Founders Oatmeal Chocolate/coffee stout..

[diatonic]

Well, I've given this away to a few friends who enjoy stouts, and the reviews are very positive. "That is a damn fine beer." "One of the best stouts I've ever had." "Tastes great! Very smooth. I'm impressed."

Plan to brew it again soon in a 10 gallon batch.

 

[gonzo brewer]

Diatonic,
If you brewed on 3-7-09, that makes it 6 weeks old. I bet this one tastes better as it ages. Whatsa matter - can't wait???
I have a stuck fermentation at 1.034. My OG was 1.081. I added some Notty and we'll see what happens. If nothing, I'll pitch onto a yeastcake. My first stuck fermentation in 58 batches.

On another thread - let me know how the hophenge turns out. I will brew this after i get some feedback from you.

 

[diatonic]

Hey Gonzo,

I imagine it will get better with age, but it tastes fantastic now. I bottled 54 12 oz. bottles, and 10 have been given away or drank. Plenty of it will age. I'm planning to submit it in a contest in July. It is that good.

P.S. My OG was 1.080, and FG was 1.025. It took nearly 3 weeks for primary fermentation to complete.

Cheers!

 

[diatonic]

Hey Gonzo, any luck getting fermentation to start back up?

 

[gonzo brewer]

No, Nothing going on with the Notty.

I will pitch onto a yeast cake of 05 after my Chronic finishes primary - maybe this weekend. I'm in no hurry.

 

[dstar26t]

Which maltster's Roasted Barley and Chocolate Malt is everyone using? Munton's, Briess, etc?

 

[conpewter]

Anyone thought of using instant coffee? That way you don't have to worry about the grounds. Otherwise I think I might just do the flame-out addition and not do any secondary addition.

I'll probably use chocolate powder as well, it is the cocoa solids from nibs instead of putting any of the oils in the brew.

 

[diatonic]

Which maltster's Roasted Barley and Chocolate Malt is everyone using? Munton's, Briess, etc?

I'm not sure which I used, it was whatever my LHBS had in stock.

I would avoid instant coffee - just based on the flavor of instant coffee versus brewed coffee. If I had to do it without a french press, I would just put the course ground coffee gounds in a bowl with water for 4 hours or so, then filter it through a coffee filter to get the cold brewed coffee concentrate. Another option I would consider before using instant is to just brew the coffee in a coffee pot and add the coffee.

My 2 cents.

 

[Mad_Milo]

Anyone thought of using instant coffee?

Don't ruin this great beer! Instant coffee would be tantamount to using ketchup on a fine filet mignon.

Seriously, consider the cost you've put into this recipe already... why cut a corner now?

 

[dstar26t]

I'm not sure which I used, it was whatever my LHBS had in stock.

I ask because Muntons Roasted Barley and Chocolate malt are darker than the recipe is specifying (avg of 519°L & 387°L respectfully). Briess Chocolate Malt is dead on at 350°L but their Roasted Barley is only 300°L. I wonder what the author used?

 

[diatonic]

I ask because Muntons Roasted Barley and Chocolate malt are darker than the recipe is specifying (avg of 519°L & 387°L respectfully). Briess Chocolate Malt is dead on at 350°L but their Roasted Barley is only 300°L. I wonder what the author used?

Honestly, this beer is so damn dark that I doubt it matters. I could hold a glass of it up to the sun and not see any light through it.

The recipe came from Founders Brewing Company, and was published in BYO magazine.

 

[diatonic]

Just ordered the grain to brew this again, but this time I'm bumping up the Pale malt to get closer to 1.095 OG. The first batch has been wildly popular, and I'm wanting to put it a little further in to RIS territory. Will post results when I have them - I'm leaving the rest of the recipe the same, just boosting the pale malt.

 

[RC0032]

Anyone thought of using instant coffee? That way you don't have to worry about the grounds. Otherwise I think I might just do the flame-out addition and not do any secondary addition.

Not sure if you can find instant with high enough quality to make it worth it.

I'll probably use chocolate powder as well, it is the cocoa solids from nibs instead of putting any of the oils in the brew.

I didnt find the nibbs (choped them fine) to be an issue.


I brewed this over 3 months ago and im finding it to be just drinkable now

 

[dstar26t]

So I brewed this 2 weeks ago using the 8.3% ABV and 25 IBUs from their website. Changed the recipe in this thread by adding some base malt and reducing the hops. Well, I just checked their website again today and they've redesigned it and now it shows 60 IBUs.
check it
Oh well, it must have been a typo. I'll brew it next time differently.

 

[Mashline]

I brewed off the recipe in BYO last weekend with extract. Only got the OG to 1.060, but that will have to do. Any thoughts on what i might have done wrong?

 

[jyda]

I brewed off the recipe in BYO last weekend with extract. Only got the OG to 1.060, but that will have to do. Any thoughts on what i might have done wrong?

Did you do a partial boil and perhaps it didn't dilute well?

 

[Mad_Milo]

I brewed DubbelDach's adjusted recipe, with a few other tweaks courtesy of me screwing up a different recipe's grain bill 9 weeks ago. It went in the keg about 3 weeks ago.

It's f'ing fantastic! I've always loved the original and now I don't have to wait until Fall to get it each year.

I have noticed (and it could be my specific brew) that when cold from the keezer it's very "coffee forward" and it takes a bit of sloshing in the snifter to get it to warm up and show off it's chocolates and malt. But when it does, it's heaven!

