Carafa Special 1 - leftover

[iandiggs]

Hello,
I have some (out of date) carafa special 1 (chocolate malt) leftover and loads of nelson sauvin hops. Could i incorporate the carafa into the below recipe? I've been doing loads of pale ale recipes lately and need to try something else a bit darker and more mysterious. Many Thanks

Mash
UK Pale Ale Malt (Low Color) 4.500 kg 82.6 %
German Munich Malt 0.650 kg 11.9 %
UK Wheat Malt 0.300 kg 5.5 %


Hops
NZ Nelson Sauvin 11.3 % 10 g Loose Whole Hops First Wort Hopped
NZ Nelson Sauvin 11.3 % 35 g Loose Whole Hops 15 Min From End
NZ Nelson Sauvin 11.3 % 35 g Loose Whole Hops 5 Min From End
NZ Nelson Sauvin 11.3 % 20 g Loose Whole Hops At turn off (30 min steep at 80C)

[jimp2003]

Dark malts like the carafa special will usually keep for a long time so unless its got damp it should be ok.

You could add it to the recipe you already have to make a black IPA. Some people just add it to the mash to give a smooth roastiness to the beer but when I do that I add a bit of crystal to help balance everything out. Some just cold steep it overnight before brewday to extract the colour and not much of the roast character..

[iandiggs]

Thanks Jimp2003. Sounds like a good plan. Would you say 200g of carafa and 200g of crystal to balance it, on top of the pale and munich?
Also i love a hoppy taste in my ale; do you think i could add more nelson sauvin for the 80 degree steep or does it impart a grassy taste like some hops?
Again, many thanks for your help!...
Ian

[jimp2003]

200g of each seems a good starter. In my black IPA I use a ratio of 1.5:1 in favour of the carafa special (and I use carafa special 2) but its a tried and tested recipe and it works with the hops I use (Cascade, Amarillo and Columbus).

I have not used the nelson sauvin hops so not sure about any grassy flavours they might impart - maybe someone else could answer that one..