It's been forever since I last brewed a beer... way too long! I had a kit sitting around, so I decided to go ahead and brew it up. It's an extract/specialty grains kit for an Irish stout. But, I wanted to tweak it a bit to really make it interesting.
Kit ingredients:
As for adjustments:
I had some lactose sitting around, nearly 1lb, so I just added that in the last 15-20 minutes of the boil to give the beer some additional body and sweetness.
Since the kit sat around for a while, I tossed the original milled grains and got fresh grains. I still used the 8oz of roasted barley. But, I substituted Carafa III for the chocolate malt to keep the bitterness down.
Lastly, at the recommendation of the shop owner, I added 1lb of white wheat to add even more body and maltiness to the beer. And I'll be adding some cold-brewed coffee in secondary. Probably 16oz of cold-brew using 4oz of coarsely-ground coffee beans.
On a side note, the yeast had also expired, so I built it back up with a 2-step starter. It really needed it!
We'll see how this turns out. I'm not normally an extract brewer, but I'm excited to try it when it's ready!
Kit ingredients:
- 2 containers Briess dark malt extract (6.6lbs total)
- 8oz Chocolate Malt
- 8oz Roasted Barley
- 2oz East Kent Goldings hops
- White Labs WLP004 Irish Ale yeast
As for adjustments:
I had some lactose sitting around, nearly 1lb, so I just added that in the last 15-20 minutes of the boil to give the beer some additional body and sweetness.
Since the kit sat around for a while, I tossed the original milled grains and got fresh grains. I still used the 8oz of roasted barley. But, I substituted Carafa III for the chocolate malt to keep the bitterness down.
Lastly, at the recommendation of the shop owner, I added 1lb of white wheat to add even more body and maltiness to the beer. And I'll be adding some cold-brewed coffee in secondary. Probably 16oz of cold-brew using 4oz of coarsely-ground coffee beans.
On a side note, the yeast had also expired, so I built it back up with a 2-step starter. It really needed it!
We'll see how this turns out. I'm not normally an extract brewer, but I'm excited to try it when it's ready!