comments for improvment

[iann41]

I have now done 4 AG brews and this is my first attempt at a stout. How could it be improved bearing in mind that i haven't a clue about stout (how it should taste or look). I made it from ingrediants that i had left over. Im no expert and prodably never will be.

Thx for any input

4000g Morris-Otter Pale Malt
200g Chocolate Malt
200g Chrystal Malt
200g Roasted Barley
200g Flaked Barley
200g Torrified Wheat

First Gold 40g (60min)
Fuggles 32g (60min)
Fuggles 5g (flame out)

150g granulated sugar (added to boil)

Yeast Safale S-04

5 gal brew

Ian

[dave-o]

(Imagines morris-dancing otters)

Your dark malt additions look fine.
No need for the Torri
Up the flaked barley to 1-2kg for that thick stout feel
No need for sugar
Hops look fine although you could probably use something more "generic" as any hop subtleties will probably be lost under the roastiness.

[Tony01]

(Imagines morris-dancing otters)

Dave - 1 to 2 KG of flaked? Never tried that, will have to give it a go!

Im no expert and prodably never will be

With help from the wonderful people in here... of course you will be! Good luck with it!

[dave-o]

Well re the flaked barley, guinness is i think 70/20/10, so that would be roughly

500g roast
1000g Flaked
3500 Pale

So 1000g of flaked is certainly not odd. I've used 2k in a stout and 1.5 in a dark bitter and i like the creaminess it adds.

[adm]

If you want a simple grain bill, Guinness uses a 70/20/10 mix of Pale Malt, Flaked Barley and Roast Barley. 45-50 IBU from early hopping with pretty much any "standard" hop. No need for late hops.

So maybe:

3.5Kg Pale Malt
1Kg Flaked Malt
500g Roast Barley

(EDIT: Dave-O beat me to it by a few seconds....)

I've brewed this a few times and it comes out better than Guinness

[iann41]

What i would like is a recipe for Mackisons.

Thx for all the comments up to now tho

[Spud395]

Like the lads are saying Stout is simple and makes for a great pint.
I like a 15 min hop addition.
This turned out really well for me, with some hardened Irish Guinness drinkers saying it was the best pint they ever had (maybe they wanted more free beer )

[Barley Water]

My suggestion is to do a search on this site and find the formulation for "Four Shades of Stout". It makes a fine beer that is easy to drink and very sessionable. I added another pound of flaked barley to the grist in place of some of the pale malt but other than that I followed the formulation exactly (I was trying to make the beer smoother since I don't have a nitrogen dispense). Also, I was lucky enough to win a metal at a small contest over here with that beer so it just ain't me. If you want a dry stout (and you mention Guiness so I assume that is the case) leave out the crystal malt. The crystal malt will leave the beer fuller than you really want plus will add some residual sweetness. If on the other hand, if you want a Milk or Oatmeal stout type beer then perhaps the crystal malt has a place but not in a dry stout. Oh well, just take that for what it's worth, after all, the magic in this hobby is doing whatever the hell you want to, after all, it's your beer.

[StrangeBrew]

Four Shades of Stout Originally posted by Garth.

You might also like to read through Vossy1's thread for Sam Smiths Oat Meal Stout

[Tony01]

Ha!
Don't know what's the matter with me .. I know my memory is poor... but this takes the biscuit!
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=30997&start=0&hilit=inside+stout

and that's my own post!

[adm]

Also....if I may be so bold as to throw my Black Dog Stout into the ring:

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=26274&hilit=Black+Dog+stout

'twas a damn fine pint, and this thread has got me thinking about doing it again at the weekend.

[raiderman]

If you want to go down the mackerson route try adding lactose, if you can still get it, its an unfermentable suger which gave milk stout its name.