First time stout

[plain_ol_dan_carr]

Hey folks, first post here. I'm trying to figure out a recipe for a medium to full bodied stout with a dark roasted coffee flavor with a hint of chocolate. I was hoping to get some feed back on this recipe...

Stout
10 gallon recipe

18# maris otter
1.5# Vienna
1.5# chocolate malt
1# flaked oats
1#amber malt
1# Crystal 80L
.75#black barley
.5 flaked barley

2oz galena @60 min
1oz fuggels@45 min
.5 oz fuggels @10 min

Irish ale yeast



Thanks in advance for feedback.

 

[Sir-Hops-A-Lot]

Hey Dan,

The chocolate malt will make it sweet but it won't give a chocolate taste. You can use chocolate nibs for that. The crystal malt you use will already make it a medium bodied stout (not a dry one) so perhaps drop the chocolate.
I think the amber malt will not come out in the taste so you can drop it. Galena hops tend to be used for American stouts because it has a little bit of citrus. The malt and yeast you are using fit the English style so use an English hop! (at 60 mins and perhaps at 2 mins)

Randy Mosher's Fundamental stout only has 3 ingredients (5 G batch): 9.5# pale,
1# black patent, 1# dark crystal
John Palmer's Stout only uses 4 ingredients: 8# MO, .5# black, .5# crystal, .5# flaked barley.

I think that you could simplify the recipe and use it as a base to build on for your future brews.
Consider this:
18# maris otter (traditional for English Stout)
1# flaked oats (mouthfeel)
1# Crystal 80L (a little sweetness)
1# black malt or roasted barley (smooth black roast taste)
1# flaked barley (head retention)

 

[plain_ol_dan_carr]

Thanks sir hops alot....I've been looking at so many recipes the past few days that my brain has be swamped with different ingredients and I was having a terrible time trying to pin down a simple recipe. Thanks for your help.

 

[mrphillips]

Haha! The "Everything Sounds Good" syndrome is all too familiar with me. I like everything on the recipe except the pound of amber malt. This is a very distinctive grain, and I don't think it satisfies anything you're looking for in your stout.

The vienna and crystal 80 is nice for the sweetness (as well as some complexity with the two working together), the barley and oats for mouthfeel and body, the black barley for that oh-so delicious roasted flavor, and the chocolate malt for added roasted and complex favors (though I would personally only do .5-1 pounds...but that's nothing more than a personal taste preference). Again, I don't see where the amber malt fits in.

If you brew it, let me know! I, too, just put together my 1st oatmeal stout recipe. I'm always looking for new ideas.

 

[Phlyborn]

+1 on leaving out the amber malt. You could leave out the Vienna also. Mashing at a higher temp can achieve a fuller body. Personal preference but I like using Willamette and fuggle in stouts.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Sir-Hops-A-Lot]

Cheers!
For whatever you end up going with, let us know how it tastes!

 

[mrphillips]

Did this brew ever come to life? I've never used vienna in a stout, and wanted to know if there was any distinguishing features of it...or if it's just steamrolled by the darker malts.

 

[plain_ol_dan_carr]

I ended up brewing this beer last week. Here's the recipe. I kept in a half pound of the Vienna, but I'm sure it's totally lost under all the dark roasts I used. I just couldn't bring my self to take it out even tho I'm sure it added nothing to the final product. Dumb on my part.