Fig Stout ... thoughts as to the fig addition .

[bellhp]

I saw a post on "what are you drinking now'' months ago and a fella was drinking a homebrewed "Fig Stout" I have been thinking about it for a bit and it just sounds right . So I'm gonna make some . I have the stout recipe and the figs , I am looking for input on use of the figs .
I have searched and most of the posts are just about seeds giving problems in kegs . I will bottle condition but would like to avoid any more junk in the fermenter than necessary ,wild yeasts, etc. Should I make a puree/reduction/extract ... boil / primary / secondary?
If you were making this or have made one let me hear your thoughts on fig addition . Thanks

 

[mac_1103]

I'm getting ready to brew a "figgy puding" Christmas stout. I've never tried this before, but I have a small grove of highly productive fig trees in my front yard and when they come in all at once in late August, I can't give them away or make fig jam fast enough.

My plan is to make a puree and pasteurize it before adding it few days in, but I have no idea how this will work. I do think this is one situation where a secondary vessel is warranted to get the beer off of all the solids that are going to be in the primary FV.

I did find one recipe that used dried figs - chopped finely and heated with water and sugar to make a slurry.

 

[DuncB]

Freeze them, thaw them, blend them, boil them or raise to above 80C for about 20 minutes and then put into a hop bag, lob in the fermenter.

 

[bellhp]

Thanks guys , hop bag sounds ridiculously obvious now that you mention it

 

[day_trippr]

I don't think there's a need to bag pulverized figs, I would expect it to coat and stick inside the bag. Just dump the goo in the fermentor with a few gravity points remaining. It'll all end up on the bottom and you can rack above it. Same thing I do with my chocolate stout with dark-rum-marinated cocoa nibs and mashed up vanilla beans...

Cheers!

 

[DuncB]

Point taken will go freestyle with my additions.

 

[suzeQ]

This applies to winemaking YMMV but you had me at "figs". If you add fruit to primary it becomes part of the overall/partner flavor. If added to secondary it becomes more of a background flavor. This is according to joeswine.

LET SAY I WAS GOING TO MAKE A BLACKBERRY PINO NIOR,THE FIRST QUESTION I ASK IS WHATS THE PRIMARY FLAVOR AND WHATS THE SECONDARY.DEPENDING ON WHAT PROFILE I WANT THE WINE TO HAVE (TASTE) WILL LET ME KNOW WHO IS THE LEADER IN THIS DANCE, THE PINO OR THE BLACKBERRY,IF I USE THE PINO AS THE BASE AND THE BLACKBERRY FPAC IN THE PRIMARY THEN THE BLEND SHOULD BE A PARTENERSHIP OF FLAVORS,IF I USE THE PINO AS MY BASE AND THE BERRIES IN THE SECONDARY THEN THE BERRIES BECOME THE BACKGROUND.

 

[mac_1103]

We beer makers don't usually do true secondary fermentations even when we rack our brews to secondary vessels, since it's generally done long before the primary fermentation is complete. Still, you make a good point and I would imagine that my recipe would turn out very differently if the figs were added to the boil vs to the primary fermenter at the start vs to the primary after several days. But I don't think I'm really up for doing a three-way split batch this time around. I'll just see what I get and work on refining it next year if it seems like it has potential.

 

[bellhp]

Thanks , SuzeQ . I have never drank a fig stout ... it just sounded good ( I like fig and I like stout)... I don't want it to get lost in the beer as Fig is a subtle flavor but I don't want in your face fruit either .
I will brew a 6 gallon batch to allow for loss while racking but I will have to make an educated guesstimate on how much and when to add , and that is why I appreciate the input so far.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

Thanks , SuzeQ . I have never drank a fig stout ... it just sounded good ( I like fig and I like stout)... I don't want it to get lost in the beer as Fig is a subtle flavor but I don't want in your face fruit either .
I will brew a 6 gallon batch to allow for loss while racking but I will have to make an educated guesstimate on how much and when to add , and that is why I appreciate the input so far.

Keep us posted; I also like stout and figs, but never thought about combining the two.
Please, let us know what you do and how it turns out.

 

[mac_1103]

It sure would be nice if @Chris Cardona, who posted about his fig stout in the "what are you drinking now" thread a couple of times, would share his recipe and techniques.

 

[bellhp]

Keep us posted; I also like stout and figs, but never thought about combining the two.
Please, let us know what you do and how it turns out.

Will do ... I'm ordering the grain now ... going to hop it with HBC472 .

