Winter Seasonal Beer Reindeer Fuel Stout.

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

BigKahuna

Senior Member
HBT Supporter
Joined
Feb 3, 2008
Messages
5,902
Reaction score
64
Location
Eastern Colorado
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
US-05 Cake
Yeast Starter
No
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter
no
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
1.071
Final Gravity
1.023
Boiling Time (Minutes)
90
IBU
29.9
Color
34.84
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
14
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
90
Tasting Notes
Spicy Christmas Brew, I'm hoping for the best, and will post Pictures.
Grain Bill
10 lbs. American 2-row
.5 lbs. English Chocolate Malt
1.5 lbs. CaraMunich III®
1 lbs. Carafa III®
1 lbs. Lactose
1 oz. Saaz (Pellets, 4.5 %AA) boiled 60 min.
1 oz. Saaz (Pellets, 4.5 %AA) boiled 30 min.
Yeast : US-05 Cake

(Grain Bill Adapted from Z987K's Chololate Coffee Stout)

Mash
Single Infusion mash with 3.5 gallons of water for 50 minutes at 155 degrees.
Batch sparge with 3.5 gallons, top to 6 gallons for boil.

90 minute Boil, add Hops and begin hop schedule after 30 minutes of good boil, add Lactose during last 10 minutes of boil.

After initial 14 days, rack onto 1/2 gallon of Cold Brewed Coffee. This MUST be a holiday Spice blended coffee such as Gevalia Christmas Spice.

Brew on the Second Weekend of August, 14 days in Primary, Rack with Coffee and Keg / Bottle on Thanksgiving Weekend. This will be ready by Christmas.
 
Looks tastey, I'm going to keep an eye on this thread and see how it goes.

If it turns out like it looks I may be doing this one in the near future.
 
I brewed this today. Looks a lot like USED MOTOR OIL, and smells heavenly. The Yeast cake took off as expected, and is bubbling steady, 5 hours after pouring it on the cake.

I also made a Braggot with 3 additional gallons of sparge water.
 
I used 1# of coffee in a growler filled with water over night in the fridge.
I think I might have over done the coffee, but that is kinda what I was shooting for to begin with, so I'm very happy so far. The stout (before Coffee) may be as good of a stout as I've ever tasted. I will be reporting back, and I WILL do this as a stand alone stout. I should have split the batch!
 
it's still in the secondary. I planned on waiting till November to bottle, but SWMBO is going to be gone for some days at the end of this month...that'll be the prime oppertunity to bottle this one.
 
Pulled my first sample last night. I filled a champaign flute with beer!:rockin:
I can not explain how good this is, so I won't even try. I will say that the coffee is prominent, but not over powering. You'll never have a hard time identifying this as a sweet stout, but you'll never miss the coffee either. The spice of the coffee is not nearly what I had expected, but it's great none the less.
I will be bottling this at the end of September instead of November, just because that is when it's looking like I'll have time.
 
Would you recommend trying this as a partial mash? I want to make this but i am not sure if i wanted to try because it would be my first ag. It looks amazing though:rockin:
 
Would you recommend trying this as a partial mash? I want to make this but i am not sure if i wanted to try because it would be my first ag. It looks amazing though:rockin:

Sure. you could PM this very easily...and with great results.

Amount Item Type % or IBU
4.75 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract
2 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain
1.5 lb Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain
1.0 lb Carafa III (525.0 SRM) Grain
0.5 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain
3.90 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (60 min) Hops 14.8 IBU
3.90 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (30 min) Hops 11.4 IBU
1.0 lb Milk Sugar (Lactose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 8.31 %


Let me check this over before you go and buy ingredients...
 
Thanks So Much but why so much hops the original recipe says

1 oz. Saaz (Pellets, 4.5 %AA) boiled 60 min.
1 oz. Saaz (Pellets, 4.5 %AA) boiled 30 min

Sure. you could PM this very easily...and with great results.

