Making Dark Versions of Pale Beers
A recent trend over the past few years in craft and homebrewing is making dark or black versions of pale colored beers; the first, and still most popular, being IPA. Recently I decided that it was about time for me to jump on the bandwagon before the wave completely passed me by. Taking my queues from traditional dark German lagers called schwarzbier, which use dark grains to give them their distinctive hue, I wondered what other pale beers besides IPA that I could blacken up (or “schwarz” — schwarzbier translates to “black beer”) with a little dark malt to make something interesting; what would be the best techniques, and which grain would work best. Ready to do some experimenting, I donned my mad brewer lab coat (ok, it’s a brewer’s apron), and started brewing up some experimental batches of beer and writing down my findings.
My original foray into the wide world of “schwarz” actually happened a few years ago. I had an idea to brew a black Pilsner. I have a pretty darn good schwarzbier recipe in my recipe file, and a pretty darn good Pilsner recipe, so I thought I’d combine the two. Some brewers look at schwarzbier as a black Pilsner and use a good charge of Saaz hops accordingly; but I’ve always gone a little lighter hop wise (about half the IBUs of a Pilsner) with either Select or Tradition hops. Since the two recipes were sort of similar, aside from the dark grains, my first plan was to brew a batch of each (Pilsner and schwarzbier) and blend them, but I quickly realized that process would have left me with a beer that was more of a medium brown instead of the black I was after. Not to mention it would take twice the work of just brewing one beer. So I came up with a plan to take the grain bill from the schwarzbier and match it to the Pilsner yeast and hop schedule.
The resulting black Pilsner came out very good. Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together? Carafa® II (dehusked) malt gave the beer a really nice black color and it was very smooth with little roastiness. I really need to brew this beer again sometime soon.
And so . . . speaking of ales, of course for my next test batch I had to give black IPA a stab. I’ve brewed many British IPAs in the past but no big, hoppy American IPAs as my tastes normally run more towards British beers (I have Goldings hops growing in my backyard). I originally intended to “schwarz” this beer with a good healthy dose of Sinamar®, which is an extract produced by Weyermann and made with roasted Carafa® malt. My plan was: Brew the beer, dump in the Sinamar®, get a black IPA, easy peasy. Unfortunately I started this experiment only to discover that my local homebrew shop doesn’t stock Sinamar® and I didn’t want to wait for a mail order (I was already at the shop) so my original plan was out of the question.
So the next plan was obvious: Concoct a batch of my own homemade version of something like Sinamar®. It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. So to make my own extract, I cold steeped 12 oz. (340 g) of Briess Midnight Wheat malt overnight in a quart of filtered water. The next day I boiled the homemade extract and added it when the primary fermentation of the IPA was almost done. This gave the beer a deep black color with only a very slight roastiness.
I was so pleased with the results that I took a sample to my favorite bottle shop, Buy The Bottle, in downtown Vancouver, Washington for some feedback from the owner, Arlene Nunez, who’s always given me an honest opinion of my efforts, even when a beer was not the greatest. Arlene was impressed and said she’d, “love some of this to have out on the patio in the evening after work.” I brought her a bomber of it the next day.
Third up on my “schwarzing” experimental series was darkening up my house beer: Lemon-Rosemary Blonde. Two weeks after brewing a normal batch I racked 1 gallon (3.8 L) of it into a separate carboy and added the boiled and cooled juice of 4 oz. (113 g) of roasted barley that I cold steeped overnight in a pint of filtered water. The color came out a deep dark brown and the moderate roastiness really blended well with the rosemary and lemon.
Next up, I “schwarzed” an entire batch of my recipe for my English Bitter, “Best Bitter.” Instead of making another dose of homemade Sinamar® like I did for the black IPA, I added 1 pound (0.45 kg) of Briess Blackprinz® malt to the mash just before commencing the vorlauf. I really liked the color and smooth roastiness that this gave to the beer, which was reminiscent of a very mellow roasted barley. I thought that this flavor would really work well in a cream stout so I brewed one with Blackprinz® and it was even better than I thought it would be.
Further Experiments
I also wanted to see how chocolate malt and black patent malt would affect color and flavor of my pale beers, but at this point I didn’t want to brew two more batches so I made a couple of small doses of coloring extract using each of those malts and added a bit of each to two glasses of a Pilsner that I had on tap.
The chocolate malt extract gave the beer a nice brown color with a slightly roasty aspect in the aroma and flavor. It blended well with the Pilsner hops and reminded me of something between a brown ale and a porter.
