Brew Day 11 May - Vanilla Stout

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PieOPah

Brew Day 11 May - Vanilla Stout

Post by PieOPah » Tue May 08, 2007 6:56 pm

I have decided that Stout will be my next brew (despite me making this on such a regular basis!) Using the Munich mainly because I have it and want to use it up....

2 kg Maris Otter Pale
2 kg Munich Malt
0.50 kg Oat Flakes
0.15 kg English Chocolate Malt
0.25 kg English Black Roast
0.50 kg Roasted Barley
0.5 tsp AYF Yeast Nutrient - added during boil, boiled 15 min
1 tsp Irish Moss - added during boil, boiled 15 min
30 g Challenger (8.00%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
1 ea Danstar Nottingham
2 ea Vanilla (whole bean) - added dry to primary fermenter

Notes:
Vanilla Beans have been sliced open and all the seeds scraped out. The remaining pod was then cut up into small thin strips.

With everything in a small bowl, I added Bourbon (Jack Daniels) until the whole amount was covered (probably only a tablespoon - if that!). The bowl has been covered in Cling Film. This has been done 3 days prior to brew day.

The Alcohol in the Bourbon will ensure that the Vanilla is sanitized.
Last edited by PieOPah on Tue May 08, 2007 7:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Chappie519

Post by Chappie519 » Tue May 08, 2007 6:58 pm

Now that does sound like a nice brew indeed!! Vanilla/ jack D mix in a stout, mmmmmm!!

Chappie519

Post by Chappie519 » Tue May 08, 2007 7:07 pm

Are your straining the vanilla pods off the jack D befor adding to the fermenter??

kinnockthecat

Post by kinnockthecat » Tue May 08, 2007 8:02 pm

Looks good to me Pop!

oblivious

Post by oblivious » Tue May 08, 2007 8:26 pm

I would added the vanilla and jack D in the secondary as most of the aroma will go throught the air lock.

looks good

PieOPah

Post by PieOPah » Tue May 08, 2007 10:14 pm

Chappie519 wrote:Are your straining the vanilla pods off the jack D befor adding to the fermenter??
I'll be adding the lot. With the amount of JD, hardly worth the effort of straining - especially considering how small the seeds are!
oblivious wrote:I would added the vanilla and jack D in the secondary as most of the aroma will go throught the air lock.
I guess I could always add the Vanilla straight to the keg. I can't see there being any harm the pods staying in the JD for that bit longer.

SteveD

Post by SteveD » Tue May 08, 2007 11:35 pm

Nice one PoP, I would expect nothing less inventive :) If it weren't for people like you, we'd never know that you can clear beer with the shredded extract of sturgeon swimbladders! :lol:

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Post by Andy » Wed May 09, 2007 8:31 am

Yup, a long distant relative of PoP no doubt marvelled at the clarity of his Sturgeon Pale Ale and the rest is history.....
Dan!

PieOPah

Post by PieOPah » Wed May 09, 2007 8:36 am

:lol:

PieOPah

Post by PieOPah » Fri May 11, 2007 6:52 am

Well, the brew day has begun.

Got everything prepared last night. Timer was set to 6:00am and by 6:30 water was up to strike temp of 75C. I have doughed in and hit my target temp of 68C (approx - my digital thermometer was wildly out (about 20C) so ditched it for the liquid thermometer).

Going for a 60 minute mash.

What is the best temp to bring my sparge water to for fly sparging? Bring to boil so it will cool down?

Is it best to maintain the temp of sparge water (in boiler) or let it naturally cool over the time of the sparge?

Thanks.

PieOPah

Post by PieOPah » Fri May 11, 2007 7:23 am

Well I have hit my first minor problem.

The tap on my boiler is a little bit dodgy. Basically when tightening the back nut, it slipped so wouldn't tighten properly. Now, unless I put a little downward pressure on the tap, it leaks. I thought I had it sorted but it started to leak again.

Too late to stop the brew so I am going to have to live with this until I can buy a new tap!

Still, shouldn't cause me too many problems. It is temporarily sealed for now!

PieOPah

Post by PieOPah » Fri May 11, 2007 8:55 am

Boil has started (well wort is coming up to boil....)

One mishap with the tubing falling on the floor. Oh well. Just a little more cleaning!

Didn't collect as much wort as I would have liked but I still got enough. I just think that I am going to get a low efficiency with this one!

SteveD

Post by SteveD » Fri May 11, 2007 9:08 am

Brewday hiccups. It would be a dull world without them...NOT!

What make of digi thermometer was it? I had one that went haywire only weeks after buying it.

PieOPah

Post by PieOPah » Fri May 11, 2007 9:32 am

SteveD wrote:What make of digi thermometer was it? I had one that went haywire only weeks after buying it.
Can't remember the make - I just know it was cheap.... I'll probably invest in a better one in the near future!

Gurgeh

Post by Gurgeh » Fri May 11, 2007 9:45 am

I'm going to try this recipe too. Did you take any photos?

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