I'm something of a purist, I don't generally like any specialty malts in bitters (or many other British styles,) just pale malt and sugars. (As Fullers once used. Fullers are something of an outlier these days in all their recipe formulations, and their ESB is a unique beer in a style to itself. But delicious. ) I would hope to bring out the full flavor of the Maris Otter. As Jeff points out, water is important to this end, and I'd look to other aspects of process to achieve this goal, such as keeping the intensity of the boil as low as possible, and so on. But if you do choose to use specialty malts, I'd avoid aromatic/ Munich types as giving an inappropriate flavor. Amber/biscuit types would be better suited. And I might prefer a mid-range crystal to the light and dark blend -- these lend a more nutty, toasty flavor. For the color adjustment, I've started doing a cold steep of the black malt and straining it into the boil at 10 minutes. Minimizes the flavor contribution. Got the idea here on the forum, thanks.
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