The black patent extract gave the glass of Pilsner a nice black color with a sharp roastiness (the most of all the malts I tried). I thought my untrained palate detected a bit of burnt ashiness, but that could have been a preconceived notion because I’ve read on many homebrewing forums that that characteristic should be there. I did detect a very slight lingering after harshness, but I liked the black patent taste and aroma in the Pilsner more than I thought I would. This would be a fun experiment to try with any pale beer you have on hand.
I came to the conclusion that any of the techniques that I tried would work to impart a nice dark color with varying degrees of roastiness depending on which grain I used. I recommend trying each of them for yourself and see which one suits your needs best.
I did come to some definite preferences on which dark grain is best to use, however — at least for my taste. If I had to choose one malt above the rest I’d go with Midnight Wheat as my first choice. Carafa® II (dehusked) is a close second. Not to say that the other dark grains wouldn’t do a good job of blackening up a batch of homebrew. Other possible grains to use instead of, or in addition to, the dark grains that I used for my experiments are the highly roasted crystal grains (120+ °L), brown malt, Franco Belges Kiln Coffee malt, or special roast to name a few. So feel free to experiment with the techniques and grains like I did. And may the schwarz be with you!
Schwarz’d Recipes
To Be Schwarzed IPA
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.080 FG = 1.012
IBU = 100+ SRM = 33 ABV = 9.4%
This was my first attempt at an American black IPA and I figured I should go big with the hops. I love this particular hop combo, but whatever your favorite is would work as well.
Ingredients
15 lbs. (6.8 kg) 2-row malt
12 oz. (340 g) white wheat malt
12 oz. (340 g) crystal wheat malt (54 °L)
12 oz. (340 g) Briess Midnight Wheat malt (cold steep)
3.7 AAU Summit™ hop pellets (first wort hop) (0.2 oz./6 g at 18.5% alpha acids)
4.9 AAU Simcoe® hop pellets (first wort hop) (0.4 oz./11 g at 12.2% alpha acids)
7 AAU Amarillo® hop pellets (first wort hop) (0.83 oz./24 g at 8.4% alpha acids)
27.7 AAU Bravo hop pellets (48 min.) (1.66 oz./46 g at 16.7% alpha acids)
3.8 AAU Summit™ hop pellets (10 min.) (0.2 oz./6 g at 18.5% alpha acids)
4 AAU Simcoe® hop pellets (10 min.) (0.33 oz./9 g at 12.2% alpha acids)
9.2 AAU Amarillo® hop pellets (10 min.) (1.1 oz./31 g at 8.4% alpha acids)
0.55 oz. (15 g) Summit™ hop pellets (0 min.)
1.35 oz. (38 g) Simcoe® hop pellets (0 min.)
1.66 oz. (47 g) Amarillo® hop pellets (0 min.)
1.66 oz. (47 g) Saphir hop pellets (dry hop)
0.75 oz. (21 g) Simcoe® hop pellets (dry hop)
1.66 oz. (47 g) Summit™ hop pellets (dry hop)
3.3 oz. (93 g) Amarillo® hop pellets (dry hop)
1⁄2 tsp. Irish moss (15 min.)
1⁄3 tsp. yeast nutrient (15 min.)
Safale US-05 or White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
This is a single infusion mash. On brew day, mash the crushed 2-row, white wheat, and crystal wheat malts at a 1.5 quarts to 1 pound ratio of strike water (3.1 L/kg) at 150 °F (66 °C) for 60 minutes. Vorlauf until wort runs clear. Sparge with enough water to collect about 6.25 gallons (24 L) of wort in the kettle. Boil for 48 minutes, adding the hops, Irish moss, and yeast nutrients per the ingredients list. At the end of the boil, remove from heat and add the 0 min. hops. Stir to create a whirlpool and steep the hops for 20 minutes.
Chill the wort to pitching temperature, rack to fermenting vessel, and pitch yeast. Ferment for 3 weeks in the 67–69 °F (19–21 °C) range. On day 4, make the Midnight Wheat coloring extract by steeping 12 oz. (340 g) of crushed Midnight Wheat malt in 1 qt. (1 L) water. On day 5, separate the grain from the coloring extract and boil the extract for 10 minutes. Once cooled to room temperature, add the Midnight Wheat coloring extract to the fermenter. On day 16, add the Saphir hops to the fermenter. On day 19, add the remaining dry hops. On day 21, package the beer with priming sugar and bottle or keg and force carbonate as normal.
