Tips on completing my grocery list for this clone

[Lurchalicious]

Forgive my colonial units...  (just a cut and paste from the recipe I want to try and clone)

Original Gravity: 1.074
Terminal Gravity: 1.016
Color: 25.21
Alcohol: 8.55%
Bitterness: 17.9

21-B Winter Specialty Spiced Beer

10.25 lb (75.7%) 2-Row Brewers Malt - added during mash
0.98 lb (7.2%) Crystal Malt 90°L - added during mash
0.73 lb (5.4%) Extra Special Malt - added during mash
0.73 lb (5.4%) Victory® Malt - added during mash
0.34 lb (2.5%) Melanoidin Malt - added during mash
0.27 lb (2.0%) Chocolate Rye Malt - added during mash
0.24 lb (1.8%) Dark Chocolate Malt - added during mash
0.09 oz (7.4%) Northern Brewer (9.6%) - added during boil, boiled 60 m
0.1 oz (8.8%) Chinook (12.5%) - added during boil, boiled 30 m
0.28 oz (23.6%) Perle (7.5%) - added during boil, boiled 30 m
0.42 oz (35.4%) Perle (7.5%) - added during boil, boiled 15 m
0.29 oz (24.8%) Northern Brewer (9.6%) - added during boil
1.3 ea White Labs WLP028 Edinburgh Scottish Ale
0.2 oz Ginger (fresh) - added after boil, steeped 15 m
0.2 oz Nutmeg (whole, crushed) - added after boil, steeped 15 m
0.2 oz Cinnamon (stick) - added after boil, steeped 15 m
1 Vanilla (whole bean, cut) - added after boil, steeped 15 m 


I'm having trouble finding extra special or a substitute from the different suppliers here.  Most everything else I can find.

Thoughts?

[armedcor]

It's not a direct replacement but you could swap the extra special for special b or w I'd say. Might wait for others to reply.

[molc]

Special b is a little darker, in the range of 10L or so,but fairly similiar in flavour from what I've read. I think Special B is meant to be more fruity vs a woody profile from esm. Regardless, northern brewer has those earthy, woody characters in spades, so should be very interesting.
Recipe looks very interesting, though the hop additions are a but strange. I'd merge the 30 min additions into the 15 and maybe lower slightly for a spiced beer.
Also if getting British chocolate malts, watch out, as they're darker and stronger than the American versions.

[Bubbles]

Sorry Lurch lad, I only speak metric..

I know you're going for a dark spiced ale here, but I think the recipe has the potential to end up darker than you want. Not only from the Chocolate and Chocolate Rye malts, but from that crystal malt too. 90 lov crystal will contribute a lot of colour, especially if you're using a whole lb of it. I tend to tread pretty carefully with the dark crystals, as they're pretty intense in flavour.

Jamil's rule of thumb is to keep hop flavours somewhat subdued when doing spiced beers. I seem to remember him saying that they can clash with the spices. Something to research/think about.

I was intrigued about "Extra Special" malt, thinking maybe it's a type of "Special B" or "Special Roast", but it's another Briess product, as is "Special Roast".
http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/blog/malt-of-the-month-extra-special/

[Lurchalicious]

Good thoughts here all around.  I do not want something as dark as night but a very dark amber is appropriate.  I had found this matrix http://www.brew.is/files/malt.html  but the only "substitute" for ESM is something called "kiln coffee".  Which of course I cannot find.

I wonder if I can just replace it all together with something different.  Unless someone knows where I can buy Briess malts in IE

[Bubbles]

Good thoughts here all around.  I do not want something as dark as night but a very dark amber is appropriate.  I had found this matrix http://www.brew.is/files/malt.html  but the only "substitute" for ESM is something called "kiln coffee".  Which of course I cannot find.

I wonder if I can just replace it all together with something different.  Unless someone knows where I can buy Briess malts in IE

How about this?
http://www.geterbrewed.ie/chateau-cafe/

Briess are unavailable here, I don't recall having ever seen their products in any of the the Irish HBSs.

How about a mixture of pale chocolate and amber or brown malt?

[Lurchalicious]

at this point I may just use that.  Think I would have to just adjust the entire dark malt bill?  I want that "toasted marshmallow" taste hinting in the beer