cheap easy stout recipe?

[Brew_4iT]

I've only brewed a couple times and like to keep it remotely simple, and cheap for this brew. I'm not too finicky about this beer, but would like it to have some character. Basically (Cheap>easy>good) for values with this beer.

How does this sound?

Total 5 gallons

Muntons premium irish stout can LME
1# black roasted Barley
0.5# Chocolate malt
0.5# DME
0.5# brown sugar

Yeast slurry, Wyeast stout, dark ale (forget specific yeast)

Mash schedule

Boil 2 gallons, remove from heat at 155 deg
Steep grains for 25 min
sparge 170 deg, bring up to 3 gallons total

Add muntons LME
control boil, add .5# DME, .5# of brown sugar
Rolling boil for 15 min
(add hops last 5 min? already prehopped but may want add more)

Should I boil it longer when the sugar is added? is 60 min necessary?

Any feedback welcome!

 

[JLem]

given you are starting with an Irish stout can of LME, I would think the roasted barley and chocolate malt would be overkill - I believe that Munton's kit is designed to already have the dark grains incorporated into the LME.

 

[edmanster]

given you are starting with an Irish stout can of LME, I would think the roasted barley and chocolate malt would be overkill - I believe that Munton's kit is designed to already have the dark grains incorporated into the LME.

+1... You might get away with just .25lbs of chocolate and roasted barely to complement the DME and brown sugar... I wouldn't do the last hop addition either... I would do a little bit more for bittering though.. What hops are you thinking? EKG is my favorite for stouts because of there low %AA..

 

[Brew_4iT]

would some other grains compliment it better? Or should I just omit the Muntons and do all grains with the DME?

Wasn't really sure about hops.... I'll try the EKG, and just add an oz. or half an oz.? with 15 min left to the boil or sooner?

 

[JLem]

would some other grains compliment it better? Or should I just omit the Muntons and do all grains with the DME?

Well, that really depends on what you want to do and what you are set up to do. If it were me, I'd eliminate the kit altogether and build the recipe myself using grains and some light DME. The more grain you can use the cheaper it is going to be, but perhaps the more complicated it gets too. Since you are interested in both cheap and easy, you'll have to decide which route you want to go.

 

[PT Ray]

I don't think the roast flavor in the canned kits are too intense but don't know that I would add an additional 1.5 lbs between the roasted and chocolate. I would play it safe and roll with just 1/2 lb of roasted barley. The DME and brown sugar looks fine. I wouldn't add any additional hops.

-Steep the roasted barley in a quart of water for 20 minutes.
-Sparge with enough water to bring the volume up to 2-3 quarts.
-Add heat and boil for 10-15 minutes.
-Kill heat, add DME and brown sugar. Bring back to a boil just for a minute.
-Pour in fermenter (no glass) with Munton's Stout kit.
-Thoroughly mix, then top off to 5 gallons cool water.

 

[FiddleTilDeath]

you could always add more hops! but that depends on if you want more hops in your stout. I know I do.

 

[Brew_4iT]

I don't think the roast flavor in the canned kits are too intense but don't know that I would add an additional 1.5 lbs between the roasted and chocolate. I would play it safe and roll with just 1/2 lb of roasted barley. The DME and brown sugar looks fine. I wouldn't add any additional hops.

-Steep the roasted barley in a quart of water for 20 minutes.
-Sparge with enough water to bring the volume up to 2-3 quarts.
-Add heat and boil for 10-15 minutes.
-Kill heat, add DME and brown sugar. Bring back to a boil just for a minute.
-Pour in fermenter (no glass) with Munton's Stout kit.
-Thoroughly mix, then top off to 5 gallons cool water.

That sounds like the very sort of recipe I was looking for, thanks! One thing, I thought I heard or read that it is actually better to boil the LME atleast for a little bit to release more flavor or something or other???

Well, that really depends on what you want to do and what you are set up to do. If it were me, I'd eliminate the kit altogether and build the recipe myself using grains and some light DME. The more grain you can use the cheaper it is going to be, but perhaps the more complicated it gets too. Since you are interested in both cheap and easy, you'll have to decide which route you want to go.

Oh ok, that puts it into better perspective... basically with brewing it is either; cheap complicated (more so) or easy more expensive, the general consensus?

 

[PT Ray]

I thought I heard or read that it is actually better to boil the LME atleast for a little bit to release more flavor or something or other???

Prehopped kits were specifically designed not to be boiled. Malt extract in general has already been boiled during the manufacturing process so there is no real benefit other than just long enough to sanitize. I don't worry about sanitizing canned extract since in theory canned product should be pasteurized during the packaging process.

 

[jsweet]

Oh ok, that puts it into better perspective... basically with brewing it is either; cheap complicated (more so) or easy more expensive, the general consensus?

Not really, not as a general rule, I wouldn't say... Look up the recipes people have attempted for DFH 120-minute clones for a counter-example -- absurdly expensive and absurdly complicated! And I've seen specialty all-grain recipes that call for a bazillion different ingredients and additives that just can't be cheap.

Even for simpler stuff, I think it is often cheaper to brew with a pre-hopped kit than extract + hops, for example. Not that the latter is particularly complicated or expensive, and I think it's totally worth it...

Where the simple vs. cheap tradeoff mostly comes in is extract vs. grains. As the other commenter said, the more grains you use, the cheaper it tends to be. All-grain brewing can be ridiculously cheap once you have the equipment, depending on the style and the process used. Extract tends to be more expensive, but it's simpler and less time-consuming.

I suppose another area where there is a tradeoff is yeast ranching. I've never done it -- I'm a total n00b so I always just buy new yeast for every batch. But you can save a bit of moolah by culturing your yeast from batch to batch and building a starter from that.

Not sure if I can think of anything else where there is a simple vs. cheap tradeoff in homebrewing.... The only other thing I guess would be that there are a lot of tools you can buy to make your life easier (wine thief, auto-siphon, bottling wand, wort chiller, etc.), but those are one-off expenses so it doesn't really count.

 

[jsweet]

Prehopped kits were specifically designed not to be boiled. Malt extract in general has already been boiled during the manufacturing process so there is no real benefit other than just long enough to sanitize. I don't worry about sanitizing canned extract since in theory canned product should be pasteurized during the packaging process.

There's also no harm in boiling either, so if you are worried for what ever reason, don't be.

I gotta say, I would never go with NO boil, just from a sanitation perspective. I don't care if in theory it is safe, if it's that easy to ensure my wort is free of bacteria, I'ma do it. But if I were doing a pre-hopped kit, I'd probably only boil for 10-15 minutes.

 

[Stoutman82]

I personally like the coopers dry Irish stout kit it's way easy

 

[PT Ray]

There's also no harm in boiling either....

You drop additional proteins needed for head formation and in the case of a concentrated boil you're proned to cause darkening of the extract. With a prehopped kit you drive off any late hop additions. If you're worried about the presence of microbes, bring the concentrated wort up to 180 degrees and hold for a couple minutes.