Need Advice on my Sweet Stout

Northern Brewer General
1

This weekend I’ll be brewing the NB Sweet Stout all-grain. I planned to only brew 2.5 gal so I ordered half the grain bill. Splitting the 8 lbs of English Maris Otter was easy, but the recipe only calls for 0.5 lbs of Weyermann-Carafa-III and English-Chocolate-Malt so I had to order 1 lb of each. I don’t want to waste the 0.5 lbs of left-overs so I was thinking of just using the full two lbs in the mash. Thoughts? What effect will this have on the taste? ABV?

Thanks!

2

If I’m reading that right, you want to mash 2 lbs of roasted malt with 4 lbs of base malt? 33% roasted malt is going to be terrible, even if some of it is debittered … that’s pretty much twice the upper bound for those malts. That’s not a sweet stout, that’s an ashtray. You can keep the additional malt and use it in subsequent beers. And better to waste 1.5 lb of malt than waste ALL of the malt, the yeast, and all the time and energy you’ll put into making something that will go straight down the drain a month from now.

3

Yes, I figured it would be a fatal mistake. Glad I asked! I’ll just save the leftovers for another day.

What are your thoughts on the yeast? I have a full package of Danstar Nottingham Ale yeast for this beer; ok to pitch the whole thing?

Thanks again!

4

I wouldn’t use that yeast in a sweet stout, but that’s just my personal preference (I wouldn’t use it in anything though, I think its gross, has a weird tang to it). Just my opinion though, and I’ve never used it in a stout. In terms of amount, a whole pack of dry yeast is a fine amount. If you’re looking for a different dry yeast option, S-04 is pretty well suited for a sweet stout.

5

I wouldn’t use that yeast for any beer.

S-04 for sure.

6

Hmmm. Thats the dry yeast NB recommends with their 5 gal Sweet Stout AG.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/documenta ... tStout.pdf

Think I should order the S-04 instead? Will the beer taste OK with this yeast?

7

Yeah, I don’t know why they’d recommend that yeast when S-04 is much better suited to that style. Whether you’ll like it or not is all a matter of personal preference, some people really like Notty others think it’s terrible. If you’ve already ordered and it’s all you have, you can use it…you’ll still get a stout in the end. Notty is like the cilantro of yeast. You won’t know until you try it whether you’re a ‘cilantro is delicious’ or ‘cilantro tastes like soap’ kind of guy. For the record, I love cilantro but think Notty tastes like moldy sourdough bread soaked in fruit juice and greek yogurt.

8

I also agree about using -04, also be prepared that your final gravity will be high as lactose sugar doesn’t ferment, that’s the idea about sweet stout. Sweet’s are good beers.

9

Thanks for all of the advice. I’m going to go with what I have (yeast) and see if I like it. I just ordered more grains to make another stout, this time with the S-04.

Thanks again!

10

[quote=“bierman007”]Thanks for all of the advice. I’m going to go with what I have (yeast) and see if I like it. I just ordered more grains to make another stout, this time with the S-04.

Thanks again![/quote]
Good idea as you’ll be able to compare the 2 beers. FYI your grains will last years if kept in a dry climate and away from pests.