Amount Item Type % or IBU
4.75 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract
2 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain
1.5 lb Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain
1.0 lb Carafa III (525.0 SRM) Grain
0.5 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain
3.90 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (60 min) Hops 14.8 IBU
3.90 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (30 min) Hops 11.4 IBU
1.0 lb Milk Sugar (Lactose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 8.31 %


Let me check this over before you go and buy ingredients...>I've had a few.
 
Thanks So Much but why so much hops the original recipe says

1 oz. Saaz (Pellets, 4.5 %AA) boiled 60 min.
1 oz. Saaz (Pellets, 4.5 %AA) boiled 30 min

Prolly cause I was Drunk when I converted it?:drunk:

That is where Beersmith puts it for proper bitterness. I would think you're better off (and More Cost effective) to use a higher AA hop, and maybe a bigger boil to get better useage of the hop. That was converted for a 2 gallon boil.
 
10:20pm, and I decide to bottle ;(
I ended up with 45 bottles of the best stout I've ever made. The room temp sample tastes like I over did the coffee (Even though that was the intent) Once in the freezer for 20 minutes, the coffee is a bit less overpowering, and more of what I was aiming for. Also, this beer is really intended to sit for another 3 months or 15 months (If I can keep out) so the fact that it's even good is a sure sign of great things to come. I wish I could give each of you one.
 
yeah congrats on the beer i have mine in the primary right now hopefully it comes out as good as yours. I also made this my first AG and i surprisingly hit the SG right on.

How long to you recommend for secondary if i want to be drinking this around Christmas time. This weekend will be one week in the primary i was planning on leaving it for one more the racking onto coffee. Do you think 3 weeks for the secondary is too short. Because 3 weeks would give me 3-4 weeks of bottle conditioning
 
Mine was in Primary for 7 days, and secondary for 40 days. HOWEVER, I don't think the secondary is such a big deal. This beer is so well mannered, I think you could go 2 weeks primary, add coffee at bottling and be drinking a 60% or 70% beer in about 2 months. The extra month is just going to be better, and I'm trying to stash some for NEXT Christmas!
 
Mine was in Primary for 7 days, and secondary for 40 days. HOWEVER, I don't think the secondary is such a big deal. This beer is so well mannered, I think you could go 2 weeks primary, add coffee at bottling and be drinking a 60% or 70% beer in about 2 months. The extra month is just going to be better, and I'm trying to stash some for NEXT Christmas!

I added some in one of my secondarys almost like dry hopping and let me tell you what if you want more coffee give it a try. This stuff is like jet fuel. After about 1 month it finally toned down a little.
 
i think i am going to add it to the secondary do you think i should use less than half a gallon then?

also the guy at the lhbs told me to add half a pound of roasted barley to this, i did add some but only like 1/4 pound do you think this will greatly affect the recipe i am not sure why i listened to him?
 
i think i am going to add it to the secondary do you think i should use less than half a gallon then?

also the guy at the lhbs told me to add half a pound of roasted barley to this, i did add some but only like 1/4 pound do you think this will greatly affect the recipe i am not sure why i listened to him?
I didnt brew it, I just ground it, put it in a hop bag, and submerged. I used 6 tablespoons (after it was ground) If I was to do it again I would probably only use 4 tablespoons.
 
also the guy at the lhbs told me to add half a pound of roasted barley to this, i did add some but only like 1/4 pound do you think this will greatly affect the recipe i am not sure why i listened to him?

I think it will be good, most stout recipes include some roasted barley. It won't be just like mine...but it'll be good anyway.
 
Any suggestions on what coffee to use besides the Gevalia one. I am trying to find something locally because i want to rack onto the coffee soon. Hopefully mine will turn out good like yours
 
Not sure where you live, but if you want a great coffee within the U.S. try gimmecoffee and pick the deep disco blend. They are out of NY, and have some really great stuff if you want to order stuff for regular drinking as well.

