Scarface inspired American Stout

24 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) 78.7 %
1.5 lbs Black (Patent) Malt (560.0 SRM) 4.9 %
1.5 lbs Special B Malt (147.0 SRM) 4.9 %
1 lbs Franco Belges Coffee Malt (165.0 SRM) 3.3 %
1 lbs Pale Chocolate Malt (220.0 SRM) 3.3 %
12.0 oz Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) 2.5 %
12.0 oz Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) 2.5 %
3.00 oz Magnum [14.40 %] - Boil 60.0 min 62.6 IBUs
2.00 oz Centennial [9.20 %] - Boil 7.0 min 7.2 IBUs (was to be 10 min but I missed it)
3.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)

Mash at 152* for 60 min
Based on 79% efficiency for 11.5 gal post boil

This was a recipe I put together for the hubby. He is a big fan of Speakeasy's Scarface stout, and although I used their commercial description as a starting guide for the grain bill this is not an attempt at a clone. The Scarface if 9.5% ABV and I didn't want to go as big. They also apparently oak age 20% of the batch on cacao nibs and blend it back in (maybe something to try on another batch).

I was quite happy with the result, and most importantly got the thumbs up from my boy. Looks like it will be in the permanent rotation.

Update: This really got nice as it aged, mellow chocolate flavor toward the end.

I'm looking at brewing this soon, except I'll be using some different hops. Seems like a lot of black patent. Was it too astringent? Would you back that off at all?

I've made this a few times and this most recent time it did come out a little astringent, no obvious change in process although I did sub a different coffee malt for the Franco-Belges. I'm sure you could go down on the black, I know many folks find it harsh although it actually seems to come out smoother to me than equivalent amounts of roasted barley. I was thinking of next time trying a cold steep or adding the roasted malts just at sparge, ala Gordon Strong I guess. I've not tried it before but interested to see the difference. This one does benefit from a little aging, seems to bring out the chocolate as it mellows.

Please report back if you brew a version of it!