Yoop

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This will only be the third beer that I've ever brewed so I'm looking to get some feedback. I still have yet to even try any of the beer that I have brewed since the first batch has been in the bottles for only a week and the second batch is in the secondary, they were both kits that I purchased from a local brew shop. This third batch will also be a kit but I'm looking to tweak it a bit.

Below is the recipe after my tweaks, any feedback I can get would be very much appreciated! I will be using a 5 gal brew pot.

-1/2 lb. DME for starter with WLP 001 (California Ale) - let this start for 2-3 days
-Steep 1/2 lb U.S. Crystal 20, 1/2 lb Chocolate Malt, 1/2 lb U.K. Roasted Barley @ 150 for 30 minutes in 2 gallons of bottled water
-Add 1.5 gallon bottled water, bring to boil
-Boil 3 lb Dark DME for 60 minutes with 16 HBU Perle Hops
-With 15 minutes left in boil add 4 lbs Dark DME
-With 5 minutes left in boil add 1/2 lb Brown Sugar, 1/4 lb Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa
-Cover and let stand for 10 minutes after flame out
-Cool to 70 then add to primary, top off with bottled water at room temp aerate and pitch yeast
-After 5 days cut in half and pit 5 lbs of cherries, put in ziplock bag with bourbon, put in freezer for 2 days
-After 7 days in primary add cherries to secondary and transfer beer on top, let sit for 2 weeks

The original schedule had me adding all of the DME at the beginning of the boil, and also was just using a 2 gallon boil for the entire process.

What are your thoughts? Should I plan on reducing the bittering hops to compensate for a lower SG and larger volume boil? If so, how much should I reduce it by? How strong will the different flavors of spices and fruit be? Should I adjust how long it's in the primary and/or secondary?

I may not have tried any of my beer yet but I'm completely hooked on home brewing!

NineMilBill

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That's a BOLD screen name around these parts...

Yoop

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Why is that?

ronclark

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I have no advice to offer, but the overall concept sounds tasty. I'll add this post so I can keep tabs on this one and hear how the final product turns out.

Yooper

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Hahahah. That's funny right there!

The basic recipe looks good. I don't like chocolate (or fruit in my beer), so I have never tried a chocolate fruited stout. But if I was going to do it, that's about the way I'd go. It looks like a sweet stout, and that should balance the chocolate and go with the fruit nicely.

As far as technique, I'd leave it sit longer than five-seven days before adding the cherries. I'd wait until the beer was pretty clear and then transfer onto the cherries.

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Nashbrewer

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From what I have read the best OG of starters is around 1.039. I'm not sure how large of a starter you are planning on doing as 8 oz of DME is enough for a little more than a half gallon starter. Which is reasonable for this beer, but I think most people would go with a quart starter or 1 liter, which only needs about 3.68oz DME. Just a thought to save you some $.


Dark DME already has some kind of dark malt in it like Roasted Barley and possibly Chocolate malt. Probably even some cara 40-80 in it. It is hard to tell if what you are steeping will make it too strong. I'm guessing Dark DME is what the kit comes with which means it is harder to estimate the final product. It is more calculated to go with a light DME and add steeping grains, but both will work.

The rest looks pretty good to me.

NineMilBill

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Well, Yooper is a heavyweight on HBT. You've essentially just joined Major League Baseball and changed your name to Babe Ruth.

SenorPepe

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lol.

Yoop

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Lol, I was unaware that Yooper was a heavyweight in the world of HB! When I picked my username I was just giving a shout out to where I'm from, and I was guessing it was a good bet that it wouldn't already be taken.

I pitched the starter a couple of days ago so I'm planning on brewing this tonight. The volume of the starter is 2 quarts, but it's good to know what SG target is good for a starter so I appreciate that info.

I will also plan on leaving it for a bit longer in the primary, and just play it by ear to let it clear up a bit.

I definitely appreciate the input that I've gotten so far! I'll continue to give updates and possibly pictures as the cycle progresses!

AZ_IPA

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Did you call Yooper fat?

(runs and hides)

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