Mint Stout

Here goes another 1 gallon stout yeast starter. Still one more stout idea that may spark something unusual for my brother's wedding in the Fall.

This an improvised version from Randy Mosher's Radical Brewing. Here I used some starter wort from some previous batches, adding a touch of crystal into it. Then I took the put in chocolate for half the dark malt proportion and split the half into Roasted Barley and Black Patent. The boiling wort smelled quite good.

The hopping is pushed a little to the aromatic side by 5 minutes. The mints were added as close to the level as Randy's recipe, and smelled quite nice at knockout. This batch filled the gallon jug to the very top, and was poured over sediment from an initial pint starter.

Mint Stout

Grains & Fermentables
1.00 lb. Briess Light DME
44.0 oz. Amber All-grain wort (from previous batches)
0.20 lb. Belgian Biscuit
0.10 lb. Rst. Barley/Black Patent
0.10 lb. Chocolate Malt
0.10 lb. CaraPils

Hops
.10 oz. Centennial, 9.5%, pellet, 90+min
.20 oz. Centennial, 9.5%, pellet, 15min
.20 oz. Spearmint, fresh, sliced, KO
.02 oz. Peppermint, dried, KO

Yeast
Wyeast 1056: American Ale (decanted, 1 pint starter)

Brew Day Stats

Brewed: 4/25/08
Bottled:

OG: 1.054
IBU: approx. 46
Color/SRM: Black/38
Ferment Temp: 72-80°F

FG:
ABW:
ABV:

Tasting Notes & Photo

Appearance:
Aroma:
Taste:
Mouthfeel:
Aftertaste:
Drinkability:

Click here to see a full list of one gallon batches.
And here to see the Raisin Toast Stout.

Raisin Toast Stout

As a yeast starter for an upcoming Fresh/New Old Ale, this will be one gallon of jet black stout. Since I haven't brewed any in a long time, I've been enjoying a lot of commercial stouts during this exceptionally long and cold Winter season. Two that I've become particularly fond of are North Coast Old #38 and Left Hand Milk Stout. They both have opened up my imagination, and here I want to play around with some ideas all at once.

The pronounced dry & toasted quality in Old #38 is great, so there's lots of biscuit malt. The intense roasted flavor in the Milk Stout is just that...intense! I've added enough roasted barley to create a good roasted edge. I also hope a generous portion of Special B will offer a deep, dark raisin-like taste, so there's a bunch of that too. A hand-full of flaked barley should help build some body. All of these grains were strung up in a cheese cloth teabag, and steeped in hot water slowly rising to 170°F, then rinsed and squeezed with the remaining hot water from a tea kettle. Half way through the boil, one pound of pale DME stirred in.

There's a bunch of left-over hops in the frig, so this is a good place for it. Centennial seems to really want to go in this one. Cascade on the finish might be nice. Bitterness may be a bit high at a level close to 40 IBU's. Both solid bittering and late additions should support the malt's intense flavors.

I've found that brewing 1 gallon starters, as test batches, is the perfect use of time and old ingredients. I'd like to know if any one else is doing this as a way to make larger yeast slurries for full batches. Please, feel free to share your experiences in the comments section.

Raisin Toast Stout

Fermentables
1.0 lb Briess Pale DME
.45 lb Biscuit Malt
.25 lb Special B
.25 lb Roast Barley
.20 lb Flaked Barley

Hops
.15 oz Centennial, 9.5%, pellet, 90min
.10 oz Centennial, 9.5%, pellet, 10min
.20 oz Cascade, 7.6%, whole, KO

Yeast
Wyeast 1099: Whitbread Ale

Bottling
After only one week in primary, and still looking only mildly active, it got bottled instead of transfered into a secondary. Also, I revisited 3 bottles a few hours later to pour in freshly pulled espresso (cooled). One with 10mL, one with 20mL, and the 3rd (¾ filled bottle) with about 30mL. The stout beer came out quite sweet, and the espresso came out fairly bitter, so it might be a good addition. Never added any coffee to beer before, so I'm looking forward to these.

