Homebrew CDA

I've been enjoying a variety of the Cascadian Dark Ales that have been available recently. We decided to brew our own, and it turned out great. I figured I'd share the recipe:

5 gallons:
9 lbs 2-row malt
6 pounds pilsner malt
1 pound Carrafa II malt
1 pound 60L crystal malt

Hops:
Bittering: 1.5oz Amarillo for 60 minutes
Bitter/Flavor: 1 oz Mt. Hood (homegrown) for 45 minutes
Flavor: 1 oz Cascade for 15 minutes
Aroma: 1 oz Cascade for 5 minutes
Aroma: 0.5 oz Amarillo for 5 minutes
Aroma: 2 ounces Cascade dry hop in secondary

1 hour mash @ 150 degrees. Standard sparge and boil.

White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast

Original Gravity: 1.079
Final Gravity: 1.015

Alcohol By Volume: 8.5%

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This turned out really well for our first attempt at a CDA, other than being a bit strong. The real secret is the Carrafa malt -- it's a de-husked roasted barley. Any other roasted malt would turn this into a hoppy stout, but the Carrafa lends the dark color without a ton of the flavor.

Appearance is black, but with good clarity.

Due to the dry hopping, the aroma is great. Tons of traditional Cascade hop aroma, that lasts surprisingly well.

Flavor is solidly hoppy, with a bit of malt sweetness to balance it out. A hint of roast, but just enough.

Mouthfeel is surprisingly light, especially for the strength. It's almost too easy to drink. Finish is also a surprise -- the balance turned out great. It has enough bitterness to be clean, but enough sweetness to balance it out.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this beer. It was really fun to come up with a recipe for a new style and have it come out halfway decent.