Dark/roasted specialty grains in dark extract brew.

I would add grains and ditch that dark extract for light extract. You never really know which dark grains were used in making that extract, so it's a crap shoot as to what your dark beer will turn out like. If you really want a specific flavor/malt profile, I'd start with the lightest extract you can get and build onto that with the specific grain profile your looking for in your beer. If you are hell bent on using the dark extract, I would still add a small amount of dark roasted grains to steer the beer in whatever direction you are aiming for, but too much grain and you'll start over-roasting the flavor of the batch. There are SO many different types of imperial stouts out there...can you tell us a commercial beer you'd like your beer to mimic?

On top of all of that, you do realize that turning it into a braggot is going to completely change the final profile of the beer pretty drastically? What are you looking for the honey to give the beer/how are you wanting it to affect the final profile? It will dry the beer out, thin the beer out a little, drop the FG and add a sweet flavor (along with other flavors the honey imparts)...is that what you're looking for?

It can be as simple as just using the dark extract and adding honey at flameout,but that's going to make a pretty boring beer IMO.

 

Does that mean we should always avoid dark or amber DME/LME?

 

It is usually a good idea. Get color through steeping grain.

 

Good to know! How about the Vienna or Munich LME since you can't steep those grains?

 

Yep...stick with the lightest extract you can get, it's mostly 2 row that made it, so it's a much better substitution for the base grains in a recipe. Most stouts or ambers are mostly brewed with a majority of light base grains, like 2 row, and the "specialty" grains are what deliver the malt flavor and aroma. This gives you a lot more control over your final beer, compared to using an extract with who knows what in it! If you are brewing 5 gallon batches and plan on brewing extract for a while, you should go ahead and buy a 55 pound box of Pilsen/Extra Light DME for all of your recipes...it's the best base extract, it stores well in food grade buckets, it's easy to measure and will be a better deal over buying kits or 1 and 3lb bags. I did that for a couple of years, but would vacuum seal it all into 3lb bags so it was easy to grab and go for a recipe, and found good savings and freedom to brew whenever and whatever I wanted.

 

I wouldn't worry with those and just do a mini mash in your brew pot/kettle. Most of the time you don't use that much Munich or Vienna in most recipes any way. And IMO, steer clear of the liquid extract and go with dried extract...dried stays fresher longer and is easier to measure.

 

Nope, I disagree. Using dark LME or DME can and does yield great brews. I have made any stouts and imperials using dark malt extract with or without other lighter extracts. Sometimes a more pronounced dark grain taste and aroma is preferred in a brew.

 

But you could make that same beer with light DME and steeping grains. It is not a question of "can you make good beer with dark DME?" it is more about making exactly the beer you want which is really hard to do when you don't know what is in dark DME.

If you want a "more pronounced dark grain taste" then steep more dark grains like roasted barley or black patent malt or C120 or ... whatever makes a "dark grain taste".

 

Obviously someone is buying the dark DME or they wouldn't still sell it. That being said my first two batches used golden LME and pilsen DME and I was astonished how dark the boil was with the extract and grains. I couldn't imagine how a dark DME would look.

 

Conventional wisdom is that light extract is the way to go, but the notion that we don't know what is in dark LME/DME is not necessarily true anymore:

http://brewingwithbriess.com/Assets/PDFs/Briess_PISB_CBWTradDarkLME.pdf

 

I'd bet a dollar that Maillard Malts dark LME is Briess dark LME.