Tasting Notes & Photo

Appearance: Pours black, some cloudiness makes it pitch black, with a full & deep tan head that hangs around, and later diminishes to a nice ring around the glass wall
Aroma: Rich and classic stout roast aromas, with a mild hop scent within (spiked version has mild coffee scent), overall a balancing of aromas and very inviting
Taste: Full flavored stout with good roast edge and light biscuit quality and light supporting sweetness, hop taste is also nicely sharp/accurate and balanced (spiked version has a wonderful dark espresso taste that is balanced at both 10 & 20 mL per 12oz.)
Mouthfeel: Moderately full bodied, and the carbonation came out great at a medium level
Aftertaste: Overall it has a clean finish, some toasty flavors with a roast and hop bitterness that lingers, but its not at all overwhelming
Drinkability: Very drinkable, and satisfying. Considering that it was a 1 gallon test batch, I am very pleased. In fact, it may be my best stout yet, and I now see that more roasted barley needs support with toasted and dark crystal malts. The spiked version is a definite candidate for my brothers wedding.

Click here to see a full list of one gallon batches.
And here to see the Mint Stout.

Cocoa Porter

My black ales in the past have turned out quite strong in roasted flavor. Though I do enjoy a stout/porter with a deep rich flavor and solid bittering, I tend to also like a black beer that isn't totally opaque. So with this beer, I'm going for a dark beer that should be very smooth and full of dry cocoa flavor.

It's taken me a long time to settle on a recipe, and it's been influenced by a handful of other recipes and sources of info. There is a lot going into it, but I think everything will blend together for a full flavored seasonal brew. British Mild malt will lend a sweeter backbone, and a hint of nuttiness. The Cara-Munich & Melanoidin malts will add caramel sweetness. Two types of Oats will aid in building a smooth body and fine head retention. Chocolate & Black malts will add cocoa, roast and bitterness. Brown Sugar should balance the malts and add an overall sweetness. In the very end, roasted Cacao Nibs and Bourbon Vanilla Beans will steep in the clearing tank to add a final kiss of sweetness.

The alcohol content will be high so that there are enough residual sugars lending to a sweeter and fuller mouth-feel. The hopping rate will be kept low to allow the malts to come through and give the roast malts and cocoa nibs room to do their bittering.

Cocoa Porter

Grains
8.25 lb. British Mild Malt
1.65 lb. Belgian CaraMunich
0.85 lb. German Melanoidin
0.85 lb. "Naked" Oats
0.50 lb. Oat Malt
0.45 lb. British Chocolate Malt
0.15 lb. British Black Patent
0.85 lb. Brown Sugar

Hops and Spice
.95 oz. East Kent Goldings, 6.9%, whole, 50min
1.0 oz. Yakima Goldings, 4.6%, whole, 15min
6 oz. Roasted Cacao Nibs, secondary 2 weeks
2 oz. Roasted Cacao Nibs, Secondary 1 week
2 whole Bourbon Vanilla Beans, 1st in vodka, then secondary, 1 week

Yeast
Wyeast 1088 - British Ale (yeast cake)

Brewday Stats

Brewed: 10/15/07
Racked: 10/30/07
Bottled: 11/16/07

Water Adjustment: .75 tsp CaCl, .25 tsp sea salt in boil

H2O/Grain Ratio: 1.35 qt/lb
Mash Temp: 153*F
Mash Ph: inaccurate
Mash Out Temp: 166*F
2nd Batch Water: 2.85 gal/176*F
2nd Batch Temp: 165*F
Pre-Boil Volume: 7.25 gal
Pre-Boil SG: 1.050 (w/o brown sugar)
Boil Time: 1.4 hrs
Post Boil Volume: 6.1 gal

OG: 1.064 (on target)
IBU's: approx. 23
SRM/Color: 21-26
FG: 1.016
ABW: 5.04%
ABV: 6.3%

Calculated Mash Efficiency: approx. 78%
Cost: $48.64, .83¢, $4.97/6-pack

Progress

1. The house never smelled so malty! Absolutely wonderful!
2. This time I'm not taking the carboy out of the chilled water bath inside the mashtun. I want the temp to stay low.
3. Blow-off foam next morning before 10am.
4. The taste at racking is fairly rich with sweetness and chocolate.
5. The taste after 1 week with Nibs is more like a chocolate amaretto.
6. Adding 2 more ounces of nibs and the vodka steeped vanilla beans for 1 week.
7. At bottling, it has a very full chocolate aroma, and rich taste, and clear.