I tried one after about 4 months and I would have to say stick with 6 not 4, it is less noticable now.
 
i ended up using a chocolate coffee i used 4 tablespoons but maybe i will add two more in another bag

I am actually in New york also i will keep that place in mind
 
Is this the Christmas beer I have two bottles of? If so, I'm really looking forward to it.
 
I finally cracked a bottle of this last night. I didn't take extensive tasting notes, so I'm posting from memory.

img00080-feed.jpg

I decanted into a wet pint glass. Appearance-wise, this beer is very very nice. Black as a yard up a reindeer's butt, with a creamy, tan, persistent head. I like to pour stouts chilled, then let them warm as I taste -- I like to see how the flavors open up. Sorry for the photo quality. The camera on my crackberry is crappy, and I didn't have my real camera handy.

The aroma is definitely stout, with all the roasty notes you'd expect. The coffee aroma is there, but not as sharp as I'd expect from a beer with this much coffee in it.

The first taste (chilled) is dominated by the coffee. On warming to cellar temperatures, the chocolate and malt sweetness arrive, in a good balance to the coffee bitterness. This stout walks the line between sweet stout and bitter stout very well. Hops flavor and aroma are appropriately subdued or absent. The flavor begins with the roast and coffee sharpness, which gives way to mild sweetness and chocolate. I wouldn't drink it with dinner, because of the powerful flavor, but it's one hell of a good dessert beer.

Overall, I'm really happy to have had a chance to drink this beer. It's definitely a sipping beer, and not one I'd want to have 4 or 5 of in an evening. I only wish I had another bottle of it to spare -- only one left, and I'll have to hide it from me if I want to save it for Christmas.

For those who have already brewed this, get ready for a treat. You see so many holiday beers that are (IMO) overly spiced and gimmicky. It's a real pleasure to have a holiday beer that speaks of snowy nights by the fireplace, without having to wade through a sea of allspice and cardamom. Thanks, BigKahuna.
 
mashed in today at 1020am
only change was using wlp 004 irish ale instead of us-05

edit:1062 into ferment 5.5g+ 72% eff...i'll add the lactose with the coffee
making brread with the spent grains now
dinner will be fresh bread, venison loin chops in mushroom gravy w/ mashed potatoes and asparugus
 
Here is my attempt at this stout...
DSC_0006-1.jpg


I used Greenwell's Chocolate Macadamia Nut Coffee from the Big Island (Been on the tour when I was there... GREAT COFFEE!!!!) for the 'fuel' part of it... I think I may have gone a little high on the coffee, but oh well.... Damned good as a sample at this point... Will let this bad boy age until the Fall / Winter...
 
I am a brand new brewer (first batch is still in primary) and am looking to make a Christmas beer. This one sounds great but I have no idea how to do this as an extract or partial.

Would someone be so kind to post a recipe for this as an extract or partial?

Thanks.
 
I'm thinking about making this for next christmas, but I can't find the coffee you're talking about, so I'll have to use regular coffee and add spices separately. Do you know what spices they use?
 
Hey there BigK... Just wanted to let you know, I took 2nd place in Peach State Brew Off with my previously listed version of this...

Thanks for sharing your recipe!!!

DJ
aka Duckfoot
:mug:
 
I know this is an old thread, but why such a long time in secondary (3 months?!)? Seems like an awful long time for that step.
 
Three months seems to be a good amount of aging time for hearty stouts. I brewed Yooper's Oatmeal Stout. She says it gets quite good at about three months, and she was right!
 
So when you say "rack onto 1/2 gallon cold brewed coffee" does that include the half gallon, or just the spent grounds? Some commenters have 'dry hopped' just the grounds with success, so I'm wondering if I should include the actual coffee, or just rack onto the 1 lb of spent grounds (I.e. no liquid coffee)?

Dry hop 6 oz, as some commenters, or rack onto a full pound of spent grounds?
 

Latest posts

Back
Top