Opinions/Suggestions on my American stout

So Last night I brewed my 3rd batch, it is an American stout. The smell was great, lots of coffee and chocolate. I have 2 questions:

Heres the hop schedule:

Cluster hops 1 oz- 60 min
fuggle hops 1 oz- 10 min
willamette hops 1 oz- 2 min

1. Is there anything I can do, sort of like dry hopping, that i can boost flavor or just any fun additions I can add post fermentation?

2. the abv is supposed to be 6% at the end, my hydrometer tube broke right before i took the OG, so I dont even know whaat it is. But i prefer a stout around 8-10%. I have an extra pack of yeast and pack of priming sugar, is there a ratio of yeast-priming sugar i can add to the carboy that will give me a boost in abv? Also is there any way i can get the abv now that i have missed the OG?

 

Id steer away from dry hopping a regular American stout. You want that chocolate/roasted character up front and not a bunch of hops IMO.

As far as upping the alcohol, I wouldnt. Sure you could take a bunch of corn sugar, dissolve it in boiling water then cool it and pitch it in, but all you are doing is diluting the flavors in the beer to reach a certain abv. All doing that will do is get you to a higher abv, and weaken all the wonderful stout like qualities.

Next time you brew it, just adjust the recipe to produce a higher OG to get the higher alcohol you want.


Just my .02

 

Thanks man! Appreciate it. I may have worded that weird. I was wondering if there was a sort of equivalent to dry hopping, maybe adding more coffee or choc flavor? i might just leave it be and see how it tastes though. def will not be dry hopping.

 

Cacao nibs are never a terrible idea. I think most people soak them in some vodka or similar for a week then bump them in after primary fermentation is done or secondary. I'm not going to speak on coffee as I havent ever done it myself as I get a ton of green pepper from most coffee beer.

 

I generally agree with dpatrick but a little hope aroma is OK in an american stout.

Post ferm additions with a stout... depending on what youre looking for you can add cocao nibs, oak, bourbon oak, vanilla, coffee beans or cold brewed coffee, cherries or lactose. Ive done all of the above with varying degrees of success in various stouts. It all depends on what you like. Im sure other have played with even more stuff than that.

 

If you are trying to up the abv I would NOT use corn sugar. THis is used in IPAs and Belgians usually to dry and thin out the body of the beer to make it more crisp. This is the exact opposite of your goal in a stout. I would use some LME or maltodextrin to boost it a bit if you really want to

cacao nibs, vanilla, and whole coffee beans are my go-to additions into the fermentor for stouts and porters. Really helps accentuate the roasted malt character

 

maltodextrin wont add alcohol, only body.

Regardless, I still wouldn't mess with it once its in the fermenter

 

How can I add these? As hops are naturally antimicrobial, is there a way to sanitize these additions? is that neccessary?

 

I add nibs and vanilla beans by chopping them and covering them in a bit of water. i boil this for like a min to santize and let it cool before adding. For coffee beans, I always use a fresh sealed package so I dont worry about sanitation. Havent had an issue yet. I usually do 4oz nibs, 2 vanilla beans, and 3-4oz whole beans coffee in the primary about a week before bottling

 

you're the man! helping me out a lot. I've taken your advice and haven't been let down. As far as quantity, will this overpower a 5 gal batch? i kinda want something that just enhances the existing flavor. those numbers seem good to me though. the abv will be around 6% if that matters at all for amount of additions.

 

I usually do those amount for 5gal batches and it works great. If I really want a ton of chocolate character I used some cocoa powder at flameout too. I do 4oz beans for stouts and porters but ive also tried scaling it back to 3oz for a blond coffee beer. But none of those should take over the whole beer