Pawtucket Matt, did you make it? Have you sampled it?
I really enjoy exploring this style, and make at least one every winter. On Jan 6, I ventured forth again. This time I decided to push the limits of the style because my previous versions were ridiculously smooth (in a good way, of course ;-)
After looking at JZ's recipe, I went with 8 oz cara III special and 4 oz choc 375. Now as if that weren't risky enough for a 5-gallon batch of schwarzbier, I also had a mistaken impression of my water chemistry. It has far more mineral content than the six year old city water report (Ann Arbor) documents, as evidenced by the Ward Labs report I received just two days ago.
I sampled my schwarzier last night.
Stout.
Argh. Too much work for a stout!
Eh, well, I guess I don't have to bother lagering it now. Although I probably will as I'm curious if it smooths out some. But it's just too much roast. Lesson learned. The presence of roast barley in JZ's recipe is curious to me, but then I should research the style more, in situ of course.
Better luck with yours Matt!