Stout Recipe - Use Up

[ArmChair]

I've got a number of grains and hops to use up, and I want to make a nice stout
I like high abv stouts, but do not have enough grain to make one.
I want to brew to 19litres biab style.

What I have left:

100g goldings 5.68
45g fuggles 5.17
35g saaz

2735g marris otter
445g torrefied wheat
195g crystal malt
500g chocolate malt
315g carapils
500g roasted barley

Yeast
Safale s-04
Muntons gold
Ritchies port yeast
Youngs wine yeast
Youngs all purpose red
2kg of brewing sugar

What can you guys suggest?

[seymour]

It certainly looks like you've got some good stuff there. I'll take a stab, but I want to know more about your personal stout preferences first.

When you say "high abv stouts," how high do you mean? The high-end of a regular dry stout (around 5%), a Foreign Extra Stout (5.5 – 8%), or a Russian Imperial Stout (8 – 12+%)? Which commercial examples do you like best? Which aroma/flavour characteristics do you most enjoy in your stouts?

Have you ever tasted a high-adjunct stout such as Dragon Stout from D&G in Jamaica? It's from the same brewery as Red Stripe, likely using the same lager yeast, hops extract, lots of corn syrup and dark sugar, landing at 7.5% ABV. It's full of cheats which ought to ruin it, but I personally love it. /viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7394&hilit=dragon

[woblylegs]

im with you on the dragon stout seymour. i love it too. real nice drink.

[seymour]

im with you on the dragon stout seymour. i love it too. real nice drink.

Have you noticed it's now owned by Guinness/Diageo? I recently emailed with the corporation complimenting Dragon Stout, complaining about its extremely limited distribution (only a few US states), and asking for a few recipe tips. They replied saying it's proprietary and that all the public information is available on their website. I replied to point out there is no website, none, nowhere, not even a listing of Dragon Stout among their brands, as if the company won't even admit to its existence, and that a cynical person might accuse Guinness of buying an insignificant competitor in order to bury it. Guess what? No reply.

I know this kind of thing happens all the time, and has been increasing in recent generations, but it still really bums me out. Surely they know the abyssmal standard-of-living in Jamaica, right? Here's something they do well, against all odds, and people all around the world are begging to pay for it. Nope, sorry. Care for a Guinness brewed in Canada instead? C'mon!

[ArmChair]

Seymour,

I really like the dragon stout and also the belhaven scottish stout, both of these are approx 7% in abv.
As for imperial stout, I have yet to find one I like.

I'm not keen on my stouts been overpowering coffee tasting, but I do like a smooth tasting stout.

What cab you suggest pls?

[seymour]

You were right: you don't have enough ingredients to make a strong stout. However, if you can beg, buy, or borrow 1kg more of any base malt and swipe 616 g brown sugar from your kitchen, you're in business. User-upper or not, I gotta say this recipe looks mighty fine!

I predict you'll like the flavourful results of getting all your dark colour from Chocolate Malt as opposed to Black Malt and/or Roasted Barley. The Torrified Wheat will help with the smoothness you want and add a nice bready mouthfeel with improved head retention and lace. The CaraPils and Crystal Malts will add some nice caramelly, malty layers, and the brown sugar will increase the raisin, plum, toffee and molasses notes, and of course alcohol. We're aiming for high hoppiness: Goldings should hint at orange marmalade, and using Saaz for a flavour addition should give you some exquisite black peppery spice. Keep paying attention, I'm gonna slip-in some little Easter eggs.

SEYMOUR & DJSEATON FOREIGN EXTRA STOUT
...otherwise fondly demanded in the colonies as S&D FES...

5 US gallons = 4.16 Imperial gallons = 19L

GRAINBILL:
64.3% = 8.23 lbs = 3735 g, Maris Otter/Two-Row Pale Malt
8.6% = 1.1 lb = 500 g, Chocolate Malt
7.7% = .98 lb = 445 g, Torrified Wheat
5.4% = .69 lb = 315 g, CaraPils Malt
3.4% = .43 lb = 195 g, Crystal Malt
10.6% = 1.36 lb = 616 g, Brown Cane Sugar added straight to boil, preferably organic, Turbinado, or "Sugar in the Raw" Let's say you don't have any, but you do have Karo corn syrup with vanilla and a little molasses…sure, go for it.

