[joe_meadmaker]

I'm planning to brew a Burton Ale in a couple weeks.  My starting point is a Whitbread recipe in The Home Brewer's Guide to Vintage Beer.  The list of fermentables consists of 2-Row Pale malt, Mild malt, Caramel malt (to color), and No. 3 Invert sugar.

I verified with my LHBS that they don't have any Mild malt.  I would rather make an adjustment to the recipe and get everything in one place than have to order one thing online.  So I'm planning to drop the Mild and the Caramel, and substitute more Pale malt along with a Brown malt.

After the adjustment my list looks like this:

Maris Otter - 13.5 lb
Brown malt - 0.8 lb
No. 3 Invert sugar - 2.0 lb

The Mild malt ended up being broken into about 85% Maris Otter and 15% Brown malt.  Does anyone have any input on whether this grain substitution should work okay?

The rest of the recipe will be 2 oz of Kent Golding at 90, 60, and 30 minutes (as per the Whitbread recipe).  And I don't think I'll be able to get the recommended yeast, so I'm planning to use White Labs Burton Ale.

[Robert]

Mild ale malt was/is so nearly identical to pale (just made from a lower grade, higher protein, cheaper barley) that you can simply substitute more pale malt for the mild.   The "caramel" in that recipe is not caramel malt, it's brewer's caramel,  an insanely dark liquid coloring used in microscopic amounts to adjust the color of the beer before packaging.   Ignore it, it's not available to homebrewers.   Brown malt will not have a desirable effect here.   Not sure what you intend to do for the invert.  I've been making it,  and honestly would not recommend the effort needed to reach no. 3 color; flavor and fermentability are not significantly different in the darker colors.

Here's how I'd rework Ron's recipe:  Pale malt only.  Make no. 1 invert, or just use demerara sugar at 75% the weight of the invert syrup called for.  Use a small amount of debittered black, or better yet Midnight Wheat,  to reach the desired color.

Ron's books and blog are fun, aren't they?

[joe_meadmaker]

Ron's books and blog are fun, aren't they?

I love 'em

Thanks for the info.  For the invert I'm planning to make it the day before brewing.  I picked up a few pounds of raw cane sugar.  I've caramelize honey several times.  And once did a homemade butterscotch that came out...interesting.  So I'm actually looking forward to trying that.

I checked the website for my LHBS and don't see any debittered black or Midnight Wheat.  They do have Chocolate Wheat.  Or what about a small amount of Black Patent at the end of the mash?  Adding a coloring grain at the end of the mash isn't a technique I've used before.

[Robert]

Black patent sounds like the way to go then.  The idea I'm getting at is as much color as possible with the least flavor, like the caramel color the Brits were using.  Adding it at the end is a great trick to achieve that that I forget too often,  but I'm guessing that the amount you need will be so small it wouldn't make too much impact in the main mash either.   Your call.  Anyway, they were just coloring the beer for aesthetic purposes, and the notes Ron works from probably don't translate well into modern color scales.  Just color it to your taste!

EDIT ps. if it's your first time for the invert, you'll be amazed how thick it gets when cool, almost solid.  I've learned the trick is this, if you're planning to add it late the boil:  When I make the syrup I pour it into pint Mason jars, 1lb (~10-11 fl oz) per jar.  At the start of the boil put a saucepan of water on low heat with the jar(s) in it.  By the time you want to add it, it'll be nice and runny, and a silicone spatula will get it all out.

[joe_meadmaker]

Thanks for the input Rob!  I think I'm going to go with a couple ounces of Black Patent at the end of the mash.

And great tip on the invert.  I'll definitely use that reheating trick.  That's what happened with my butterscotch.  It was tasty, but completely solidified.

[clibit]

Black patent in small quantities is used by quite a few British brewerirs to colour their beers. I would just use that instead of the brewers caramel. Dont use brown malt, it would completely change the beer. Im hoping your 2-row is British?

[bob.wilson77]

You can also cold steep whatever amount of black patent for 24 hours (to help lower some of the bitter from it) and then add the liquid from the cold steep to the last 10 minutes of the boil. Still get the color with less bitterness.

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[Robert]

You can also cold steep whatever amount of black patent for 24 hours (to help lower some of the bitter from it) and then add the liquid from the cold steep to the last 10 minutes of the boil. Still get the color with less bitterness.

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Excellent idea!   Like making cold brew coffee, which sure is smooth and light in flavor for the color.   And by adding this late in the boil,  you could just add until the color of the wort looks like you what you want,  much like the original version would have been adjusted with caramel color in the fermenter.  Also takes black malt out of your pH calculations.

[joe_meadmaker]

I also like the cold steep idea.  That is definitely the new plan.

Im hoping your 2-row is British?

It is.  I believe the Maris Otter I'll be getting is from Muntons.

[denny]

I also like the cold steep idea.  That is definitely the new plan.

Im hoping your 2-row is British?

It is.  I believe the Maris Otter I'll be getting is from Muntons.

Keep in mind that cold steeping will have a pronounced effect on flavor, which you may or may not want.  We just did this for an experiment at the Australian Natl. Homebrew Conference and the results were overwhelmingly one sided.

[bob.wilson77]

I just did it with roasted barley. But only 4 oz in a 5 gallon batch (fantasy football type draft situation so I had to use it.) At a low percentage it still affected the color but the pronounced roast was rather diluted due to the percentage of the total brew.

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[Robert]

I also like the cold steep idea.  That is definitely the new plan.

Im hoping your 2-row is British?

It is.  I believe the Maris Otter I'll be getting is from Muntons.

Keep in mind that cold steeping will have a pronounced effect on flavor, which you may or may not want.  We just did this for an experiment at the Australian Natl. Homebrew Conference and the results were overwhelmingly one sided.

Little more explanation, Denny?  What's the effect?  If it's just less flavor, then that's good in this case.

[denny]

Little more explanation, Denny?  What's the effect?  If it's just less flavor, then that's good in this case.

More like smoother flavor, less bite.  But like you say, in some cases that's exactly what you want.  The point is to learn what to expect from the technique and use it where appropriate.

[Robert]

I also like the cold steep idea.  That is definitely the new plan.

Joe_meadmaker,  did you brew this yet?  If so, how did the cold steep technique go, at what point did you add the "tea," any advice?  I'm thinking of trying it this weekend to adjust the color of what will otherwise be an all pale malt beer.

[joe_meadmaker]

Yes, I brewed on the 12th.  Overall the batch went great.  The night before I heated 2 pints of spring water to a boil and cooled it back down to room temp.  I then added 2.5 ounces of crushed Black Patent right to the pot and covered it with aluminum foil.  Then it sat until I added it to the batch the next day.

In total, the grain was steeping for about 18 hours.  I poured it in to the boil through a nylon straining bag at the 10 minute (time left) mark.

To be honest, the beer came out a little darker than I planned.  I love the color, just a surprise.  But I'm not sure the darker color was completely due to the Black Patent.  I also made the Invert sugar for this batch and had a little mishap with that.  I just purchased the thermometer I was using, and wasn't reading it correctly.  So I had my Invert going for two hours when I realized it was about 20 degrees cooler than it needed to be.  I cranked the heat up and it went for another 2.5 hours or so.  At the end it was really dark, almost completely black.  And two pounds of that went in at the end of the boil so it was also a contributing factor to the color.

I really like the cold steeping technique.  With Denny's description of it giving the beer a smoother flavor, I think I want to try this with a porter.  I still have a bunch of Black Patent left.