fan though).

 

[Adamt]

I'd hold out on the cascade, amarillo and sauvin for a dark beer... stick with a small flavouring addition of POR (if fresh) and/or hersbucker.

I agree with going for the dark ale kit... add in some JW Amber (if you can get it) - 250g - which may give you some nuttiness, and also some Bairds Pale Chocolate malt if you can get it... that stuff is pure sex.

 

[seemax]

I did a K&B's for the recent vic swap.... Real Ale, 3kg ale, bit of choc malt and crystal, fuggles + EKG, Coopers PA yeast.

After 6 weeks in the bottle it's turned out good, not special, perhaps a little dry... but easy to drink with a decent hop bite.

 

[theMISSIONARY]

I like the BrewCraft "Newcastle Brown" i did it with 500g DDME and 750g Dex it was :icon_drool2:

 

[zabond]

Coopers dark-1kg be2-1kg saunders-250grm med crystal-200grm carapils-250grm golden syrup-1 plug willamett[15 min boil]nottingham yeast-21 ltrs :icon_drool2: aprox 5.5%
Russ

 

[Renegade]

Coopers dark-1kg be2-1kg saunders-250grm med crystal-200grm carapils-250grm golden syrup-1 plug willamett[15 min boil]nottingham yeast-21 ltrs :icon_drool2: aprox 5.5%
Russ

That sounds superb, Zabond. And the emoticon also sold me. I'll go down this path. Only I'll have to forego the carapils (dont have any), and change the hop suggestion to hersbrucker (boiled some up last night for another brew, and WOW, what an aroma). Any particular requirements for using golden syrup? I imagine its already sterile, so i'll throw it straight in about three days after krausen starts.

 

[petesbrew]

DON'T CRINGE FOLKS: I need to quickly knock out a darker beer style, and wont get a chance to place an order with the HB shop for a while so I'll have to turn to the supermarket shelves for a kit or two. SO i'm wondering what the outcome might be with something along the lines of 1/2 kg mashed pils, 200g crystal, a kit of stout and a kit of cerveza. Doesn't need to be overly high in alc, somewhere around 5% is fine.

I also have a few hop varieties, but no idea what would suit a beer like this. I have POR, Nelson Sauvin, Amarillo, Cascade (maybe) & Hersbrucker in the freezer

Any ideas ? No toucan stout recipes please, I dont need it to be that 'stoutey' in flavour. Perhaps something more like a porter is what I have in mind (although can you even make a porter with kit cans - I suspect some specific malts are required)

Is Pils & crystal the only grain you've got at home, Renegade?

You could try toasting some of that pils? Home grain roasting

 

[Renegade]

Pete, yep that's all. Although a fellow brewer up the road has a small amount of choc grain but it's about 2 years old, so i dont know if I want to take that off his hands. I also have access (through him) to some smoked grain that is fresh, but that's going to create a whole other beer that i'm not aiming for this time round (Not ready to do a Rauchbier just yet).

GREAT LINK regarding grain roasting, I reckon I'll give that a go to make my own chocolate malt from the pils grain I have.

I love that I can still take a basic kit and pimp the hell out of it :icon_cheers: Cheers to all who have offered suggestions on making a style that i havent tried to brew before, and making the most of limited resources.

 

[petesbrew]

Pete, yep that's all. Although a fellow brewer up the road has a small amount of choc grain but it's about 2 years old, so i dont know if I want to take that off his hands. I also have access (through him) to some smoked grain that is fresh, but that's going to create a whole other beer that i'm not aiming for this time round (Not ready to do a Rauchbier just yet).

GREAT LINK regarding grain roasting, I reckon I'll give that a go to make my own chocolate malt from the pils grain I have.

I love that I can still take a basic kit and pimp the hell out of it :icon_cheers: Cheers to all who have offered suggestions on making a style that i havent tried to brew before, and making the most of limited resources.

As long as the choc grain isn't cracked it should be okay. If it is cracked, you'll only need a small amount, and well, "it's just a kit". h34r:
I haven't tried the home roasting myself, but plan to one day.

 

[wallablack]

something more like a porter is what I have in mind (although can you even make a porter with kit cans - I suspect some specific malts are required)

Cascade Chocolate Mahogany Porter - Have recently opened a bottle of this after being bottled for 4 weeks and is very nice.

 

[Interloper]

Cascade Chocolate Mahogany Porter - Have recently opened a bottle of this after being bottled for 4 weeks and is very nice.

This is not a porter, not even close according to the style guides for a porter.

I found this beer had a nice colour, nice composition but was way lacking in flavour. As others have said the Cascade people spent more on the marketing and the outside of the tin than the contents inside the tin.

I think a Coopers toucan with a dark ale and a pale ale can would get you closer to a porter. Smooth off with a bit more malt and some choc malt and you're laughing. Quick and easy dark beer.

 

[Renegade]

I have heard that Cascade are off the market anyway. And all reports tend to have suggested that theyre crap.

Just back onto the roastimg of grains for a moment to make my own chocolate malt. Would this change the enzymes similar to how a mash would, and therefore only require a steeping of the end result, or would I still need to mini-mash after roasting? Thinking this is going to be treated like crystal after its out of the oven.

 

[A3k]

For golden syrup, try and get Lyles as its invert sugar, well at least partially.

Cant help with the rest, but am watching this thread as Im in a similar predicament.

Cheers,
Al