trumpetbeard

Recipes 

Hey All. A friend moved out of the country and left me 6lbs of Breiss Dark LME. I've been meaning to brew a rye stout for awhile, so I put together this partial mash recipe. The last stout I brewed came out a little too astringent, so I could use any advice you can offer on the grain bill. Many thanks in advance.

6gallons:
6lb Dark LME
2lb Rye
1lb Munich
1lb Crystal 120
1lb Carafa III
.5-1lb Steel cut oats (cooked; depending on how hungry I get between now and brew day)
.5lb roasted barley

All hops US Kent Goldings
1.5oz @ 60
.5 @ 30
.25 @ 15
.25 @ 10
.25 @ FO

Mash 154

Yeast: Wyeast Thames Valley II, harvested, 2nd generation. Ferment 64ish to keep the esters down.

Hex23

Recipes 

Don't have much advice on the grain bill, but if you're concerned about astringency you could consider steeping and not mashing the darker grains.

kingwood-kid

Recipes 

If you posted the last recipe, that would help serve as a frame of reference for what's too astringent. My initial thought is to say to cut the carafa back if you don't want it too dry. Switching some of the C-120 for a lighter crystal (around 60) might help too. The rye and oats should help with the mouthfeel, so it won't feel quite as dry as it would without them. Never used that yeast, but some fruity esters might serve as a foil to astringency as well.

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There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in the BJCP's philosophy.

trumpetbeard

Recipes 

I don't have the recipe on hand. I wrote it on a post-it that I think got thrown out. The last time I tried a stout was around a year ago after I switched to AG, and if I recall I used something like 25% black patent plus some roasted barley or something crazy like that. Poor (noobie) recipe design at it's finest!

I'll try switching out the C-120 and tone down the Carafa III, Lord knows even a little of that stuff makes the beer darker than midnight.

Perhaps mash a little higher, too, to keep it from getting too dry?

Thanks!

kingwood-kid

Recipes 

if the last recipe was 25% black patent, then the obvious answer is to not do that again. I have an imperial that's nice at around 12% black patent; I can't imagine one at double that.

I don't know how much sweetness and how much roast you want in your stout. As written in the first post, it looks fine, although I'd cut back on the crystal to match my personal tastes that may differ from yours. I'd peruse the stout recipe section to get a feel for where yours falls.

__________________
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in the BJCP's philosophy.