To Be Schwarzed IPA
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.080 FG = 1.012
IBU = 100+ SRM = 33 ABV = 9.4%
INGREDIENTS
10 lbs. (4.5 kg) liquid pale malt extract
12 oz. (340 g) white wheat malt
12 oz. (340 g) crystal wheat malt (54 °L)
12 oz. (340 g) Briess Midnight Wheat malt (cold steep)
3.7 AAU Summit™ hop pellets (first wort hop) (0.2 oz./6 g at 18.5% alpha acids)
4.9 AAU Simcoe® hop pellets (first wort hop) (0.4 oz./11 g at 12.2% alpha acids)
7 AAU Amarillo® hop pellets (first wort hop) (0.83 oz./24 g at 8.4% alpha acids)
27.7 AAU Bravo hop pellets (48 min.) (1.66 oz./46 g at 16.7% alpha acids)
3.8 AAU Summit™ hop pellets (10 min.) (0.2 oz./6 g at 18.5% alpha acids)
4 AAU Simcoe® hop pellets (10 min.) (0.33 oz./9 g at 12.2% alpha acids)
9.2 AAU Amarillo® hop pellets (10 min.) (1.1 oz./31 g at 8.4% alpha acids)
0.55 oz. (15 g) Summit™ hop pellets (0 min.)
1.35 oz. (38 g) Simcoe® hop pellets(0 min.)
1.66 oz. (47 g) Amarillo® hop pellets (0 min.)
1.66 oz. (47 g) Saphir hop pellets (dry hop)
0.75 oz. (21 g) Simcoe® hop pellets(dry hop)
1.66 oz. (47 g) Summit™ hop pellets (dry hop)
3.3 oz. (93 g) Amarillo® hop pellets (dry hop)
1⁄2 tsp. Irish moss (15 min.)
1⁄3 tsp. yeast nutrient (15 min.)
Safale US-05 or White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Heat 1 gallon (4 L) of water to 155 °F (68 °C) and add the crushed white wheat and crystal wheat malt in a mesh bag. Steep for 30 minutes then remove the mesh bag and allowing the grains to drip back into the kettle. Add 3 gallons (11 L) of water, thoroughly mix in the malt extract. Once all malt extract is dissolved, return to heat source and top off kettle to 6.25 gallons (24 L) and bring to a boil. Boil for a total of 48 minutes, adding the hops, Irish moss, and yeast nutrients per the recipe. At the end of the boil, remove from heat and add the 0 minute hops. Give the wort a stir to create a whirlpool and allow the hops to steep for 20 minutes.
Chill the wort to pitching temperature, rack to fermenting vessel, and pitch yeast. Now follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe for fermentation, coloring extract, dry hop, and packaging instructions.
SCHWARZ-PILSNER
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.052 FG =1.012
IBU = 42 SRM = 35 ABV = 5.3%
This recipe combines the grain bill of my schwarzbier recipe with the yeast and hop bill of my Pilsner recipe.
INGREDIENTS
6.6 lbs. (3 kg) Munich malt
3.5 lbs. (1.6 kg) 2-row pale malt
12 oz. (336 g) Weyermann Carafa® II malt (430 °L)
6 oz. (168 g) Weyermann Caramunich® III malt (45 °L)
4 oz. (112 g) chocolate wheat malt (400 °L)
4 AAU Saaz pellet hops (first wort hop) (1.25 oz./35 g at 3.2% alpha acids)
6 AAU Sterling hops (60 min.) (0.85 oz./24 g at 7% alpha acids)
4.2 AAU Sterling hops (20 min.) (0.6 oz./17 g at 7% alpha acids)
7 AAU Sterling hops (0 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 7% alpha acids)
1 oz. (28 g) Saaz hops (dry hop)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Wakatu hops (dry hop)
1⁄2 tsp. Irish moss (15 min.)
1⁄4 tsp. yeast nutrient (15 min.)
Saflager W-34/70 or Mangrove Jack’s M84 (Bohemian Lager) or Wyeast 2124 (Bohemian Lager) yeast
2⁄3 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
This is a single infusion mash. On brew day, mash all the crushed grains at a 1.5 quarts to 1 pound ratio of strike water (3.1 L/kg) at 155 °F (68 °C) for 60 minutes. Vorlauf until wort runs clear. Sparge with enough water to collect about 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort in the kettle. Boil for a total of 60 minutes, adding the hops, Irish moss, and yeast nutrients per the recipe. At the end of the boil, remove from heat and add the 0 minute hops. Give the wort a stir to create a whirlpool and allow the hops to steep for 12 minutes.
