First Brew Recipie

[loetz]

So, I want to brew a big American double stout like a Bells, Speedway, or Yetti and I'm playing around with ideas for my recipe. I want something malty, full bodied, and with a high gravity.

Locally I can buy:

• Pils
• Pale Ale
• Munich
• Vienna
• Flaked Oats
• Carmel Malt Light (ebc?)
• Carmel Malt Dark (ebc?)
• Rauchmalz
• Chocolate 800ebc
• Farbmaltz 1200ebc (I don't really know what this is. Farbe means color.)
• Roasted Barley 1000ebc

I can mail-order:

• Biscuit 50ebc
• Cara-red 40 EBC
• Cara-amber 60 EBC
• Cara-crystal 120 EBC
• Chocolate 800ebc dehusked
• Chocolate 900ebc
• Black 1400ebc
• Black 1500ebc dehusked
• Special B 350 EBC

For a 6.6 gal batch, I'm thinking about going with this:
Vienna (10 pounds)
Flaked Oats (4.5 pounds)
Chocolate 800 (2 pounds)
Rauchmaltz (1 pound)
Roasted Barley (1 pound)

Should I use US-05 dry yeast? I'd rather stick with dry for the first batch.

I haven't really thought about the hops yet. Since it's my first batch, I think I'd rather stick with one hop so that I can get used to what it tastes like before I play around too much. I'll probably use cascade.

Should I use the caramel malts? Am I going to be missing out on a lot of flavor? Should I hold off on the Rauchmaltz on the first batch? Should I order the black malt?

What adjustments would you guys make to this recipe?

 

[magno]

I would use the US-05 - I use that yeast on most of my beers with great results. I feel that until you are regulating the temperature of your fermentation, you are wasting money on liquid yeast - but thats a different thread.

From my experience, cascades do not blend well with roasty malts; I would look for Goldings, Fuggles or similar.

Beware of stuck sparges with the flaked oats. I would knock that down to ~2 lbs, and the chocolate malt to 1 lb max. I would also go with ~2 lbs dark caramel malt instead of the rauch. Then I'd make up the rest of the malt bill with the Vienna to the gravity that you are trying to hit, or your mash tun capacity.

 

[loetz]

From my experience, cascades do not blend well with roasty malts; I would look for Goldings, Fuggles or similar.

Thanks for the tip. I've been thinking about using Fuggles and you may have convinced me.

 

[loetz]

Then I'd make up the rest of the malt bill with the Vienna to the gravity that you are trying to hit, or your mash tun capacity.

I don't know what you mean here. My mash tun capacity is 18.5 gal, so I don't have to worry about space.

 

[TTB-J]

Holy bells that's going to be a monster. You're going to need to pitch about 20 grams of yeast to finish that thing off.

 

[loetz]

What about this:

• Vienna (10 pounds)
• Flaked Oats (2.5 pounds)
• Carmel Dark (esb?) (2 pounds)
• Chocolate 800 (1 pounds)
• Roasted Barley (1 pound)
• Black 1400esb (3/4 pound)
  
• Hallertau Perle (bittering) ???
• Willamette (aroma) ???
  
• 23 grams US-05 dry yeast

 

[magno]

I don't know what you mean here. My mash tun capacity is 18.5 gal, so I don't have to worry about space.

I meant to replace the fermentables from the rauch with additional Vienna.

The first recipe you posted should come to an OG of around 1.073 (assuming 6.6 gal batch and 75% mash efficiency). The second recipe you posted should come to around 1.067. To raise the gravity of the second recipe to that of the original, you should increase the amount of Vienna to 11.5 lbs.

Also, generally I use either black malt OR chocolate malt in a stout, not both. Ive found black malt to have its own bitterness, and chocolate to be more sweet and malty. Both have their places, but I use more chocolate malt than black. If you omit the chocolate malt add ~3/4 lb Vienna, if you omit the black malt add ~1/2 lb Vienna. Nothing will be destroyed if you use both, of course.

Perle and Willamette will blend nicely with this grain bill.