Hello all, I would like to attempt to brew a "Caramel Macchiato Stout" as my second beer. Hopefully I'm not being too ambitious, but that's the point of home brewing, right?!
For those not familiar, a caramel macchiato is a Starbucks drink with steamed milk, espresso, caramel and vanilla syrups, and some caramel sauce drizzled on top. My idea was to make a flavorful, but easy drinking "breakfast beer" with flavors reminiscent of a caramel macchiato. Being a breakfast beer I want to keep the ABV lower at around 4 to 4.5% and would also like to incorporate oatmeal for some extra body and sweetness. Due to my current skill and equipment, this needs to be an extract recipe with steeped grains. I have heard that there is difficulty brewing oatmeal with an extract (something about it needing to be mashed with grains to be absorbed properly?) Can I put oats and crushed grain in a grain bag and steep to get the desired effect?
The key flavors I'm looking for are:
Espresso - Use a few shots of espresso (8 - 10 oz?). Added to secondary and beer racked onto it from primary.
Oatmeal - How can I do this with an extract brew?
Caramel - Can I steep crushed caramel malts? What varieties should I use to get the right caramel flavor?
Milk - Was thinking I could just add 1 lbs of lactose towards the end of the boil to accomplish this.
Vanilla - Could I use some fresh Madagascar vanilla beans, cut and scraped? How many should I use and when should they be added?
I was also thinking about using Munton's KreamyX to help ensure I have a nice creamy head (to sort of emulate steamed/frothed milk.) Any experience with this product? Any reason not to go this route?
I have no idea what hops to use with this brew. I'm open to suggestions. I'm sure the espresso will go a long ways in providing some bitterness for this beer, but I don't know how to pair hops with this.
In the end, I would like this to be a smooth, balanced brew, not too sweet and not over-powering, but the espresso flavor should be distinctive. I'm thinking something that drinks about like Guinness, but obviously with a different flavor profile.
Any help coming up with a recipe for this would be much appreciated!
Thanks!
-D.L.
For those not familiar, a caramel macchiato is a Starbucks drink with steamed milk, espresso, caramel and vanilla syrups, and some caramel sauce drizzled on top. My idea was to make a flavorful, but easy drinking "breakfast beer" with flavors reminiscent of a caramel macchiato. Being a breakfast beer I want to keep the ABV lower at around 4 to 4.5% and would also like to incorporate oatmeal for some extra body and sweetness. Due to my current skill and equipment, this needs to be an extract recipe with steeped grains. I have heard that there is difficulty brewing oatmeal with an extract (something about it needing to be mashed with grains to be absorbed properly?) Can I put oats and crushed grain in a grain bag and steep to get the desired effect?
The key flavors I'm looking for are:
Espresso - Use a few shots of espresso (8 - 10 oz?). Added to secondary and beer racked onto it from primary.
Oatmeal - How can I do this with an extract brew?
Caramel - Can I steep crushed caramel malts? What varieties should I use to get the right caramel flavor?
Milk - Was thinking I could just add 1 lbs of lactose towards the end of the boil to accomplish this.
Vanilla - Could I use some fresh Madagascar vanilla beans, cut and scraped? How many should I use and when should they be added?
I was also thinking about using Munton's KreamyX to help ensure I have a nice creamy head (to sort of emulate steamed/frothed milk.) Any experience with this product? Any reason not to go this route?
I have no idea what hops to use with this brew. I'm open to suggestions. I'm sure the espresso will go a long ways in providing some bitterness for this beer, but I don't know how to pair hops with this.
In the end, I would like this to be a smooth, balanced brew, not too sweet and not over-powering, but the espresso flavor should be distinctive. I'm thinking something that drinks about like Guinness, but obviously with a different flavor profile.
Any help coming up with a recipe for this would be much appreciated!
Thanks!
-D.L.