Chill the wort to pitching temperature, rack to carboy, and pitch yeast. Ferment for 3 weeks at 52 °F (11 °C). Add the dry hops and lager for 6 weeks at 34 °F (1 °C). Then prime and bottle or keg and force carbonate as normal.
SCHWARZ-PILSNER
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.052 FG =1.012
IBU = 42 SRM = 35 ABV = 5.3%
INGREDIENTS
4.5 lbs. (2 kg) Munich liquid malt extract
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) Pilsen dried malt extract
12 oz. (336 g) Weyermann Carafa® II malt (430 °L)
6 oz. (168 g) Weyermann Caramunich® III malt (45 °L)
4 oz. (112 g) chocolate wheat malt (400 °L)
4 AAU Saaz pellet hops (first wort hop) (1.25 oz./35 g at 3.2% alpha acids)
6 AAU Sterling hops (60 min.) (0.85 oz./24 g at 7% alpha acids)
4.2 AAU Sterling hops (20 min.) (0.6 oz./17 g at 7% alpha acids)
7 AAU Sterling hops (0 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 7% alpha acids)
1 oz. (28 g) Saaz hops (dry hop)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Wakatu hops (dry hop)
1⁄2 tsp. Irish moss (15 min.)
1⁄4 tsp. yeast nutrient (15 min.)
Saflager W-34/70 or Mangrove Jack’s M84 (Bohemian Lager) or Wyeast 2124 (Bohemian Lager) yeast
2⁄3 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Heat 1 gallon (4 L) of water to 155 °F (68 °C) and add the crushed grains in a mesh bag. Steep for 30 minutes then remove the mesh bag and allowing the grains to drip back into the kettle. Add 3 gallons (11 L) of water, thoroughly mix in the malt extract. Once all malt extract is dissolved, return to heat source and top off kettle to 6.5 gallons (25 L) and bring to a boil. Boil for a total of 60 minutes, adding the hops, Irish moss, and yeast nutrients per the recipe. At the end of the boil, remove from heat and add the 0 minute hops. Give the wort a stir to create a whirlpool and allow the hops to steep for 12 minutes.
Chill the wort to pitching temperature, rack to carboy, and pitch yeast. Ferment for 3 weeks at 52 °F (11 °C). Add the dry hops and lager for 6 weeks at 34 °F (1 °C). Then prime and bottle or keg and force carbonate as normal.
AURORA BLONDE ALE
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.052 FG = 1.014
IBU = 25 SRM = 30 ABV = 5.2%
Ingredients
9.1 lbs. (4.1 kg) 2-row malt
12 oz. (336 g) white wheat malt
10 oz. (280 g) Vienna malt
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) roasted barley (cold steeped)
5.8 AAU Wakatu pellet hops (45 min.) (0.83 oz./23 g at 7% alpha acids)
2.9 AAU Wakatu pellet hops (10 min.) (0.42 oz./12 g at 7% alpha acid)
½ tsp. Irish moss (15 min.)
¼ tsp. yeast nutrient (15 min.)
White Labs WLP008 (East Coast Ale) or Wyeast 1098 (British Ale) yeast
1 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
This is a single infusion mash. On brew day, mash the crushed 2-row, white wheat and crystal Vienna malts at a 1.5 quarts to 1 pound ratio of strike water (3.1 L/kg) at 152 °F (67 °C) for 60 minutes. Vorlauf until wort runs clear. Sparge with enough water to collect about 6.25 gallons (24 L) of wort in the kettle. Boil for a total of 45 minutes, adding the hops, Irish moss, and yeast nutrients per the recipe.
Chill the wort to pitching temperature, rack to fermenting vessel, and pitch yeast. Ferment for 2 weeks in the 67–69 °F (19-21 °C) range. On day 13, make the roasted barley coloring extract by steeping 1.25 lbs. (567 g) of crushed roasted barley in 2 qts. (2 L) water. On day 14, separate the grain from the coloring extract and boil the extract for 10 minutes. Once cooled to room temperature, add the coloring extract to the fermenter then proceed to package the beer with priming sugar and bottle or keg and force carbonate as normal.
AURORA BLONDE ALE
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.052 FG = 1.014
IBU = 25 SRM = 30 ABV = 5.2%
Ingredients
5 lbs. (2.3 kg) Pilsen dried malt extract
12 oz. (336 g) white wheat malt
10 oz. (280 g) Vienna malt
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) roasted barley (cold steeped)
5.8 AAU Wakatu pellet hops (45 min.) (0.83 oz./23 g at 7% alpha acids)
2.9 AAU Wakatu pellet hops (10 min.) (0.42 oz./12 g at 7% alpha acid)
½ tsp. Irish moss (15 min.)
