Recipe for Review

Hello all,

I am going to brew my first stout and my first batch from my very own recipe. I am so excited I can't hardly stand it I would like to post my recipe for comment, so please let me know what you think and particularly what may not work well. I am trying for OG around 1.07 and IBU around 20. Not very bitter or hoppy, but hopefully packed full of flavor.

3.3 lb Dark Malt Extract (Don't know exactly what my brew shop carries yet.)
3.3 lb Amber Malt Extract (Same with this)
0.75 lb Chocolate Malt
1 lb Roasted Barley
1 lb Crystal Malt
1.5 lb Oatmeal
1 oz Fuggles Hops (in boil 50 minutes)
1 oz Fuggles Hops (Finishing)
WLP002 English Ale Yeast

Ta-Da! Please comment. I am looking forward to what you have to say.

I would just use pale extract. You have more than enough specialty grains for the dark stout color and flavor. Maybe cut the oats down to 12 oz

I would cut the oats down to 16oz or less and cut the roasted barley down to 8oz. Roasted barley has an extremely strong flavor and if you look up stout recipes most don't use over 8oz for that reason...you don't want it to taste like burnt black coffee!

+1 on the cutting down the amount of roasted barley (maybe use 4 to 6 oz) and you also said not very hoppy, I would cut the hops in 1/2, I went with 1/2 oz @ 50 min and 1/2oz @ 10 min hops (instead of 1oz @ 60 min and 1oz @ 10) in my chocolate/coffee cream stout, and it has just a hint of hops and just the slightest bit of bitter to it, just right IMO.

Lots of stouts use combo extracts, amber and dark looks nutty/roasty

Im thinking it will have a chocolatey, semi bitter/astringent taste to it, A little bitterness form 1oz hops @ 50min and bitter/astringent from 1Lb roasted barley.

also remember everyones taste is different so one person would say an IPA isn't bitter and another person would say a mild wheat is too bitter.

and if you like a sweeter stout you can always add lactose.

Cheers

Thank you all very much for your help.

I am certainly not looking for an astringent quality and while I do love my coffee, I am also not looking for a burnt coffee taste in my stout. I will cut way back on the roasted barley.

I will also cut back on the oats since two of you suggested it... but, strambo and/or Jayhem, what is the reason for cutting back the oats? I would like to be able to apply the reasoning to future recipes Also, I have read that I should use Quaker rolled oats, but somewhere else I read to use "quick" (or 1 minute) oats. What do you think?

Mr. Coyote - I recently used similar hopping in a brown ale and was very pleased with it. If I use the same hopping, would the bitterness / hoppiness be about the same for the stout as it was for the ale?

Thank you again for your help! I very much appreciate it.

the only change id make is switching to pale extract. i dont agree that 1lb of roasted barley will make it taste like burnt coffee

dcp - you are the second one to suggest switching to pale extract. Would you mind explaining your reasoning for suggesting it. I'm a noob, and I would like to understand what the dark extract has that is undesirable or what the pale extract has that is more desirable. Thank you

its partially a control thing. when you're using pale extract u know exactly whats going in (2-row plus a lil carapils). with the darker extracts it varies between brands and its not clear the proportions. plus if you're already adding specialty grains i dont see the point. the pale is usually also slightly more fermentable

dcp27 said:

its partially a control thing. when you're using pale extract u know exactly whats going in (2-row plus a lil carapils). with the darker extracts it varies between brands and its not clear the proportions. plus if you're already adding specialty grains i dont see the point. the pale is usually also slightly more fermentable

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Right, I agree!

Amber extract and dark extract got that way from the manufacturer adding specialty grains. We won't know how much or what kind, but certainly crystal malt would be in them both. That means you're essentially doubling or tripling the amount of crystal in your recipe. But you just won't know for sure, so it's hard to make a recipe that isn't too sweet as a result.

I'd ditch the "colored" extract and use pale LME or DME (your preference).

