Hi all, so I’ve never done a stout before. It is one of my favorite styles, but the mrs. Can’t stand em. I have done several black ales before. A few black IIPA and a black lager. But never a stout.
Here’s a recipe I’m thinking about brewing. Any advice or constructive criticism would be appreciated.
8.5 # DME pale
1# American black malt
1# crystal 40
1# chocolate
1.5 oz. Horizon 60 min
1 oz. Centennial 10 min.
Also, what are some tips for fermentation (yeast? Time? Temp?) and aging?
Cheers and thanks.
I don’t see a recipe? for yeast and temps, I’d go with american or english ale yeast in the low to mid 60’s. aging depends on the gravity, a low to medium gravity stout (5-8%) I wouldn’t age. anything above that i like to age for a month+. pushing 10% or more, they really benefit from extended aging from a few months to years. But then again, I’ve made 9% stouts that tasted great after a month in the primary, it depends what you’re looking for and your palate
for yeast, my favorite stouts i’ve made were with wyeast 1056. I’ve also had good results with wyeast 1968 for lower gravity stouts. also had good results with Nottingham. But i think wyeast 1056 was my favorite. I’ve been meaning to get my hands on some Pacman to try that out, I’m sure it would be great
Target OG 1.085 and according to brewers friend FG should be 1.021 with IBU 82
i edited my post earlier and added some stuff.
now that i see your recipe. i would lower the black malt too 8oz or less. I would also recommend some roasted barley, for my taste, up too a lb. and a little less crystal, but that depends on how much crystal you like, ive made great stouts with 1lb crystal, so take that advise with a grain of salt…
Id give this beer a month in the primary, and bottle age it for a month. although im sure it will be good without aging. with bottles you will be able to taste it at different levels and decide when you think its good. the hops and the IBU, i’d cut the centennials in half, or delete them entirely.
keep in mind, this is all to my taste. im sure others will have some constructive imput
Thanks. I’m going for an RIS with all American ingredients. So the IBU count should be a little higher right? And I like the crystal notes, but I don’t mind toning it back some.
Ideally I would like it to be somewhere between Old Rasputin and Oskar Blues Ten Fiddy
Old rasputin is a great stout. Here is the homebrew recipe clone for old rasputin for reference. Denny provided it for me, in a thread about an imperial stout i made about 2.5 months ago (just kegged it last night)
ProMash Recipe Printout
Recipe : Rootin’ Tootin’ Rasputin (IS)
BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
12-C Barleywine & Imperial Stout, Russian Imperial Stout
Min OG: 1.075 Max OG: 1.095
Min IBU: 50 Max IBU: 90
Min Clr: 20 Max Clr: 40 Color in SRM, Lovibond
Recipe Specifics
Batch Size (GAL): 5.25 Wort Size (GAL): 5.25
Total Grain (LBS): 17.38
Anticipated OG: 1.088 Plato: 21.04
Anticipated SRM: 51.9
Anticipated IBU: 81.8
System Efficiency: 75
Wort Boil Time: 120 Minutes
Formulas Used
Color Formula Used: Morey
Hop IBU Formula Used: Tinseth
Tinseth Concentration Factor: 1.19
Additional Utilization Used For Pellet Hops: 5
Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Gravity SRM
74.8 13.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
8.6 1.50 lbs. Brown Malt Great Britain 1.032 70
4.3 0.75 lbs. Crystal 120L America 1.032 120
3.6 0.63 lbs. Chocolate Malt America 1.029 350
3.6 0.63 lbs. Roasted Barley America 1.028 450
2.9 0.50 lbs. Victory Malt America 1.034 25
2.2 0.38 lbs. Black Patent Malt America 1.028 525
Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
1.38 oz. Cluster Pellet 7.00 28.7 105 min.
0.75 oz. Centennial Pellet 10.50 23.5 105 min.
1.50 oz. Liberty Pellet 4.00 12.7 30 min.
1.00 oz. Northern Brewer Pellet 8.00 16.9 30 min.
1.00 oz. Liberty Pellet 4.00 0.0 Dry Hop
Extras
Amount Name Type Time
1.00 Tsp Irish Moss Fining 15 Min.(boil)
Yeast
WYeast 1272 American Ale II (primary yeast cake from previous batch)
Red Star Dry Champagne Yeast (bottling)
Mash Schedule
Mash Type: Single Step
Qts Water Per LBS Grain: 1.25 Total Qts: 21.73
Saccharification Rest Temp : 152 Time: 90
Mash-out Rest Temp : 168 Time: 10
Sparge Temp : 170 Time: 45
Fermentation Schedule
Primary Fermentation: 14 days at 65 F
Secondary Fermentation: 28 days at 65 F
Bottle Conditioning: 120 days at 60 F
ps. For an RIS, youre right about the IBU. and for an RIS, i’d definitely add roasted barley.
black patent is a black malt
unfortunately i dont have an extract version… and brown malt needs to be mashed… not sure about victory
Edit addition (for reference): 2008 BJCP style guidelines for IRS
American or English ale yeast.