¼ tsp. yeast nutrient (15 min.)
White Labs WLP008 (East Coast Ale) or Wyeast 1098 (British Ale) yeast
1 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Heat 1 gallon (4 L) of water to 155 °F (68 °C) and add the crushed white wheat and Vienna malt in a mesh bag. Steep for 30 minutes then remove the mesh bag and allowing the grains to drip back into the kettle. Add 3 gallons (11 L) of water, thoroughly mix in the malt extract. Once all malt extract is dissolved, return to heat source and top off kettle to 6.25 gallons (24 L) and bring to a boil. Boil for a total of 48 minutes, adding the hops, Irish moss, and yeast nutrients per the recipe.
Chill the wort to pitching temperature, rack to fermenting vessel, and pitch yeast. Ferment for 2 weeks in the 67–69 °F (19-21 °C) range. On day 13, make the roasted barley coloring extract by steeping 1.25 lbs. (567 g) of crushed roasted barley in 2 qts. (2 L) water. On day 14, separate the grain from the coloring extract and boil the extract for 10 minutes. Once cooled to room temperature, add the coloring extract to the fermenter then proceed to package the beer with priming sugar and bottle or keg and force carbonate as normal.
BONE IDLE BITTER
(5 gallons/19L, all-grain)
OG = 1.040 FG = 1.012
IBU = 30 SRM = 40 ABV = 3.7%
Ingredients
6 lbs. (2.7 kg) Maris Otter pale malt
12 oz. (336 g) carastan malt (35 °L)
10 oz. (280 g) Victory® malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) Blackprinz® malt
1.7 AAU US Golding hops (first wort hop) (0.33 oz./9.3 g at 5% alpha acids)
7.4 AAU UK Challenger hop pellets (45 min.) (0.83 oz./23.25 g at 8.9% alpha acids)
2 AAU US Golding hops (6 min.) (0.4 oz./11 g at 5% alpha acids)
½ tsp. Irish moss (15 min.)
¼ tsp. yeast nutrient (15 min.)
Safale S-04 or Wyeast 1099 (Whitebread Ale) yeast
2/3 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
This is a single infusion mash. On brew day, mash the crushed Maris Otter, carastan and Victory® malt at a 1.5 quarts to 1 pound ratio of strike water (3.1 L/kg) at 152 °F (67 °C) for 45 minutes. Add the crushed Blackprinz® malt to the top of the mash and begin to vorlauf until wort runs clear. Sparge with enough water to collect about 6.25 gallons (24 L) of wort in the kettle. Boil for a total of 45 minutes, adding the hops, Irish moss, and yeast nutrients per the recipe.
Chill the wort to pitching temperature, rack to carboy, and pitch yeast. Ferment for 3 weeks in the 67–69 °F (19-21 °C) range. Then prime and bottle or keg and force carbonate as normal
BONE IDLE BITTER
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.040 FG = 1.012
IBU = 30 SRM = 40 ABV = 3.7%
Ingredients
4.2 lbs.(1.9 kg) Maris Otter liquid malt extract
12 oz. (336 g) carastan malt (35 °L)
10 oz. (280 g) Victory® malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) Blackprinz® malt
1.7 AAU US Golding hops (first wort hop) (0.33 oz./9.3 g at 5% alpha acids)
7.4 AAU UK Challenger hop pellets (45 min.) (0.83 oz./23.25 g at 8.9% alpha acids)
2 AAU US Golding hops (6 min.) (0.4 oz./11 g at 5% alpha acids)
½ tsp. Irish moss (15 min.)
¼ tsp. yeast nutrient (15 min.)
Safale S-04 or Wyeast 1099 (Whitebread Ale) yeast
2/3 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Heat 1 gallon (4 L) of water to 155 °F (68 °C) and add the crushed carastan, Victory® and Blackprinz® malt in a mesh bag. Steep for 20 minutes then remove the mesh bag and allowing the grains to drip back into the kettle. Add 3 gallons (11 L) of water, thoroughly mix in the malt extract. Once all malt extract is dissolved, return to heat source and top off kettle to 6.25 gallons (24 L) and bring to a boil. Boil for a total of 45 minutes, adding the hops, Irish moss, and yeast nutrients per the recipe.
Chill the wort to pitching temperature, rack to carboy, and pitch yeast. Ferment for 3 weeks in the 67–69 °F (19-21 °C) range. Then prime and bottle or keg and force carbonate as normal.
