Chai Stout

[Sedge]

Wholy Cloves Batman.


....that is a lot of cloves. Definitely update this thread with how it comes out.

 

[TacoNation]

I was really interested in this recipe so on Christmas day I brewed my take on it. I'd already purchased the Mr. Beer "Holiday Party Ale No. 1" recipe and used the can of West Coast Pale Ale (first mod, no longer a stout) that came with it. I used all of the spices mentioned here, just cut the amounts in half, and followed the boiling directions. Something not noted here but with so little water I suggest replenishing some of the water about halfway through the boil. The only other change was I used the 1 cup of honey and booster from the original Mr. Beer recipe instructions.

I gave this batch a full 3 weeks to ferment and bottled on January 16th. It tastes just like Chai tea, it's really something. The color is beautiful, too. I know it's supposed to be a stout but I hopeful the taste holds through conditioning. Anywho, thought I'd contribute my version on this recipe.

 

[brewt00l]

I'm lazy and just steeped several bags of chai tea after flameout, during my chill process in a big chai spiced winter amber ale. I kept bittering addition on the low end, counting on some possible astringency from the tea but it seems to have worked out just fine. It's been conditioning for a while and I've been sampling it along the way...nice mellow chai flavor that works very well with the overall flavor profile I was looking for.

 

[rexbanner]

Strong is a major-league brewer... I'd go with that one, thanks.

Here's an update:

While I think that original recipe might be fine if you have the right ingredients, I think your mileage may vary because of the multitude of spices and how complex the flavor is. I have the suspicion that some spices I bought were either low quality or stale, and that's why I didn't get the full flavor of them.

But here's the most important part. DO NOT BOIL YOUR SPICES. Mosher's recipe says to steep, and there's a reason for this. When I made my spice tea the second time, I boiled the cinnamon. It added an astringency which tasted so bad it ruined the entire batch. It didn't taste bad by itself, but when mixed with the stout, it produced a gut-wrenching flavor.

That's just my experience. If the original recipe worked fine for you, then terrific. I'm trying this recipe again, and I'll be using tazo concentrate instead because I really don't feel like messing around with all this.

 

[philrose]

But here's the most important part. DO NOT BOIL YOUR SPICES. Mosher's recipe says to steep, and there's a reason for this.

Totally Agree. Chai Spices take more finesse than other "traditional" beer spices. If you've had luck adding your coriander to the bk in the past on wits don't assume you will on this beer.

 

[JByer323]

N00b Alert:

If I want to try Brian Rezac's recipe, can I steep the Crystal, Munich, Carapils, chocolate, and roasted barley?

Specialty grains in a muslim back, right? No partial mash needed?

Sorry, this is probably going to be my first foray into non-kit beers, and I'm still new enough that I sometimes need some recipe translations.

 

[Apollo]

Are you using actual Chai tea bags or the powdered mixture that makes more of a chai latte, or something else? There's many versions of chai.

 

[philrose]

theres a spice blend in strong's recipe, I used a loose chai mixture from the local spice market

 

[GillandCo]

Anyone try this with a chai Syrup? Like the crap they use at starbucks? And if so how many ounces per 5 gallons? 1-2 maybe...Thanks

Im planning on using a chai blend in my vanilla porter recipe...Maybe throw some cinnamon in there as well.

 

[fastricky]

I like this idea... cool illustration too.

http://lucylou.livejournal.com/575537.html

 

[bwomp313]

N00b Alert:

If I want to try Brian Rezac's recipe, can I steep the Crystal, Munich, Carapils, chocolate, and roasted barley?
.

the munich definitely needs mashing as it is a base grain

 

[Boy]

There are a few excellent chai's that come in a concentrate form where you mix them 1:1 with milk and steam. I'm thinking it would be good to do a stout or porter with coffee and chai in the secondary. If you went this route instead of trying to make your own on the stove what would be the best way to add it.

From what I know you can add cold press coffee to the secondary with no issues, but what about the cold chai? Even a guess at this would be much appreciated.

 

[Boy]

Bump.

Current plan is to pick up some Pipeline Porter and keep adding chai until the ratio seems proper. Plan on just adding Chai concentrate to the secondary along with 16 oz cold press coffee for 5 gallons.

 

[KozHops]

Bumping this one up.

Anyone have any luck with the concentrate or is the herbal way the best way to go? Looking for the right ratio to use and was thinking about a sweet or milk stout as the base.

 

[Boy]

Transferring mine to secondary on Friday and adding the coffee and chai. It occurs to me that the last of the yeast might do a little work on the concentrate but I think it will be somewhat negligible. The other thing I came up with tonight is what people are really referring to when they say cold press. Are most adding the entire cold press which is similar to extract? Or are most making 16 oz of cold press coffee by adding the cold press to water?

 

[matts]

Thinking of brewing Rezac's recipe but adding the steeped tea to secondary (or at kegging) so no spice aromas or flavors bubble out the airlock, kind of like what some people do when making coffee beers. I could still use some black tea via this method and get a little caffeine kick as well. I brew homemade chai and really blast the flavors, especially the ginger. I even add cayenne pepper to my chai to boost the spiciness.

 

[jester065]

When you say Naturally carbonate, bottle condition how much sugar and water did you use? Did you do secondary too? I put it in primary today. Thanks for your help.

 

[dbennett78]

Was thinking of making a chai milk stout as my next beer. I have the following spices: cinnamon stick, nutmeg, clove, all spice, ginger and vanilla beans. Anyone have a ratio to add and how to add it?

 

[dbennett78]

Anyone that has made this and has any tasting notes/suggestions?