Extract-only Stout

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Justibone

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2010
Messages
2,022
Reaction score
32
Location
Indianapolis
Recipe Type
Extract
Yeast
Munton\'s Gold
Yeast Starter
no
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter
no
Batch Size (Gallons)
3
Original Gravity
1.056
Final Gravity
1.012
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
19
Color
22 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
20 days ~70F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
not necessary
Additional Fermentation
bottle conditioning helpful
Tasting Notes
Too bitter to taste the brown sugar clearly.
This is a super-easy stout recipe for people who are transitioning from all-liquid kits such as Mr. Beer or Munton's.

The color: too light. Boiling the extract extra time darkens it a bit, though.
The flavor: too bitter. Less hops, or less boil time, might be helpful. Aroma hops might be distracting, so I used Hallertauer for not less than 15 min. boil.
Alcohol content: nice!
Price: Briess dark extract is ~$11. Muntons dry yeast large satchet is ~$2-3. Brown sugar is ~$1.50. 1 oz. Hallertauer hops is ~$1-2.

This is a very easy, inexpensive transition away from all-liquid kits. It is not a superior beer, and is easily improved. I'm not a fan of stouts -- I brewed this specifically for a friend.

Maple syrup is a possible substitution for brown sugar.

Values calculated using recipator (Google it if you want to use it).

Brown Sugar Stout

Brewer: Justin
Beer: Brown Sugar Stout
Style: Sweet Stout
Type: Extract
Size: 3 gallons
Color: 49 HCU (~22 SRM)
Bitterness: 19 IBU
OG: 1.056
FG: 1.012
Alcohol: 5.6% v/v (4.4% w/w)
Boil: 60 minutes, 3 gallons

SG 1.056

3.3 lb. Dark malt extract
1 lb. Brown sugar

Hops:
.25 oz. Hallertauer (4.25% AA, 60 min.)
.25 oz. Hallertauer (4.25% AA, 45 min.)
.25 oz. Hallertauer (4.25% AA, 30 min.)
.25 oz. Hallertauer (4.25% AA, 15 min.)
 
So, the beer finished carbonating and bottle conditioning at 22 days after bottling.

The beer is tasty, a bit on the bitter side of the style. Hop aroma is nonexistant. Brown sugar note is very faint, but detectable.

Color is pleasant and appropriate to the style. Head is good, but not excellent. Carbonation is appropriate to the style, which is to be expected but is still nice to note since the bottling sugar used was brown sugar. Fermentation in the low 70's did not lead to significant ester flavor, fortunately.

The beer is over 5% ABV but there is no obvious alcohol ("hot") flavor.

All in all, if you are a Mr. Beer brewer transitioning from kits to extract recipes, this recipe is easy and suitably delicious. The directions are simple, and the flavor of the beer is similarly simple.

This is a nice, all-extract stout recipe that I would personally recommend to anyone doing all-extract beer.
 
I want to move away from the Mr. Beer kits and am ready to try something simple.
I have two questions:
1) How would I get it less hoppy?
2) What was the final boil volume? Mr. Beer is about 2.1gl to the top line. Anything above that looks like it might come out of the top.

Thanks,
E
 
1) How would I get it less hoppy?

It wasn't that hoppy, but if you want it less bitter you can either increase the malt sugars or decrease the amount or AA% of the hops you use. Using less water and the same amount of extract, as well as slightly fewer hops, will achieve that result.

2) What was the final boil volume? Mr. Beer is about 2.1gl to the top line.

Technically the final boil volume is whatever you want it to be, since this is all extract. If you want to fit the brew in Mr Beer go ahead and just mix it at or below 2 gallons. You can top it off in the fermenter (before you take a gravity reading).

Making beer with liquid extract is just like making soup... if you like a heartier soup (fuller beer), use less water. If it's too bitter, add less spices (hops). Don't go overboard with the brown sugar, though, because if it has too high of an alcohol content it will taste "hot" and take longer to ferment and carbonate.

If you make this one, you can either tweak it, or move on to my Simple Wheat recipe, which is really, really good (for people who like wheat beer).

Enjoy!
 
Thanks for the reply. It looks easy enough for me.

I think I'm going to try it in a couple of weeks.

I will definitely look at you Simple Wheat recipe.

THANKS,
E
 
I should add: one of my friends said this was the best stout he's ever had. It's the only homebrew stout he's ever had, and he really likes stouts... so maybe it's not a bad recipe, maybe I just reallllllly don't like stouts. ;)
 
Hmm, a full ounce of Hallertau is a bit mutch for my taste in a stout but I am not a hoppy guy. I would cut it back to 1/2 or 3/4 all in at 60 minutes for a 3 gallon batch.
 
A valid choice. Stouts don't tend to *need* hops.

This one kinda did, though. I'd put at least some in at 15 min., just for the extra complexity. Without that the flavor would be, I'd guess, pretty plain.

You could *definitely* go with less than a full ounce, though.

EDIT: another thing I'd change if I did this again, would be to only boil half the extract for 60 min, and add the rest in at 10 min (with the heat off, to avoid scorching).
 
So what's the advantage/result of saving half the malt for the last 10 minutes? I'm not a big stout guy, either, but a friend has asked for (and is subsidizing) a stout brew for his 40th this summer, so I'm looking into suitable recipes.

Thanks
 
The advantage of waiting to add extract until the end of the boil is that the color doesn't change even darker, which, with a stout, is not relevant (darker is better for most stout drinkers). There is also the "1.020 curse", which some people believe is due to some fermentable sugars changing chemically due to the heat of the burner and becoming unfermentable. Once again, in a stout -- where extra sweetness can be completely to style -- that may or may not be much of a big deal. (This is not really a dry stout.)

If you do this one, and you know how to steep, just steeping a little bit of chocolate grain (for roastiness and color) and a little bit of oats (for mouthfeel and head retention) could improve it tremendously. I'd say 4 oz. of each, 30 minutes @~150F, before you add the extract. I haven't tried it, obviously -- b/c I'd rather brew a single Wit than FIVE stouts -- but I think it could be quite nice for stout-drinkers.
 
I'm at day 22 in the fermenter and it tastes GOOD. Even though I used less hops, it's a little more bitter than I expected.

Oh yeah, instead of 3gl, it ended up being 2.1gl...
*I'm guessing it'll be a decent size beer... Big??*

E
 
The bitterness should be less noticeable with good carbonation. Flat beer can taste good, but it never tastes as good as carbonated and somewhat cold-conditioned.

If you used the same amount of sugar I did into only 2.1 gallons... yeah, it's gonna be big. :D
 
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