MASH: for 90 min at 153-154°F/67-68°C, add a pinch of calcium carbonate if you got it.

HOPS:
2.64 oz = 75 g, Goldings, 60 min
1.23 oz = 35 g, Saaz, 30 min

BOIL: 90 minutes. Add a splash of lemon juice at the beginning.

CHILL as quickly as possible and rack-off of the trub and hops. Add sterilized water if necessary to correct your total volume and Original Gravity. Dip a chop stick or skewer into a bottle of olive oil, such that less than one drop coats it, swish it in your wort, then dispose. Aerate thoroughly using a Ditch-style paint-stirrer drill bit if you got it, or at least shake the hell out of it for many minutes. This is particularly important in such big, complex beers.

YEAST:
Dual-strain fermentation comprised of Whitbread-B (S-04) and Munton's Gold, both pitched at the beginning. Ferment at 67°F/19.4°C, give it plenty of time in the primary.

STATS assuming 75% mash efficiency and 77% yeast attenuation:
OG: 1073
FG: 1017, possibly lower
ABV: 7.2%, possibly higher
IBU: 55
COLOUR: 39°SRM/77°EBC

[ArmChair]

Cheers seymour

I like the sound of this, and I need to go to my LHBS to get some beerline and bits anyway.
I shall give this a go on Monday I think, and lets hope I get up to 7% ish.

Thanks alot for your imput

[seymour]

...lets hope I get up to 7% ish...

You will, unless you have truly terrible efficiencies, which I doubt. I was fairly conservative in my estimates, not having a perfect understanding of how BIAB affects everything. Also, keep in mind 10.6 percent of the sugar is fully fermentable and doesn't rely upon your abilities at all.

Thanks alot for your imput

You're very welcome, happy brewing!
-Seymour

[ArmChair]

Seymour

Planning on giving this ago tomorrow, just looking at the brown sugar part.

Do I add it at the mashing process or at the boiling process?

Thanks in advance

Simon

[seymour]

...just looking at the brown sugar part. Do I add it at the mashing process or at the boiling process?

Add the brown sugar straight into the boil kettle, after mashing/lautering is complete. Don't forget! That's a very common mistake to make, and you can't get anywhere near the desired OG without it.

Happy brewing!

[ArmChair]

I thought as much, but always worth checking

[seymour]

BUMP.

So, how's it drinking?

[Ben711200]

This looks really tasty.. But I'm confused by the lemon juice and olive oil additions. What do they bring to the party?

[ArmChair]

This looks really tasty.. But I'm confused by the lemon juice and olive oil additions. What do they bring to the party?

I did not add these two in the fina brew.

Ive not tasted them yet Seymour, its only been in the bottle two weeks ish,

Ive also got a stinking cold, and can not taste anything

[seymour]

This looks really tasty.. But I'm confused by the lemon juice and olive oil additions. What do they bring to the party?

Good questions.

The idea behind the lemon juice is to add a few drops of citric acid which alongside heat creates a chemical reaction akin to making Invert Syrup, wherein the sucrose is split into glucose and fructose, which are more dissolvable and fermentable, thus improving yeast performance. I only recommend this technique when using significant quantities of simple sugars. My understanding is that maltose doesn't require this "help". Also, if you're using hard, chalky water, a tiny acid addition might provide a slight beneficial pH tweak.

The trace amount of olive oil, proven by this landmark study, enhances yeast performance as well, to a greater extent than aeration (which most homebrewers do not conduct thoroughly anyway) without the risk of oxidation. In any case, even if you think that's hooey, it doesn't hurt anything. When it comes to higher-gravity brews like this, I figure the yeast needs all the help it can get. The less we stress it out, the cleaner the fermentation, and the fewer hot, harsh, fusel alcohols are created. This particular recipe isn't an outrageously alcoholic Russian Imperial Stout or anything, but it always sucks to spend lots of time and energy and money on something that ends up tasting like nail polish remover and gives a killer headache, y'know? I'm sure he'll get along fine without 'em, but these are simply some super-easy steps I take to insure against that.