Planning to brew a stout, using this recipe

[thomrenault]

Hey everyone,

I'm planning to brew a stout using this recipe. I'm wondering if there are any additions which people would recommend to this potential brew. I am considering potential hop additions, or substituting the included generic "cooper's ale yeast" with a liquid yeast as well as an addition of specialty grains. I'm also planning to omit the recomended 6 cups of corn sugar. If anyone has made a similar brew (i.e. extract stout, and has any recommendations for additions that worked for them, feel free to let me know. I'd like to modify the recipe to make it more similar to Murphy's Irish stout, as opposed to Guinness. Thanks for the help, and cheers

 

[Captain Damage]

Could yo post the recipe you intend to use as a recipe, rather than a link to an extended discussion, please?

 

[thomrenault]

Right now, I have 3# prehopped 'stout' extract, and 3 # Dark liquid malt extract. I also have 1# of Chocolate malt. I was planning on steeping the Chocolate Malt for 30 minutes, and then adding the extract and boiling. I want to know what kind of yeast I should use (currently I have the basic 'coopers' dry yeast), and whether I should add hops or other steeping grains.

 

[Captain Damage]

I've been liking Wyeast 1335, "British Ale II," for my English style beers lately (nut browns, porters, stouts), or you can use the "Irish" strains from Wyeast or white labs. Good call on forgoing the added sugar! Steep 1/2 lb of that chocolate malt. If you want to add some other steeping grain, maybe 1/2lb of some medium crystal/caramel malt (L40-L60), but to be blunt I don't know what those dark extracts are made from and adding a lot of stuff might just make a big confusing mystery brew - or it could make the best beer you've ever had.

Since only one can of your extract is hopped, do it as if you're hopping half a batch. Maybe 3/4 oz of Fuggle or East Kent Golding for 60 minutes and 1/4 oz for 10 minutes.

 

[Bigjuicy]

If you boil a prehopped extract you will lose any hop aroma/flavor that comes with it

 

[Captain Damage]

Add the can of hopped extract "late," i.e., in the last 10 minutes of the boil. Late addition helps avoid over-caramelizing the extract and helps you get a little more out of your hops in the boil - and as Bigjuicy said, it'll help reserve any hop aroma in there (though TBH I'm not sure if there is any in there. The pre-hopped extracts I've tasted were all about the bittering.)

 

[ongreystreet]

If you are using a Hopped Stout Extract Kit, then you don't steeping grains or additional hops.

You need to decide what kind of brew kit you want, a hopped extract kit, or a regular extract kit with steeping grains and hops. I would do one or the other, not both at the same time.

 

[Captain Damage]

If you'd read his post you would have seen that he's got one can of hopped "stout" extract and one can of unhopped extract, not a full kit of any type. Hence his questions- and our suggestions regarding an improvisational approach, a sort of hybrid.

 

[ongreystreet]

If you'd read his post you would have seen that he's got one can of hopped "stout" extract and one can of unhopped extract, not a full kit of any type. Hence his questions- and our suggestions regarding an improvisational approach, a sort of hybrid.

I did read the original post. The OP posted a recipe, which was really a link to something that was not a recipe.

Then The OP listed a bunch of ingredients(not a recipe), with no times of additions, at which point you suggested a bunch of yeasts, grains, and hops and then you said:

"adding a lot of stuff might just make a big confusing mystery brew"

The OP wants some advice, my advice is to makes things simple, your advice is to make things "confusing".

You wanna make things simple, do one of two things;

1) Buy an all hopped stout extract kit, and brew it according to the recipe/instructions.

2) Buy unhopped malt extract and brew it according to style guidelines, some sort of reputable reference, and check it with a brew calculator and if you can, check it with someone.

A good reference would be the Joy of Homebrewing, for Dry Stouts(such as Murphys) it recommends:

6 to 6.5 pounds of dark malt extract

3/4 pound of crystal malt (I am assuming that 40L is considered typical here)

1/3 pound of black roasted malt (black patent)

1/3 roasted barley

Boiling Hops: 2 ounces (Goldings, Fuggles, Willamette, Cascade, or 1 ounce Northern Brewer, Perle.

Finishing Hops: 1/2 ounce optional for American style Stout

Yeast type: Irish Ale

Papazian says you can add a pound here or there to grains/malts/etc, but it this case I wouldn't do much more then double any of the grains, especially the black patent.

The yeast is pretty straight forward, use a British ale yeast to make a stout, as far as liquid yeasts, check with the manufacturer descriptions.


Check out brewcalculas or tastybrew recipe calculators online, or better yet try out beersmith, it's pretty easy to use, will come with some Stout recipes included, and is free to try for 21 days. It will also print out a pretty easy to use brew day schedule. All of these calculators will help determine bitterness, color, abv, and starting and final gravities. You can use it to schedule your hop additions, and any changes you might make to steeping grains or malt.