It sure would be nice if @Chris Cardona, who posted about his fig stout in the "what are you drinking now" thread a couple of times, would share his recipe and techniques.

That's the guy ... I asked him to post up the recipe but got **crickets**

 

[day_trippr]

He was last here July 26. Maybe he's on vaca with crap internet service

Cheers!

 

[Kevin]

As a guy with too many figs (only have 3 trees) I am very curious to hear how this works out. I personally don't enjoy stouts but the wife loves them. Could be a good gift project.

 

[bellhp]

Just received all of my ingredients ... I've got a lot of distractions/ honeydoos at the moment ... but hope to brew this one this week.

 

[bellhp]

Well this is the plan

HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Fig Stout
Author: BellHP

Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: Oatmeal Stout
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5 gallons (fermentor volume)
STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.049
Final Gravity: 1.010
ABV (standard): 5.17%
IBU (tinseth): 28.34
SRM (morey): 33.22


FERMENTABLES:
6 lb - Finest Pale Ale Maris Otter (41%)
2 lb - Pale Wheat (13.7%)
1 lb - Caramel Malt - 40L (6.8%)
10 oz - Flaked Oats (4.3%)
8 oz - Black Barley Malt (3.4%)
8 oz - Roasted Barley (3.4%)
5 lb - Fig - (late fermenter addition) (27.4%)

HOPS:
1 oz - East Kent Goldings, Type: Pellet, AA: 5, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 20.62
1 oz - hbc472, Type: Pellet, AA: 10.3, Use: Whirlpool for 0 min at °F, IBU: 7.71

YEAST:
Lallemand - LALBREW® NOTTINGHAM HIGH PERFORMANCE ALE YEAST
Starter: No
Form: Dry
Attenuation (avg): 80%
Flocculation: High
Optimum Temp: 50 - 72 F
Pitch Rate: 0.35 (M cells / ml / deg P)

Edit ... used 5 # figs @ 5 days in primary

 

[suzeQ]

As a guy with too many figs (only have 3 trees) I am very curious to hear how this works out. I personally don't enjoy stouts but the wife loves them. Could be a good gift project.

I'm envious. You've got the equipment. Make some wine.

 

[uweschmitt]

Well this is the plan

Pay attention to the mash pH in case you adjust your water. I recently learned/discovered that a mash pH in the range 5.5-5.6 gives a smoother stout with more body from the oats. Tried it once and it made a noticeable difference. But I had to adjust boil pH later.

Fingers crossed that this turns out as delicious as it sounds.

 

[mac_1103]

Figs are starting to ripen. Will probably brew next week.

 

[bellhp]

Thanks Uweschmitt, don't usually fuss much over the PH ( or much of anything) I'm kind of a Jedi style brewer ... I do appreciate the tip though. I would have brewed this by now but my mother passed away Tuesday and since I've done more drinking than brewing . Maybe Sunday.
Looking good Mac , I've got 4 pounds frozen so far for this recipe ... may be 5 by the time I brew it .

 

[mac_1103]

I still haven't decided exactly when to add my figs. You?

Sorry to hear about your mom.

 

[bellhp]

Figured I'd add them on the second week of fermentation , still may pasteurize them though .
... and thanks for the condolences .

 

[bellhp]

Brewed this today .

 

[suprchunk]

This sounds like a good idea for all my figs in a few years. I was planning a Figlet type of beer, but a stout sounds as good as any.

Sorry about your mother.

 

[bellhp]

Thank you , This would have been a good beer in my opinion figs or not ... the HBC472 smelled nice while the wort was cooling .

 

[suprchunk]

I love figs. Didn't as a kid, but after having them wrapped up in bacon, I found a new appreciation.

 

[mac_1103]

Wrapping things in bacon is kinda cheating.

 

[bellhp]

Now I gotta wrap a fig in bacon and grill it... , my wife just said add a little goat cheese. Damn now I'm hungry.
About to make pulled pork sammy's from the leftover boston butt I cooked yesterday .

 

[mac_1103]

Goat cheese is perfect with fresh figs. Tough to work with for grilling.

 

[bellhp]

I pasteurized the figs ( 5 pounds ) 10 mins at 160 . I mashed them a bit and they are cooling down in a metal bowl in ice bath . I will add them to the carboy once cool. Today is day 5 ... the Nottingham yeast has done it's job nicely so far ,so I don't see the reason not to add the figs at this point .
Thought I posted this earlier ... guess not ... anyway figs are in and now we wait.