Hoppy Stout

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

I'm really having trouble trying to pin down a recipe for an all-grain (5 gallon) hoppy high-ABV stout.

Any suggestions? What kind of hops do people like in a stout (not just in general or in IPAs, but particularly in stouts)? What grain bill to make it high-ABV?

Thanks everyone!

 

[day_trippr]

Not sure what constitutes "high" but I keep an 11%+ ABV stout on tap year 'round.
I use Chinook early in the boil and Cascade for late additions. No post-boil hops at all, but I'm not looking for a hoppy stout, just a balanced beer.

ABV should be driven by base grain, with the rest of the grist proportionally adjusted to provide the desired flavors and body. For my 10 gallon (packaged volume) 28 pounds of the 44 pound bill is typically Pearl, with the rest a collection of (in decreasing quantities) caramel, carapils, roasted barley, flaked barley, chocolate and black/black patent barleys...

Cheers!

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

Thanks for the help.

This will be my second brew. First one was an IPA. I like the idea of making a bitter hoppy stout (named after Zoidberg) and I'm aiming for a 11-13% ABV. (I consider 11+ to be 'high').

 

[thehaze]

I like Simcoe in hoppy dark beers. I also like Chinook and Citra. For Stouts, I found out I also like East Kent Goldings.

I would think Bramling Cross would also do the trick for the dark, earthy aromas.

 

[65C]

This is my rough Stout recipe (I vary it a bit with a few special grains and diff hops):

2.5KG Maris
1.5KG Pils
250G Special 3
250G Torrified

40G Northern Brewer (80)
25G Fuggles (15)
25G Fuggles (10)
25G Fuggles (5)
25G Fuggles (flame out)

Citra, as thehaze mentions actually works real good for stouts - in my experience they don't need massive aroma - just a good bitterness, here is another I've done lately:

4.3kg Maris Otter (90 minute mash at 69C)
250g Special III
500g Munich
500g Oats (Flaked)
250g Chocolate
200g Torrified

40g Northern Brewer at 60 (was supposed to be 20g but scales &#8230
25g Willamette at 15
75g Willamette at flameout (70C)

With porter there is a much wider tolerance for recipe problems - I've not had a bad one - every one has turned out way better than I can buy in a bar

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

This is my rough Stout recipe (I vary it a bit with a few special grains and diff hops):

2.5KG Maris
1.5KG Pils
250G Special 3
250G Torrified

40G Northern Brewer (80)
25G Fuggles (15)
25G Fuggles (10)
25G Fuggles (5)
25G Fuggles (flame out)

Citra, as thehaze mentions actually works real good for stouts - in my experience they don't need massive aroma - just a good bitterness, here is another I've done lately:

4.3kg Maris Otter (90 minute mash at 69C)
250g Special III
500g Munich
500g Oats (Flaked)
250g Chocolate
200g Torrified

40g Northern Brewer at 60 (was supposed to be 20g but scales …)
25g Willamette at 15
75g Willamette at flameout (70C)

With porter there is a much wider tolerance for recipe problems - I've not had a bad one - every one has turned out way better than I can buy in a bar

Whats the gallon size for this recipe? Whats the abv/ibu for it as well? Thanks!

 

[65C]

it's a 23L, don't have the IBU but it's probably 40 or 50

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

I just realized what it is that I had thought about when I came up with this beer - I've had something similar before. Storm King by Victory.

According to Untappd:

Description: A thundering hop presence collides with massive espresso and dark chocolate flavors in our dense and full-bodied imperial.
ABV: 9.1% IBU: 95

Interestingly enough, it seems the different years have different IBUs but always the same 9.1% ABV (so it might just be an error from people putting in the IBUs. Most years its 95 or 70 with one year being a 65).

The 2016 description gives: With a huge, Pacific Northwest hop aroma & character upfront, Storm King subsides into massive, roast malt complexity. More flavor than mere words can adequately describe. Rich and substantial, it will warm your heart. (This is the one year where its listed a 65IBU rather than 70IBU or 95IBU.)


The 2002 and a few other year descriptions give: Emerging from the deepest shades of darkness, a rolling crescendo of flavors burst forth from this robust stout. The thundering, hoppy appeal of Storm King subsides into the mellow subtleties of roasted malt, exhibiting an espresso-like depth of character in its finish. An exquisite blend of imported malts and whole flower American hops merge harmoniously in this complex ale. Discover the dark intrigue of Storm King, as it reveals the rich, substantial flavors that it holds within.


So I'm thinking maybe find a Storm King clone, and make a few adaptions to it, specifically to boost the ABV from 9.1 to 11-13%, and maybe up the bittering from 95IBU to something like 100-110. (Though 95 might be good enough to make it bitter-enough).

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

Here is a youtube video from BEER-N-BBQ by Larry (Nov. 2013): [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP6aJOnlrJY[/ame]

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

Here's a Storm King clone I found on BeerSmith:

http://beersmithrecipes.com/viewrecipe/413122/storm-king-stout

(84IBU, 10% ABV)
14 LB 8 OZ Pilsner (2 Row)
2 LB 8 OZ Vienna Malt
1 LB Carafa III
1 LB Roasted Barley
3 OZ Centennial [60Min]
1 OZ Cluster [30Min]
1 PKG California Ale (White Labs #WLP001)

The hops seems a bit off on this one to me. Doesn't seem quite as hoppy as it should be. Would look to boost it from 84IBU to 100~ and would like to boost the 10%ABV to 11-13%. Any suggestions on what to tweak to do that?

(And to keep it at 5Gal).

Here's another one from BeerSmith:
http://beersmithrecipes.com/viewrecipe/393767/victory-storm-king-stout

This one is setup for 6Gal, and the ABV is 9.5% but the IBU is 96.4. Also uses Dry English Ale yeast rather than California Ale, which makes more sense to me as well. Hops for this one is Centennial, Chinook, Cascade (rather than just Cluster and Centennial). There's also a lot more hops in this second recipe.



What's everyone's thoughts on these? Anybody else ever try Victory's Storm King? What'd you think, what would make a good recipe for something similar to it - but a bit hoppier and a bit higher-ABV?


Thanks all!

 

[65C]

That looks like a powerful beer right there - maybe make a sample and then tweak

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

That looks like a powerful beer right there - maybe make a sample and then tweak

What do you mean by this?

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

That looks like a powerful beer right there - maybe make a sample and then tweak

Just bumping this, because I'm genuinely curious what you meant by this.

 

[65C]

It was in ref to this:

So I'm thinking maybe find a Storm King clone, and make a few adaptions to it, specifically to boost the ABV from 9.1 to 11-13%, and maybe up the bittering from 95IBU to something like 100-110. (Though 95 might be good enough to make it bitter-enough).

It sounds like a strong brew to start with - before tweaking it I'd recommend making the base recipe - then tweaking so you have a starting point - if you start tweaking with no base you'll not know if you're going forwards or backwards

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

Ok, so I'm finally about to get a chance to do this beer now (a lot of things came up in life preventing me from being able to brew for a while), but since I'm scaling back from doing 5 Gallon Brew days to 1 Gallon Brew days (to be able to do more brewing, get better at it, crafting more recipes, etc.).... how would I scale this recipe down from 5Gal to 1Gal?