American Stout

I seem to have focused on dark beers for a while. It's not only my doing: my wife wants me to brew dark beers like porters, stouts and dark milds. She likes the complexity of porters with their mix of chocolate and coffee like qualities, but finds dry Irish style stouts like Guinness a bit lacking in complexity. I tend to agree with her, although Guniess is a great beer. American stouts are predictably bolder, combining an almost acrid roast note with aggressive American hops. This recipe is a scaled version from Brewing Classic Styles. I hope it will have a nice bold complexity when complete.

A note on the process: In some of my previous dark beers, I've steeped the dark grains rather than including them in the mash, a technique that is supposed to lend a smooth roast character. For this beer, however, I wanted to include the dark grains in the mash for a bolder character and, of course, to simply experiment with techniques.

American Stout
3.25 gallons
60 minute boil

Breiss 2-Row: 8.313#
Breiss Black Barley: 9oz
US Chocolate Malt: 5oz
Crystal 40L: 5oz

7/8oz Chinook, 11.7%AA, 60 mins
.75oz Columbus, 15%AA, 5 mins

US-05

Mash at 154F, batch sparge.

Expected OG/FG/IBUs: 1.071 / 1.018 / 55

Brewed 12/21/12

Didn't have time yesterday to make a starter using the re-cycled yeast from my previous batch. Oh well. Will use a packet of US-05 instead.

My mash temp was 155F, just slightly higher than my target. The mash looked really dark wight a nice dark foam on top. Collected 2 gallons first runnings. Collected 2.5 gallons 2nd runnings for a total pre-boil volume of 4.5 gallons.

Pre-boil OG was 1.053, for my typcial efficiency of 70%. If it boils to 3.25 gallons I should hit my OG almost spot on. Boiled for 20 minutes before adding first hops because I collected more wort than intended. The boil was smelling really good after the first hop addition.

The weather was rainy and windy today. A few drops of rain landed in my wort before cooling began. Probably it won't be an issue in terms of infection or anything. 

Cooled wort to around 90F using the IC, then left in 50F ambient air to cool to pitching temps. That was around 1:15pm.

Transferred at pitched at about 6:15pm, left in 61F ambient to begin fermentation. The next morning the ambient temp was 61F, which is a little too low for most ale yeast, so I moved the bucket to the furnace room where ambient temps are 64F.

Post-boil OG was 1.070, right on target! Woohoo!

12/23/12
10am, beer was sitting in 65F ambient air temps, with good activity in the airlock. The stick-on thermometer read 63F. So in the right temperature range for minimal yeast character. 

12/24/12
9:15am - Airlock activity had slowed to about one bubble per 15 seconds. Ambient temps around 64F. I hope the yeast will be able to dry out the beer enough before flocculating.

1/14/13

Bottled with 60g of sugar, going for 2.1 units of CO2. Measured FG at 1.022, which is a little bit higher than expected. I hope I don't get any exploding bottles! I got 30 x 12oz bottles.

IPA v3 Tasting

I've tried to brew IPAs a few times so far, and have never really been satisfied with them. My third attempt has turned out quite a bitter better, with a more assertive but not harsh hop bitterness, but it doesn't have the wallop of hop aroma that a really good IPA has. I do like this beer a lot, I just want it to have a stronger aroma.

Appearance: Coppery in color with a moderate head that fades to a thin layer of bubbles over the surface of the beer. Low chill haze but not crystal clear. I really don’t have a problem with haze in most beers, unless it causes the beer to look like mud or something. Lacing sticks to the side of the glass as I drink.

Aroma: Low to moderate aroma of hops. A nice piney quality mixes with some tropical fruitiness. The aroma is better than my previous IPA but not what I hoped for in terms of strength.

Taste: Hops predominate. It has a piney, resiny character with a little bit of "cattiness" but I do not find it harsh. Slight fruity quality. The bitterness is assertive, but again it doesn't have the fruity character of some IPAs. A slight taste of malty sweetness but that is in the background.

Mouthfeel: Low-medium carbonation, appropriate for the style. It has a medium body. A nice hop bitterness lingers in the aftertaste.

Overall: An IPA with good bitterness, low-moderate hop aroma, and low sweetness. Moderate body. I guess it is more in the "West Coast" style of IPA, which is hoppier and without as much body than an "East Coast" IPA.

For Next Time: Go for a more assertive hop aroma. The "hop-stand" was an experiment. Next time I brew this I will either dry-hop or skip the hop-stand in hopes that either of those methods will increase the hop aroma. I don't think I would change much else.

Coffee Oatmal Stout Tasting

My first brew with coffee turned out pretty well, I am happy to say. I am relieved because the oats I used were old and Irish style, instead of the standard quick oats that usually should be used in an oatmeal stout.

Appearance: Very dark, opaque brown or black color with a medium sized tan head on top. Carbonation bubbles stick to the side of the glass.

Aroma: A mix of coffee, toasted notes and chocolate notes. Complex, but I think the coffee is most prominent. I don't think I get any hop aroma.

Taste: Like the smell - a mix of toasty and chocolate, combined with a subtle roastiness and coffee taste. There's a definite sweetness from the crystal malt, and a nutty or bready flavor from the Maris Otter. No one taste predominates, which suprises me a little because when I bottled the beer it had a very strong coffee odor and the sample tasted like coffee. It has mellowed out quite a bit since then. I get a hint of hop bitterness in the aftertaste, but overall the malty / coffee flavor is dominant.

Mouthfeel: Pretty thick and creamy, but smooth. Moderate carbonation. There's a lingering coffee aftertaste, maybe combining with a bit of hoppiness.

Overall: A complex mix of roasty, coffee, chocolate and sweetness. Thick mouthfeel from the oats. Pretty smooth and not overpowering.

It would be great to have a side-by-side comparison between my version and the original, ut I'm not really interested in duplicating other beers so much as I am in getting a good end product. In this case I do think the beer is pretty good.