4th brew

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Grod1

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This is my 4th brew so i'm starting to get the swing of things but obviously I'm still new and have so much to learn.
this will be brewed in the morning any insight is great feel free to comment and leave some criticism or some encouragement.

Pecan Pie Stout
8 lb Maris Otter Pale 43.2%
3.5lb Liquid Malt Extract - Light 18.9%
3 lb Dry Malt Extract - Light 16.2%
1 lb Caramel / Crystal 120L 5.4%
0.5lb American - Chocolate 2.7%
0.5lb American - Roasted Barley2.7%
0.5lb Victory 2.7%
0.5lb CaraMunich 2.7%
0.5lb Honey Malt 2.7%
8 oz Molasses
2lb toasted pecans i chopped and wrapped up in paper towels to soak up as much oil as possible

This could give me up to 11.77 alc. i would/ can leave out either the dry or liquid malt extracts they are really just there for insurance just incase my efficiency isnt high enough. Would anyone leave anything out or add? the goal is pecan pie.
 
5 gallons?

Do you want that high alcohol? This is like a pecan brown ale? Or a porter?

I would use the grain and check the gravity when it's almost done boiling. If it's lie, add some extract.

Be sure to correct the hydro reading for the temperature. Google that if necessary.

I think you have a good recipe but you need to choose between the base grain and the extract.
 
yeah i want the alc about 10-12 i guess its an imperial stout?
i have fresh chinook and cascade growing so i will use them i havent figured out the quantities yet.
for yeast i will add what ever dry ale yeast my home brew shop recommends in liquid form with an additional packet of Safale S-04
 
yeah i want the alc about 10-12 i guess its an imperial stout?
i have fresh chinook and cascade growing so i will use them i havent figured out the quantities yet.
for yeast i will add what ever dry ale yeast my home brew shop recommends in liquid form with an additional packet of Safale S-04

I would use multiple packets if you're using dry yeast, or at least a big starter with liquid yeast.
 
OK, I get it now.

What's the purpose of using the recommended yeast AND adding S-04? You do want a lot of yeast, but I don't know why you would combine them.

And why LME and DME? Why not all DME?

I would double the roasted barley, so the roast isn't lost with all the caramel malts.

For an imperial stout like this, you do want a pretty thick mouthfeel and higher final gravity, so I think the C120 is good. It's a lot of caramel malts in there, but that might get you what you want.

One caution I have is that molasses doesn't taste like molasses after it ferments. It tastes metallic and very strong - no sweetness, and not really complex. It goes in pecan pie, of course, but I think the dark crystal should give you some of that flavor already.
 
The only reason i have both LME and DME there is because i had both left over and un opened so i figured just throw it in.
I guess i will leave the LME or only add 1 pound out but that will bring my abv less then 10.
i'll ask my buddy to pick up half a pound of roasted barley on the way over when hes getting the yeast.
Why mix the yeast? well i like the quality of the liquid white labs yeast my guy carries but i dont think its viable enough. The added pack of S-04 is for insurance.
I appreciate you taking the time to advise a noob like me.
its sounds like i should leave the molasses out but thats going to have to be something i learn threw trial and error. i wanna taste how much i don't taste it ya know?
thanks again
any input is welcome i'm brewing in less then 1 hour.
 
If you're using up leftovers and want a high alcohol brew, leave the LME in. That makes sense now.

If you have not done a starter for the liquid yeast, then I would use both the liquid and dry. What White Labs yeast are you using for this one?

I would be sure to use a blow off tube until the the fermentation settles down.

As for the molasses, give it a try or don't. The only way you'll know the difference is to do it both ways. And with all the other ingredients, the molasses might work in this one.

Of course, you have to update the thread after brewing!
 
I'm about to knock it up now, i have wyeast irish ale 1084 and the S-04
I ended up getting another half lb roasted barley to bring that up to a pound and i added a pound torrified wheat because i was worried about head retention with the oils from the pecans.
My gravity was only 1.084 so my efficiency must have been super low. I'm not sure what i did wrong that time.I did mash super low by accident it was only about 148F but i had to the perfect amount of liquid and didnt want to add more hot water.So thats kind of upsetting but if it taste good ill be happy.I used 1 oz of Willamette at 60 mins and 1 0z chinook at 30 mins .
Thank you so much for the help i will update as i progress.

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i just made a one gallon parti-gyle i mashed for 2 hours started at 170 and it made it down to 140 the gravity is 1.044

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so i switched from an airlock to a blow off tube before i went to bed.It did't matter, when i woke up all the pecans were everywhere 10 feet away from the fermenter and the stopper was on the floor in a puddle of about half a gallon...
 
it took a good half hour just to whipe everything down i still need to really clean to get the sugar off the floor. Its funny my first brew did the same thing, so the two brews after that i put the carboy in a tote and nothing happened.
This time i put the airlock on early and i didnt think i needed to put the airlock in a tote. sadly i was mistaken.It looked so nice last night not so much today...

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Perfect time to start saving that yeast from the blow off! If the bottle is clean to start with, you have a bunch of very active yeast that you can save in sterlized jars with distilled water.
 
Good to know thanks for the tip. There is a good chance this beer is still fine right?I am kinda worried because i have some sours and salsa fermenting a couple feet by...
 
Your beer is probably fine. Just be sure to be sanitary and then seal it up.

Sours and salsa would be bad to mix. I do kraut and booch nearby.
 
so somehow i ended up brewing what seems to be a spot on old ale.Next time if this taste good ill mash higher and boil longer and see if i get what i was after cause i was aiming for a stout and this looks like butterscotch.
smells Malty-sweet with fruity esters, caramelly, molasses, nutty, toffee, specialty malt aromas.
i have beers right next to this that are at 68F but this one is generating some heat.

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So fermentation seemed to stop yesterday and today is day 7 so i gave her a try.**** .It taste like alcohol thats it no other flavor, diluted caramel-color corn alcohol. Not my style of drink.My wine thief isnt big enough take take a hydrometer sample so i dun know abv atm but it taste terrible.
i dont think back sweetening is going to do much.Should i go the artificial flavor rout?More toasted pecan in secondary?
meh
 
is that your way of saying give it time?Cause at this moment this beer can have all the time in the word. I'm contemplating just giving it to a friend with a still.
 
is that your way of saying give it time?Cause at this moment this beer can have all the time in the word. I'm contemplating just giving it to a friend with a still.


Yes. A beer that big might look done in 7 days but it needs longer. Other flavors will develop.

What were you expecting it to be? I think you could do a lower alcohol brown ale with the pecans where the nut flavor would come through better.
 
Gotta give you points for trying, but a 10% beer for brew #4 is kinda optimistic. My personal experience is that big beers just work out much harder than small ones, and take longer before they taste good. Except for IPAs, for some reason those taste great, have lots of alcohol, and don't require any ageing. I'm finding the magic happens in the 5-6% range, where they taste great, don't take too long before they are drinkable, still have enough ABV and flavour.

I'm sitting on a disgusting boozy-flavoured RIS at the moment, in the hopes that 6-12 months will mellow the harsh alcohol to a point where it's drinkable. But if I had a mate with a still I would be seriously condsidering that option.
 
Here's a secret: an RIS might never taste good. Few of them do.

4-6% is good.
 
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