Happy New years to anyone who happens to come across my posts. Thanks for reading! I do appreciate you being here, as this is just a fun side past time for me to document the stuff I’m making since it’s all been chicken scratch and pictures on my phone till I made this site.
So here’s the next iteration of my house stout. I brew it 2-3 times per year, and it always has 3 things about it that never change: It’s poured on nitro, it’s got loads of toasted coconut, and always has some lactose in it.
Those are the 3 constants, everything else I tweak here and there to my liking. You can see the last batch I made in April – It lasted a long time this year due to covid. Couldn’t have friends and family over who are the main drinkers of this beer.
This time, I’ve opted to bring a few of my NEIPA grains over into the stout, mainly Malted Oats and Golden Naked Oats. Every time I reorder those two, I’ve read they compliment stouts. And I’ve had great success using them mainly for the big thick body and flavor they provide in my NEIPAs. So why not try that in a sweet stout?
Here’s the recipe:
| Basics | ||
| Batch Size (fermentor): | 6 gallons | |
| Boil Length: | 60 minutes | |
| Mash Temp: | 155F | Single Infusion |
| 168F | Mash Out | |
| OG: | 1.086 (estimated) | 1.084 (actual) |
| FG: | 1.026 (estimated) | 1.028 (actual) |
| ABU: | 7.95% (estimated) | 7.35% (actual) |
| IBU: | 28 | |
| SRM: | 31 | |
| Fermentables | ||
| 2-Row | 11 lbs | 53.7 % |
| White Wheat | 1 lbs | 4.9 % |
| Pale Chocolate Malt | 0.5 lb | 2.4 % |
| Chocolate Malt | 0.5 lb | 2.4 % |
| Roasted Barley | 0.5 lbs | 2.4 % |
| Malted Oats | 4.5 lbs | 27.5 |
| Golden Naked Oats | 1 lbs | 4.9 % |
| Total | 19.0 lbs | 100% |
| Hops | ||
| CTZ | 0.5 oz | 60 min |
| Willamette | 0.75 oz | 45 min |
| Total | 1.25 oz | |
| Other Adds | ||
| Honey Graham Crackers | 1 Pack because why the heck not | Mash In |
| Lactose | 1.5 lbs | 10 min (boil) |
| Cacao Nibs | 4oz | 7 Days after yeast pitch Bourbon Tincture |
| Vanilla Bean | 1 bean | 7 Days after yeast pitch Bourbon Tincture |
| Cold Brewed Coffee | 16oz | 7 Days after yeast pitch |
| Toasted Coconut Flakes | 2 lbs | 7 Days after yeast pitch |
| Yeast | ||
| US-05 | 2 packs | Pitch and ferment at 68F, raise to 72F as fermentation nears finish |
| Water – | Bru’n Water Black Full | |
| Mash pH | 5.55 | |
| Calcium | 50 | |
| Mg | n/a | |
| Sodium | 33 | |
| Sulfate | 35 | |
| Chloride | 45 |
Brew Day 1/3/2021
Grains milled and mashed in. Hit temps pretty spot on. The smell of a stout mash is the best. By far my favorite mash includes the dark and roasty notes… and it was raining outside so that just added to suit.
Wort at beginning of mash vs middle of mash. Didn’t snap a pic of the end of the mash, but it was a clear dark brown as I was mashing out.
Boil pic and OG pic. Hit 1.084, the bubbles are covering the final reading. It tasted fantastic. In about a week, I will add the flavorings.
I’ll soak the cacao nibs and vanilla bean in bourbon, toast the coconut, and brew up half a gallon of Sightglass – Blueboon cold brew. It’s my main choice of beans I buy and have at least two cups per day of the stuff. Great coffee from Sightglass if you ever needed a new roaster to try.
Adjunct Prep Part 1 – 1/6/2021
I chopped up my two vanilla beans, scraped out the insides, and added everything to a mason jar. Then took 4oz of cacao nibs and added them on top. Then poured a healthy glug of vodka and a splash of bourbon because why not.
Adjunct Prep Part 2 – 1/9/2021
This was a saturday and I realized I’d forgotten to brew the cold brew coffee. So instead I ended up just brewing it hot and then adding after it had cooled off. No big deal. Here is everything laid out and ready to put into bags before adding to the beer. Unsweetened toasted coconut (makes a great snack!), coffee (two glasses on left), and the mason jar tincture.
Next, everything added to sanitized bags and ready to drop in. I also took a gravity sample at this point and we’re sitting at 1.030. I imagine it will fall a couple more points from here, but I’ll let this sit for two weeks I think.
The current taste of the gravity sample was very coffee and roasty. There’s a good bit of yeast in suspension right now, too.
Packaging – 1/23/21
I didn’t document anything when transferring to the keg. I shot it with 30psi of co2 then hooked it up to the beergas to sit for a few weeks.
Tasting – 2/11/21
I tried my best to get a good video/gif, but it didn’t turn out great on the phone.
Point being, the nitro has it cascading beautifully. I wasn’t patient enough to wait and pour the perfect pint per Guiness’ standards, but that’s okay. It’s a beautiful beer.
Smell is strong of coffee, hints of sweet vanilla. Taste is a nice mix of coconut, coffee, and a hint of chocolate and vanilla.
My favorite part about making this beer – Because it’s on nitro, the foam is frothy and delicious. It hangs around for ages. I’m sure that would be the exact opposite if it was purely co2 served.
There’s a reason this beer is always on tap in our house!
Cheers, Nick
Simple Homebrew 