Dark extract doesn't have anything in it that is undesirable. Amber extract is made for the same grains as the pale extract except with some crystal malt mixed in. Same idea for dark.

Since you can add the cystals, chocolates etc right to the pot and steep them, you don't "need" the dark malt. The benefits of adding those extras yourself is you know exactly how much you are putting in (vs a mystery can) and they give a little more of a "fresh" taste coming right from the grain.

Ahhh... I see. I understand the desire for control, and wanting to know exactly what is in your brew. I'm sure that helps a lot with repeatability also. I didn't realize that other extracts are pale extracts plus other stuff. Good to know. So, generally, do you use pale extracts in most of your brews?

Pakkasso said:

Ahhh... I see. I understand the desire for control, and wanting to know exactly what is in your brew. I'm sure that helps a lot with repeatability also. I didn't realize that other extracts are pale extracts plus other stuff. Good to know. So, generally, do you use pale extracts in most of your brews?

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Yes, I use pale for all my extract brews, then add color and flavor with crystal malt, roasted barley, chocolate malt, etc... Like the other posters mentioned, it gives you more control.

Now, if you want to make a super simple SMaSH type porter or stout with dark extract and hops, then that is all-good. Pour in your extract, add hops, and let it go! Just be aware that you have no idea what the percentage of chocolate malt vs crystal 120 (or any other specialty grain, for that matter) is made into the dark malt extract. I just prefer the control and repeatabilty of pale extract and real steeping grains.

Hello,

I am a relatively new brewer, started in February 2012. But I've managed to crank through 12 batches with the first 9 being extract and last three being AG. I believe in Ray Daniels' book Designing Great Beers he mentions that award winning extract home brewers typically had no less than 40% of the Gravity Points coming from Grain (I really don't remember the percent but it was a significant portion) and using as light of DME or LME as you can get gives you better control over quality.

While I don't recommend trying to get 40% of your gravity points from grain if you are not familiar with mashing techniques, I would recommend from my beginner brewing knowledge and experience to use pilsner/light DME. For my typical extract batch I would use about 4-6lbs Light DME and 1.5 - 2 lbs of steeping grains. They will get the job done when it comes to adding color and flavor to your beer and you will thank yourself for using fresh grain to get there. Plus its a much cheaper way to get some extra gravity into your wort than using extract.

This information is a gem of a take away for me because I can use it in all of my brewing. I appreciate your responses. This is my third batch and my first stab at designing my own recipe. I want to move in the direction of designing my own beers, and I think that the control that you are talking about is an important factor in that. Also, I had some equations that I found to calculate points of gravity for grains and extract, but a general guideline of 4-6lbs light DME and 1.5 - 2 lbs of grains seems much easier than the calcs I was working with. Thank you again! If anyone has anything else about oats, I'm still looking for some advice on that.

Hello, This is some wonderful information about the malt extract that I haven't run across till now, I do have some question's for the experienced people that have replied about using light instead of dark malt extract and it being unknown as to whats in it, and Im just asking.

Lets say you purchase 6Lbs of briess dry dark malt extract and you use that in a batch, then a month or 2 later you order another 6Lbs of briess dry dark malt extract and brew the same recipe as before, wouldn't it be just as consistent as if you used 6Lbs briess light dry malt extract on 2 separate batches ? I only use briess because they are one of the big guys and Im guessing that they have some of the best quality control in the manufacturing of DME.

I would also like to know what the difference would be, (taste, aroma, bitterness, stronger, roast-ier,), if you brew the same exact recipe, one using 6lbs dry dark malt extract, and one using 6lbs dry light malt extract ?

Will a beer brewed with Light malt extract finnish quicker than one brewed with dark malt extract ? because of the extra flavors/ingredients in the dark ?

I get the better able to control the taste thing, using the light, that makes complete sense to me.

Im always excited to learn more, teach me!

Cheers