Dry Irish Stout

[bosium]

I wanted to brew a small batch of stout - I have a friend who has requested it, and it's one of the styles which I've never brewed before. I'm going to make it super small batch - one gallon made on my stove top with the brew-in-a-bag method and no sparge.

Soooo, I have this so far. Please feel free to comment on it. I'm undecided whether to keep the hopping to a single 60 minute addition, or to get some flavour in there too - I know the yanks do this with american stout. Anyone who's done this before have any suggestions?

70% Maris Otter
20% Flaked Barley
8% Roasted Barley
2% Pale Chocolate Malt

38 IBU Styrian Goldings (60 minutes, First Wort Hopped)
Danstar Nottingham

Aiming for 1.044, and 1.010 FG. Thought I might add a little bit of lactic acid to give it an ever-so-slightly acidic twang, a la Guiness.

[OldSpeckledBadger]

Someone who's expecting a Stout is probably not going to be impressed by the overpowering lemon taste of those Styrians. My advice is to use a single addition of a proper bittering or dual-purpose hop. Stout is all about the malts. I doubt that the 2% chocolate will be noticeable. I'd either increase it significantly or leave it out.

[bosium]

Thanks for the comments noted on the malts - I originally just had 10% roasted barley but thought I'd sub a portion out for some chocolate or carafa special to round it out a bit but I may just go back to the original, simpler recipe.

Do you really think any lemon will come through from just a 60 minute addition of styrians?

[dave-o]

You really can't go wrong with just pale, flaked and roasted in a stout. The choc won't add anything extra in that quantity.

I think it'll be OK with the Styrians. If that is all you have then go for it. If you are yet to buy your hops then maybe use something more standard like target or challenger.

[bosium]

Well I have Hallertau, Saaz and Styrians in my freezer, but I do need to order some stuff for my brew this weekend so could add in a pack of EKG or Fuggles or something I guess and keep the Styrians for a small batch hoppy pale ale or something. I bought them on a whim because they sounded nice and I'd never brewed with them before.

[OldSpeckledBadger]

Well I have Hallertau, Saaz and Styrians in my freezer,

Two lager hops and one which makes beer taste like lager and lime. Not the best selection to have on hand. Challenger would be a good hop to get. It's used in a lot of really nice beers, is fairly high AA so quite economical to use as a bittering hop and is also used as an aroma hop in things like Conniston Bluebird. EKG are, of course, one of the absolute top hops but it seem wasteful to use them as a bittering hop in a stout.

[bosium]

Two lager hops and one which makes beer taste like lager and lime. Not the best selection to have on hand.

Well I mainly brew lagers! I bought the Styrians because I like Landlord and I love that citrusy flavour you get from the american hops too so originally planned a pale ale with it. Decided on a stout on a whim but don't have any traditional ale hops on hand.

I'm not too fussed about the cost, maybe I'll get a bag of EKG then (or fuggles, never brewed with them).

[Jolum]

Two lager hops and one which makes beer taste like lager and lime.

OldSpeckledBadger at his best.

I have to agree, when I reach for a no-nonsense hop for purely bittering I almost always go for Challenger (I even grow it). Though I have ordered some Boadicea - on Barleybottom's site he states it as a replacement for Challenger. Does anyone know if there's any truth to that and how does it fair in comparison to Challenger?

[196osh]

Honestly next to no flavour is going to come through with the styrians even if you brewed a nothing pale ale with no redeeming flavours what so ever it would probably hardly come through. Let alone in a stout, where any flavours would be squished by the dark malts. You are more than fine with the styrians.

Badger. *shakes head*.

[Invalid Stout]

Honestly next to no flavour is going to come through with the styrians even if you brewed a nothing pale ale with no redeeming flavours what so ever it would probably hardly come through.

You don't think Styrians have any flavour in general, or just not after boiling them for an hour?

[196osh]

Oh styrians late have great flavour, that English Pale ale |I brought to the gallery thingy had styrians in it, should have put in more. After boiling them for an hour there will be no flavour left.

I don't think any hops have enough flavour to really impact on the flavour after the an hour in the boil.

[WishboneBrewery]

There are no rules, only guidelines!
I'd go for 5% chocolate and 5% roasted and do what you want with the hops.
Saaz hops have been used late in the boil historically in Irish stout recipes.

[weiht]

i'd cut back on the roasted barley n go for more chocolate, reason being i brewed a porter lately and used more roasted barley than chocolate cuz i wanted more coffee like flavours than chocolate, but it turned out a little too strong with some hint of burnt... Its still nice tho, but too much can also drown that sweetness at the end.. I think balance is something to be achieved, instead of being to robust or strong in a particular area...

U can try maybe 5% each to bring ur dark malts ration to 10%? or 6% choc n 4% rb, just a suggestion

[bosium]

I don't think any hops have enough flavour to really impact on the flavour after the an hour in the boil.

This was my understanding.

...it turned out a little too strong with some hint of burnt... too much can also drown that sweetness at the end..

Well, this is a dry stout rather than a sweet stout or a porter so burnt and bitter is fine by me and I want it to finish dry like guiness. I may try the trick of grinding up the roasted barley almost to dust to get the flavour and colour right.

[Barley Water]

Well, for whatever it's worth, I made a batch of "Four Shades of Stout" and I really enjoyed the beer. I like a Guiness every once in a while but it is nitrogen poured over here and I think that mellows out the beer considerably. Since I don't have a nitrogen set up, I know that anything I made myself would just not taste the same. The thing about the Four Shades formulation is that the burnt roast flavors are dumbed down which to my taste anyway is perfect. By the way, if you try grinding up the roast barley, please let us know how that works out. I have read about that also but have not tried it. In terms of hops, I really don't think it will matter that much which varienty you use. After an hour in the kettle all the flavor will be gone and to the extent there is any left, all that dark grain will completely overwhelm any hop flavor that escapes the boil.