Vital Statistics: OG: 1.075 – 1.115
IBUs: 50 – 90 FG: 1.018 – 1.030
SRM: 30 – 40 ABV: 8 – 12%
Mashing isn’t a problem for me. I just wanted to do an easier recipe for my first stout and then see what improvements/adjustments I’d make. Maybe I’ll add the roasted barley and some victory. I’ve used victory and it needs to be mashed with something else with high conversion power. I like victory. I believe it helps with head retention cause it’s high in protein. So it makes sense it would be good in a stout.
So Here we go
Target OG 1.084 est. FG 1.021 IBU 88 SRM 40
13# pale 2-row
.5 # black malt
.5 # victory
.5 # chocolate
.5 # crystal 60
.5 # black barley
1.5 oz. Horizon 60 min.
.75 oz. Centennial 10 min.
So then I assume just mash at 152 and Sparge as usual? I’ll probably do it MIAB.
But yeast??? 1056 with a starter? Or maybe just two packs? And primary for a month. Then bottle for a month?
I’d replace one of those black malts with Roasted barley. as far as i know black barley and black malt are the same. RIS’s need to be roasty, and roasted barley is pretty important IMO. black malt is more for color, and i have heard them described as “charcoal flavor” or even “burnt cigarette” when they are over-used. for my taste i’d dial back the IBU to 80 (closer to old Rasputin’s anticipated IBU). 88 is on the high end for RIS, and probably more appropriate for the higher end of the gravity guidline (around 1.100). But that is up to you, as is everything… depends what you want/like, my taste is just my opinion, and keep that in mind
but other than that, it looks good. whatever you decide to do, I’m sure i’d drink it
if you choose liquid yeast DEFINITELY make a starter. essential for a beer of this gravity. the other option would be to use US-05 (dry yeast equivalent of wyeast 1056) and i’d use two 11g packages, no starter required for dry yeast
For aging big stouts, you really have to ‘play it by ear’. I would give a month in the primary, bottle it, open one 2-3 weeks later and decide then if it needs more aging. if it taste a bit harsh, then let it age longer, and it will mellow out. if it taste great, well, then drink up!
edit addition: I’d mash at 152, if you use 1056, or us-05 you could get a gravity anywhere from between 1.016-1.022, its hard to say, there are a lot of variables when it comes to attenuation
if this is your first beer that’s this big. expect a bit lower efficiency
Thanks. I was under the impression that black barley was roasted barley. Whoops! Good thing I posted it before hand. So replace the black barley with roasted barley. And then do I have to roast the barley myself? Or should my LHBS have it like that?
As for yeast: ice never done a starter, I know it’s not hard, just more time consuming, right? Would two wyeast smack packs work? I’ve done some very high gravity ales before 9.5% IIPA and a few of them. I’ve always just done two smack packs. Came out fine.
BTW I’m very grateful for all your help.
[quote=“HellBound”]Thanks. I was under the impression that black barley was roasted barley. Whoops! Good thing I posted it before hand. So replace the black barley with roasted barley. And then do I have to roast the barley myself? Or should my LHBS have it like that?
As for yeast: ice never done a starter, I know it’s not hard, just more time consuming, right? Would two wyeast smack packs work? I’ve done some very high gravity ales before 9.5% IIPA and a few of them. I’ve always just done two smack packs. Came out fine.
BTW I’m very grateful for all your help.[/quote]
your LHBS will have roasted barley. no need to roast yourself. starters are pretty easy, i use 100grams DME per liter of starter. without a starter http://www.mrmalty.com advises that you use 3 packs of liquid yeast for a 1.085 beer. mrmalty is a great resource for proper pitching rates. not to say 2 packs wont work, its just not ideal, and pitching the proper amount of yeast is important for high gravity beers. Safale-05 is almost identical to wyeast 1056, and it’s cheaper, and does not require a starter. just something to consider… you can find lots of information comparing the two (weast 1056 and safale 05)
black barley=black patent and is much darker than roasted barley. IME roasted barley has a better flavor when used in moderation. i find black malt a little more harsh, and i always use very little of it (usually less than half a lb), if at all. but thats to my taste
no problem, happy to help. hope it turns out great :cheers:
