Christmas beer questions

[Hayden512]

Hey everyone.

So for Christmas this year I wanna flare up my tried and true stout recipe. The base stout recipe for a 5G batch is as follows

12 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 73.8 %
1 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 2 6.2 %
14.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 3 5.4 %
12.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 4 4.6 %
6.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 5 2.3 %
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 6 1.5 %
1.00 oz Nugget [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 7 38.5 IBUs
1.00 oz Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min
1.0 pkg Nottingham (Danstar #-) [23.66 ml]

What I want to do with it is add lactose, cherry juice, and vanilla beans. Now I just want to get some input on how to go about this. First off with the lactose I was thinking about adding a pound with 10 minutes left in the boil and with the cherry juice I was thinking 32oz after primary fermentation. I'm set with the vanilla as I've used 2 vanilla beans in a tincture of vodka with success.

My biggest questions are with the cherry juice. First off I normally mash in at 156 (I like heavier stouts). Since the cherry juice will dry this out I was thinking about mashing at a even higher temp of 158. Secondly I HATE moving to secondary. With all my dry hops and vanilla additions I usually just pitch straight into the primary after fermentation has ended. Could I do this with the cherry juice or will it not mix in enough opposed to racking into a secondary on top of the cherry juice. Finally I want a pretty pronounced cherry flavor but not enough to completely dominate over the vanilla. Do you feel that 32 oz is the ideal amount for this.

I am planning on doing a 2.5G batch prior to doing the 5G for Christmas presents. Any feedback on all of this would be awesome! I know it's a ton of questions.

 

[DocScott]

I would definitely not go higher for the mash temp. The lactose is not fermentable which will leave you with a higher FG and more residual sweetness. Mashing higher puts you at risk for even more dextrins and less fermentable beer - potentially leaving you with a super sweet stout. Adding 1lb with 10min in the boil is reasonable in a 5 gallon batch. I'd even consider dropping the mash to 154 with the addition of the lactose.

I don't have any experience with cherry juice, but I have plenty of using fruit additions. This is the only time I use a secondary, but its because I like to reuse my yeast - you can just add it to the primary, especially if only using juice. Remember it will create a secondary fermentation so just make sure you have enough head space/blow off prior to adding. Amount-wise, i'm not sure. I typically use about 4lbs of cherries to get a noticeable cherry flavor. I don't know how this translates into straight juice. Also be careful of preservatives in your cherry juice - these could stall your yeast and prevent the secondary fermentation.

Good idea with the smaller batch first - that should help you judge if your proportion of cherry is right.

 

[meridianomrebel]

I agree that 32oz of the cherry juice concentrate should be good for 5 gallons - that'll help make it stand out, and I think just a 16oz bottle wouldn't be enough. Honestly, I would pour the cherry juice into your secondary fermenter and then rack your wort on top of that to make sure it mixes up. It'll kick your fermentation back up again when you do that, so be prepared.

For the vanilla beans, I've always just sliced them open length wise and tossed them in. Unless there was a bad issue with packaging, vanilla beans will 99.9% of the time not have any little "bugs" on them, so I just take them right out of the jar, slice them with a sterile knife, and toss them right on in. I've never had an issue doing that.

 

[Hayden512]

The only reason I'm thinking about raising the mash temp is because I'm unsure how much the cherry juice will dry it out. But then again with the addition of the lactose plus the cherry juice maybe theyll counteract eachtother and meet where I usually end up for fg with the 156 mash temp

 

[EarthwormJim]

I brew this recipe for a holiday ale. It has you soak dried cherries in a couple quarts of the first runnings then strain and add the liquid to the boil at the end.

It is a strong Scotch ale base and I usually use about two pounds of the cherries. It gives a nice flavor and color, that recipe isn't very dark. You can taste the cherry but it isn't overpowering. I don't know if the extra sweetness from the higher fg of a stout would bring out the flavor more or if the roasted malts would hide it, so I couldn't suggest using more or less fruit.

It is a nice method because it works and you don't have to mess with a seconday ferment. I also freeze the cherries (the ones I don't eat on brew day) and use them for baking, so no waste. The wort adds a little flavor to them too.