First Stout - Brown Sugar?

[BNVince]

Let me start off by saying that stouts are my favorite type of beer. I decided it was time to get one going so I could cozy up to a few of them when it starts to get cold. I ordered the following:

4lbs Light Dry Extract
3lbs Dark Dry Extract
.5lbs Chocolate Malt
1lb Flaked Barley
1lb Roasted Barley
3oz East Kent Golding Hops
WhiteLabs Irish Ale Yeast

My original recipe was to cut back all the grains to .5lbs and add a pound of Dark Brown sugar to boost the fermentables and get a real big beer going (An American Stout by the guidelines). But I've second guessed myself because I don't really know what effects on flavor the brown sugar will give to the stout. Any suggestions in this area would be helpful.

 

[brewt00l]

When I brew my first within a style, I generally like to keep things basic then experiment. What it looks like there is a basic solid stout (though I would prb back off the flaked barley a touch).

Extract from Radical Brewing
http://www.radicalbrewing.com/SCHFTaste1.pdf

 

[the_bird]

Brown sugar will mostly ferment out and just leave a bit of mollasses behind. That's all it really is, refined sugar + mollasses. It is a traditional ingredient in some porter recipes, but that's mostly because it was a cheap fermentable, FWIW.

 

[BNVince]

When I brew my first within a style, I generally like to keep things basic then experiment. What it looks like there is a basic solid stout (though I would prb back off the flaked barley a touch).

Extract from Radical Brewing
http://www.radicalbrewing.com/SCHFTaste1.pdf

Well the grain bill for the dry stout would be:

.5lb Chocolate malt
.5lb Roasted Barley
.5lb Flaked Barley

Are you saying .5lb is too much flaked barley?

 

[david_42]

I see two possible problems: Flacked Barley gives you nothing but starch when steeped and a pound of roasted barley will make the stout taste like burnt coffee. The former isn't too big a deal in a stout, but be prepared for a high FG. I'd back-off the roasted barley to 6-8 oz.

You might consider getting a pound of 2-row and doing a mini-mash with the flacked barley.

 

[brewt00l]

I'd back-off the roasted barley to 6-8 oz.

You might consider getting a pound of 2-row and doing a mini-mash with the flacked barley.

Good suggestion

 

[BNVince]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm seeing a lot of stout recipes that have:

.5lb Chocolate Malt
.75lb Roasted Barley
1lb Flaked Barley

I may just give that a shot.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

The best stouts are simple, drop the brown sugar. And my house stout which is very tasty is exactly what you just posted:

.5lb choco
.75lb roasted
1lb flaked

I also have 1lb of carapils.

I didn't know that flaked barley acted different in extract than AG though and I brew AG, so heed the advice you are hearing. But I still say drop the brown sugar. You don't need it

 

[iamjonsharp]

I've had better results without using brown sugar in porters or stouts than with using it. I'd do without it.

 

[BNVince]

You might consider getting a pound of 2-row and doing a mini-mash with the flacked barley.

Can I do a mini-mash without the 2-row and just used the flaked barley?

 

[CatchinZs]

Edit: Sorry didn't really read your post very well...the one you posted is also within style guidelines.
Again sorry for polluting your thread


I've been kicking around the following recipe.

5 gallon batch

5lb Dark DME
.5lb Chocolate malt
.5lb Roasted Barley
.5lb Flaked Barley
or
.5lb Carapils to replace the flaked barley.
2oz fuggles 60 mins
.5oz fuggles 15 mins

According to BeerSmith this is within style guidelines.

 

[BierMuncher]

Brown sugar isn't a typical additive for stouts. Milds and Old ALes maybe...but not stouts.

If you want to "heavy-up" the beer some, I'd say add a pound of quick oats. Then you're staying a little truer to a stout style.

Kind of a blend between a roasty amercian and an otameal stout.

 

[ajf]

Can I do a mini-mash without the 2-row and just used the flaked barley?

Flaked Barley needs enzymes to convert the starch into sugars.
This either means using some base malt, or some diastasic malt syrup.

-a.