 

[Mashline]

Did you do a partial boil and perhaps it didn't dilute well?

Yes, it was a partial boil. I followed the extract with grains recipe in BYO to the T, BUT my local homebrew store did convince me to substitute the dry extract with more Liquid. I might have been a bit short on the total extract but not enough to be off by that much I would think???

Either way its in the primary and the airlock has been bubbling for a solid 4 days. I am anxious to see what the FG will be.

 

[jvh261]

Tried my first bottle last night and it's definitely all coffee forward right now. Been bottled a little over a month. Didn't really get to experience the complexity yet, just strong, strong coffee. Good though. If I have a complaint so far it's that the head dissipated really quickly. Hopefully that gets better. Definitely planning on letting the rest of the bottles sit and age a few months. Should be a nice one this fall/winter.

 

[Mad_Milo]

The head dissipates quickly with Founder's version as well. It's all the oils from the coffee and chocolate.

jvh - how did you handle your coffee infusions? Did the chocolate come out as it warmed?

 

[jvh261]

Milo,
Honestly, I probably didn't let it sit long enough to let it warm. Shared a little with my wife and drank the rest probably a little quicker than I should've. But the coffee was big on it, that's for sure.

For my coffee additions I simply did a coarse grind on the beans and tossed them in. When I racked to my bottling bucket I just let it gently flow through a funnel w/ a filter. I just hold it low in the bucket and raise it up as the level in the bucket rises. Nothing fancy, but it kept out the coffee grounds and didn't splash. So had the stout flowing through a small pile of coffee on the way to bottling actually.

I'll probably keep a 12-pack on hand over summer, but when I go visit my parent's place on the fourth of july I'm aging the rest in their basement until this fall or winter. Old house, unfinished basement, exposed brick and concrete, stays nice and dark and cool down there. Better place to store my aged brews than my pantry in the summer months.

 

[jyda]

My partial mash of this has been in primary for 2 weeks. Started with an OG of 1.074 and has been at 1.024 for the last 3 days. I used Wyeast 1056 which should give around 75% attenuation, but it's at 66% now. Should I wait it out more or do you think it's about as far as it's going to get?

 

[diatonic]

My partial mash of this has been in primary for 2 weeks. Started with an OG of 1.074 and has been at 1.024 for the last 3 days. I used Wyeast 1056 which should give around 75% attenuation, but it's at 66% now. Should I wait it out more or do you think it's about as far as it's going to get?

Mine finished at 1.025. I think I racked to secondary and added the second coffee addition at that point (would need to check my notes at home).

I entered this beer in a local competition (All Idaho Homebrew Battle). Will be judged on July, 11th. I've got high hopes .

 

[jyda]

If you could please check your notes I would appreciate it. I'm trying to determine if the chocolate sugar will adjust my FG more than I expected.

Here are some pics from my brew:
MobileMe Gallery

 

[Mad_Milo]

My AG batch started at 1.084 and bottomed at 1.022. It wasn't the exact recipe, as I had to swap in some grains I bought too much of for another recipe. It had pale malt as well as some victory malt.

 

[snailsongs]

Tried my first bottle last night and it's definitely all coffee forward right now. Been bottled a little over a month. Didn't really get to experience the complexity yet, just strong, strong coffee. Good though. If I have a complaint so far it's that the head dissipated really quickly. Hopefully that gets better. Definitely planning on letting the rest of the bottles sit and age a few months. Should be a nice one this fall/winter.

I've been doing some reading on coffee beers, and one thing that seems to keep coming up is this: coffee beans or fresh grounds added directly to the primary or secondary will impart a lot of oils to the brew and "kill the head" of your beer. I noticed that this is how you added the coffee to yours.
I just brewed a sessionable coffee/breakfast stout somewhat inspired by this thread, but I plan to add the coffee from a cold press in secondary or at bottling.....

 

[Mad_Milo]

It's not just the coffee that kills the head. Processed chocolates (bakers, cocoa, etc.) have a fat/oil content that disrupts it too. Add the coffee beans as is, and you add more oil.

One nice thing about cold-pressing the coffee, especially for the secondary, is that you can add-to-taste.

 

[Aubie Stout]

Founder's Web site lists this beer at 8.3 ABV and IBU's @ 60. I have everything on hand to make this beer. Give it a shot next week.

 

[Mad_Milo]

There's a discrepancy in the recipes. Dubbeldach's "adjusted" recipe is closer to the mark than the BYO with 8.3% ABV and 25-30 IBUs. Find his post back here.

I think Founder's changed the recipe recently, or it changed when they moved into their production brewery last year. Vintage 2008 FBS wasn't as good as previous years, and I can still find it on the shelf at the local supermarkets.

 

[jvh261]

I've been doing some reading on coffee beers, and one thing that seems to keep coming up is this: coffee beans or fresh grounds added directly to the primary or secondary will impart a lot of oils to the brew and "kill the head" of your beer. I noticed that this is how you added the coffee to yours.
I just brewed a sessionable coffee/breakfast stout somewhat inspired by this thread, but I plan to add the coffee from a cold press in secondary or at bottling.....

This is exactly my issue with the head retention. I don't own a press, so just tossed the coffee in. If I make it again sometime I think I'll come up with another way to add the coffee. Anyone have an opinion on adding a little carapils to the grain bill to help with the head?

I just put another bottle in the fridge, so I'll taste sample #2 later on tonight.