AG2 - Brewdog's Arcade Nation 10L

[Pope]

On Friday I undertook my second all grain effort, using Brewdog's Arcade Nation (Black IPA) recipe. I used the BIAB method described in Clibit's Thread.

Boil Volume 12.5L

Grain Bill:
1.57kg Maris Otter
0.13kg Caramalt
0.09kg Crystal 150
0.13kg Carafa 1

Hop Bill:
6.3g Simcoe 60 mins
9.5g Simcoe 30 mins
6.3g Simcoe 5 mins
6.3g Amarillo 5 mins
6.3g Citra 5 mins
31.2g Simcoe Dry Hop 5 Days
31.2g Amarillo Dry Hop 5 Days
31.2g Citra Dry Hop 5 Days

Yeast:

S-05 Ale, pitched on Saturday morning after it eventually cooled.

OG of 1.046.

Batch Volume of 2 gallon, so just under 10L.

It's not quite black but it's a very dark brown.

 

[Pope]

Update:

Dry hopped tonight.

Took an SG of 1.012, so about 4.5% at the moment. I tasted the sample and it was really nice, strong flavour with a good bitter aftertaste.

Like I said in the OP it's not quite black, but it's a very dark brown IPA

 

[MyQul]

Next time try carafa III, it's darker than carafa I

 

[Pope]

Next time try carafa III, it's darker than carafa I

If I do it again, I might well do.

However, I'm not terribly bothered that it's not "black", so long as it tastes good...which based on the sample I had last night appears to be the case.

 

[MyQul]

If I do it again, I might well do.

However, I'm not terribly bothered that it's not "black", so long as it tastes good...which based on the sample I had last night appears to be the case.

Me neither when it comes to the colour of beer. I'm made several receipes where there was a small additon (such chocolate or black malt) simply for colour which I've left out. Having said that the whole point of a black IPA is to get it as dark as possible, else you you may as well make a regular IPA

 

[SteelT]

The recipe in the Brew Dog DIY book is not quite correct. If you use the the recipe build tool from you will see that the grain bill comes quite short of the OG they say, unless you achieve 95% efficiency.

i made this clone in the past and had to tweak the grain bill but I added a bit more Carafa I , and the colour was really pitch black, also taste was awesome.
Its a great beer !

 

[Pope]

Me neither when it comes to the colour of beer. I'm made several receipes where there was a small additon (such chocolate or black malt) simply for colour which I've left out. Having said that the whole point of a black IPA is to get it as dark as possible, else you you may as well make a regular IPA

Don't dark malts give a different, "roasty" flavour, as opposed to the pale ones normally used in an IPA, rather than just marking the colour darker?

 

[MyQul]

Don't dark malts give a different, "roasty" flavour, as opposed to the pale ones normally used in an IPA, rather than just marking the colour darker?

Yes, but it depends how much you use. If you use small amounts the roasted malts can just be used for colouring without any flavour added.

 

[Pope]

Yes, but it depends how much you use. If you use small amounts the roasted malts can just be used for colouring without any flavour added.

I see...in this case, the roasted flavour did come through in the sample I had, so it's all good.

 

[IainM]

Don't dark malts give a different, "roasty" flavour, as opposed to the pale ones normally used in an IPA, rather than just marking the colour darker?

It also depends on the malt. Carafa III, Midnight Wheat and Blackprinz are dehusked, which removes a lot of their roasty bitterness but keeps the colour. I did a Black IPA with the latter two, which is jet black down to the last centimetre, and its my best pint yet! I've just bought the ingredients to make another version of it.

 

[MyQul]

It also depends on the malt. Carafa III, Midnight Wheat and Blackprinz are dehusked, which removes a lot of their roasty bitterness but keeps the colour. I did a Black IPA with the latter two, which is jet black down to the last centimetre, and its my best pint yet! I've just bought the ingredients to make another version of it.

I knew blackprinz and midnightwheat are de-bittered but I didn't know carafa III is too :thumb:

 

[Pope]

It also depends on the malt. Carafa III, Midnight Wheat and Blackprinz are dehusked, which removes a lot of their roasty bitterness but keeps the colour. I did a Black IPA with the latter two, which is jet black down to the last centimetre, and its my best pint yet! I've just bought the ingredients to make another version of it.

Interesting...so going off what you and Myqul have said...if I wanted to keep the roasted flavour and make it darker, I would just use a greater quantity of Carafa I. However, if I wanted to just make it darker I would use the same quantity as described in the recipe of Carafa III, albeit sacrificing the roasted flavour.

 

[IainM]

Interesting...so going off what you and Myqul have said...if I wanted to keep the roasted flavour and make it darker, I would just use a greater quantity of Carafa I. However, if I wanted to just make it darker I would use the same quantity as described in the recipe of Carafa III, albeit sacrificing the roasted flavour.

Yes, but it depends on what you mean by "sacrificing". BlackPrinz, Midnight Wheat and Carafa III all still have some roastiness, just not as much. I used quite a lot (300g Midnight Wheat and 200g BlackPrinz), so that I still had some of those dark tastes to it, but only as a background to the hops, which are the star of the show. Doing this, I managed to get a very dark black colour without the bitter roasty flavours dominating over the maltiness or the hops.

 

[Pope]

Yes, but it depends on what you mean by "sacrificing". BlackPrinz, Midnight Wheat and Carafa III all still have some roastiness, just not as much. I used quite a lot (300g Midnight Wheat and 200g BlackPrinz), so that I still had some of those dark tastes to it, but only as a background to the hops, which are the star of the show. Doing this, I managed to get a very dark black colour without the bitter roasty flavours dominating over the maltiness or the hops.

Thanks for the info, stuff like this is really helpful to a beginner.

 

[IainM]

Thanks for the info, stuff like this is really helpful to a beginner.

No worries, I'm a beginner too. The recipe was a stab in the dark, but whether by fluke or design, it made a lovely pint.

 

[strange-steve]

Just a caution, carafa III is not the same as carafa special III. The special is dehusked the standard carafa III isn't.

 

[MyQul]

Just a caution, carafa III is not the same as carafa special III. The special is dehusked the standard carafa III isn't.

Ah, this makes sense. As I read you can sub carafa III (stanadard) for chocolate malt. So I was thinking if it doesnt give any roastyness how is this possible but the fact there's a special and a standard carafa III makes sense of this

 

[Pope]

Just a caution, carafa III is not the same as carafa special III. The special is dehusked the standard carafa III isn't.

I see...after looking through the recipe and what I've ordered, it appears that it is the special stuff that I've put in this brew.

 

[Pope]

It also depends on the malt. Carafa III, Midnight Wheat and Blackprinz are dehusked, which removes a lot of their roasty bitterness but keeps the colour. I did a Black IPA with the latter two, which is jet black down to the last centimetre, and its my best pint yet! I've just bought the ingredients to make another version of it.

When you did your BIPA, how much priming sugar did you use per litre?

When I made my previous AG, I seemed to do everything right apart from the amount of priming sugar...unfortunately I have a flat SMASH...tasty but not terribly enjoyable.

 

[IainM]

When you did your BIPA, how much priming sugar did you use per litre?

When I made my previous AG, I seemed to do everything right apart from the amount of priming sugar...unfortunately I have a flat SMASH...tasty but not terribly enjoyable.

I did 150g for 22L, so more of an IPA level of priming than a dark beer one, and at the top of the IPA range. I like 'em fizzy, plenty of bubbles to get that hop aroma up the nose.