Tasting Notes

Appearance: Pours clear & very dark but super deep ruby red in front of light, 1 inch rocky head fades quickly to a ring of foam around the edge till the end.
Aroma: Sweet, clean, chocolaty, light scents of malt and roast.
Taste: Very smooth and clean malt sweetness, a rich chocolate flavor with support from well-rounded malty sweetness and roast bitterness, fairly complex.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, velvety smooth, with good moderate carbonation.
Aftertaste: Bitterness towards the back of the tongue coming from several sources (mild hops, roast malts and cacao nibs) is not too much at all, because there is also a lingering sweetness (much like dark dopplebocks or wee heavys).
Overall: Easy drinking for its very rich flavor profile, alcohol isn't noticeable until later when its effect is full and pleasant, great with a piece of pecan pie or a chunk of fair trade organic chocolate, and though I could have more, it makes for a great "one beer after dinner" beverage.

Dark Triad

Three dark beers have been sitting together in the basement since the holidays. They were together for a reason. I wanted to taste two of mine along with a commercial beer. Finally the opportunity presented itself. One evening (July 13th), David and I had nothing better to do than sit around and sample beer.

Within the triad, the only thing in common was their color...jet black. Some of the basic flavors found in very dark beers were in all three, but their personalities presented the flavors in very different ways.

Thanks David for a fun tasting, and your notes. Here's the details for each beer. If anyone would like to see the recipes for the first two, please let me know. You're on your own for the third. I have one bottle left of the Dry Stout, and a small handful of Schwartzbier hanging around.

Classic Dry Stout
OG 1.043

ABV 3.75%

Look: Black, medium tan fine head builds and slowly diminishes to a steady ring around the collar
Nose: Chocolate
Taste: Pleasant bitterness with chocolate upfront, then the carbonation effect rushes over bringing somewhat complexity of roast flavors, and ends dry
Aftertaste: Long lasting taste, finishes dry and clean
Overall: Using a classic/standard recipe and a fairly low OG (1.043), it came out pretty good. A little assertive with roast flavors. Its a smaller beer acting like a big one, so one is enough.

Schwartzbier
OG 1.052

ABV 5%

Look: Black, fine lighter tan head with staying power
Nose: Smokey, dry roast and toast aromas, and roasted cacao
Taste: Sweetness coming from Munich and dark malts, then moves into a smooth bitterness and finishes with moderate roast flavors and a touch of smoke. The smoke character was very prominent after 2 weeks in the bottle and has been mellowing over time.
Aftertaste: Sweeter roast flavors
Overall: Good beer. A little high on carbonation. Can drink a couple...slowly.

Bison - Organic Chocolate Stout
OG 1.058

ABV 6.1%

Look: Black, fine tan head very much like the Classic Dry Stout
Nose: Chocolate
Taste: Smooth and silky chocolate then in & out layers of roast. Following is a definite chocolaty flavor and there's a mild malty sweetness throughout.
Aftertaste: Smooth & silky
Overall: Easy to drink & very enjoyable, and with such a high alcohol percentage it's very impressive. Perhaps the low IBU's (17) have something to do with the smoothness too.

Belgian Strong Dark Ale - Recipe & Brewday Stats

I'm getting in the habit of reusing yeast for at least an additional batch. This time I'm reusing the Wyeast Ardennes from the Belgian Pale Ale to make a 3 gallon batch of Belgian Strong Dark Ale. It's been a kind-of crazy trying to come up with a recipe of a beer I've never brewed before, and have only infrequently tasted examples of.

The malt bill is pretty big, but there aren't any malts too strong or powerful. I'm not going for a very dark color. The SRM should end up at around 16.

