Do all Crystal malts taste relatively the same

I echo the sentiments of restricted use of black patent- too much becomes ashy and burnt rather than roast goodness. good luck with it!

I don’t think I’d use a pound and a half of crystal, personally. 12oz of caramunich works great. Also, I highly recommend the pale chocolate (200L) for porters, it’s smoother and mellower but at around 10oz will give a great chocolate character. Roasted barley can be a bit overbearing in porter, IMO.

I also like Marris Otter for my base grain for any beer that is in the ballpark of English. So thats a thought too.

Originally posted by NobleSquirrel
Also, I highly recommend the pale chocolate (200L) for porters, it’s smoother and mellower but at around 10oz will give a great chocolate character.

completely agree

Originally posted by crosamich
I echo the sentiments of restricted use of black patent- too much becomes ashy and burnt rather than roast goodness. good luck with it!

Use Midnight Wheat or Blackprinz in a porter to get color without burnt bitterness. Black Patent good for stouts, not so much for porters.

Do all Crystal malts taste relatively the same? Not at all. There is a full range of stewing/roasting with a corresponding full range of flavors.

Any malt with ’Crystal’ in the name or ’Cara’ in the name and a few odds and ends such as Special B are effectively the same thing: Caramel Malts. The real question is that given a particular lovibond / EBC range, which of the caramel malts do you like the best? I highly recommend tasting them. Grab a bit of malt and chomp on it.

Originally posted by crosamich
I echo the sentiments of restricted use of black patent- too much becomes ashy and burnt rather than roast goodness. good luck with it!

Especially in combination with roasted barley.
Taking a look at your malt bill you’re well into Stout territory. We’re not in Kansas anymore.

Thank you for the tips guys. I’ll think about it and update my recipe soon. Lots of good advice in here, thanks for everything. As I thought, I didn’t really have a clue where I was going.

OK Guys, should be brewing this one this Sunday. Any last bits of advice?

Robust Porter
5.5 Gal Batch
WYeast 1968 London ESB

9.5 lb Pearl 69.7%
2 lb Vienna 14.7%
0.5 lb Crystal 45L 3.7%
0.5 lb Crystal 70L 3.7%
0.5 lb Pale Chocolate 3.7%
0.375 lb Carafa III 2.8%
0.125 lb Chocolate 0.9%
0.125 lb Roasted Barley 0.9%

90 min boil
0.5 oz Goldings 60 mins
1 oz golding 30 mins
1 oz golding 15 mins
1 oz Fuggles 5 mins

Thanks!

Julien

If you’re looking for a drier beer, you want more fermentable wort. To achieve this, go with using less crystal malt, but of a higher lovibond. Try around 6-8 oz of Caraaroma / Special B and ditch the other crystal malts. Also, 1968 isn’t a very high attenuating strain- London Ale (1028 I think) will give you a drier beer.