With the Belgian Pale Ale, I added some minerals to the water. Without knowing the effect of those minerals, I will still go ahead with additions for this beer.

The beer will be racked into 3 jugs, so I've been pondering the idea of adding some kind of flavoring to one of them. Hops, fruit, or other spice? I'm playing with the idea of adding more juniper tincture at bottling. Anyone have any good ideas?

Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Brewday 6/8/07

Grains & Sugar
5.0 lb Belgian Pilsner Malt
1.0 lb Vienna Malt
1.0 lb Munich Malt 10L
.31 lb Belgian CaraMunich 57L
.19 lb Belgain Special B 147L
.25 lb Wheat Malt
.75 lb Corn Sugar
.25 lb Jaggery

Hops & Spices
1.0 oz Styrian Goldings, 4.3%, pellets, 60min.
.25 oz Styrian Goldings, 3.5%, pellets, 60min.
.75 oz Styrian Goldings, 3.5%, pellets, 30min.

1 tsp Juniper tincture, steeped 6 months, 15min.
1/8 tsp Black Peppercorn, crushed, 15min.

Yeast
Wyeast 3522 - Belgian Ardennes - reused 1+ cup slurry

Brewday Stats

Water Adjustment: .5 tsp. Gypsum, .5 tsp Calcium Chloride

H2O/Grain Ratio: #1 1qt/lb, #2 1.6qt/lb
Mash Ph: low
Sacch Rest Temp #1: 145*F
Sacch Rest Time #1: 45min. no conversion
Sacch Rest Temp #2: 157*F
Sacch Rest Time #2: 30min. good conversion, nice and sticky!

Mash-out Batch Sparge vol/temp: 2 gal/180*F

Pre-boil Vol: 4 gallons
Boil Time: 1.5 hrs
Post-boil Vol: 3.25 gallons

OG: 1.078
IBU: 35
Color: 15-18 (looks a lot lighter and golden)
Mash Efficiency: Approx. 78.8%

Fermentation Temp: 70-73*
Cost: $16.15, .50 cents/12oz., $3/6-pack

Notes:
1. Mash Ph was pretty low (I think below 5), so when using darker malts with an intended hop bitterness, avoid Gypsum and Calcium Chloride in mash water, and add only to sparge water.
2. The 180* Mash-out Batch Sparge water wasn't high enough to bring the mash to 168*. It only got up to 158*.
3. The color looked very close to that of the Belgian Pale Ale I made a couple weeks ago, so I dipped .5 oz each of Roasted Barley & Chocolate Malt for a couple minutes for some more color. Unfortunately the old tea infuser ball must have had some oils on it.

Fermentation Progress:
6/14/07 - It's been fermenting consistently and actively at about 70-73*F. There's still a lot of movement this morning at a temp of about 68*F. I've never seen so much foam building up during fermentation. This Ardennes yeast strain produces a 5"thick and very creamy/frothy foam that sticks around for a very long time. It takes some agitation, at the end of primary, to settle it into the beer.

Tasting Notes

Appearance: Pours a crystal clear, deep copper with amber/brown highlights into a stemmed Belgian glass. A ½ inch dense, light tan head forms and diminishes gradually to a ring of bubbles around the glass with minimal lacing.
Aroma: Clean, sweet, mellow spiciness (clove, coriander), and mild alcohol.
Taste: Very much like aroma, clean with a smooth sweetness, moderate spice, mostly from yeast.
Mouthfeel: Definitely not heavy, a medium mouthfeel, and lower carbonation for a Belgian strong style.
Aftertaste: Jaggery sugar definitely contributing to a lingering aftertaste, with a faint juniper taste that builds as the time between sips increases. The both of these aftertastes build to an almost rubbery taste, then diminishes over time.
Drinkability: Aside from the low carbonation and peculiar aftertaste, it is very drinkable, especially given its alcoholic strength and lower carbonation.
Final Notes: The Ardennes yeast strain definitely prefers worts with higher gravity, as it shows off more spicy flavors. I'd definitely add much more Special B and try using very dark homemade caramelized sugar. Skip the Juniper tincture and use halved juniper berries, or try a new spice or herb.