McLaughlin's Dry Irish Stout

[mhenry41h]

OG: 1.046
FG: 1.009
SRM: 38.2
IBU: 38.2
Eff: 68%
ABV: 4.9%

60 minute boil
75 minute mash @ 152 degrees

07 lbs 00 oz Simpsons Golden Promise (59.9%)
02 lbs 04 oz Briess Flaked Barley (19.2%)
00 lbs 14 oz Crisp Roasted Barley (7.5%)
00 lbs 08 oz Weyermann Acidulated (4.3%)
00 lbs 08 oz Briess Flaked Oats (4.3%)
00 lbs 05 oz Crisp Chocolate (2.7%)
00 lbs 04 oz Weyermann Carafa III (2.1%)

2.00 Oz East Kent Goldings 60 Mins
0.50 Oz east Kent Goldings 25 Mins

Wyeast 1581-PC Belgian Stout 1581-PC

 

[mhenry41h]

Here's the label.

 

[mhenry41h]

I just saw the Wyeast Limited Release 'Belgian Stout' yeast and I'm switching to that. It calls for a moderate ester profile with small phenols. This sounds like it would add a dynamite complexity to a dry stout. I'm ordering today...it's on!

 

[mhenry41h]

I fired up the stir plate this morning and this beer will be brewed tomorrow. I very much looking forward to seeing what, if anything, this particular yeast will add to a Dry Irish Stout recipe.

 

[mhenry41h]

15 minutes left in the mash. I'm concerned about the acidity from using Acidulated Malt and Roasted Malts. Thus, I used 1/2 tsp of baking powder and I'm giving it a thorough stir every 15 mins.

 

[mhenry41h]

Perfect. Missed high by 4 pts. (target of 1.038 hit 1.042 - preboil) I ran off a touch more to compensate (who doesn't want a few extra beers?) I tasted my cold crashed starter and this yeast has a slight to moderate ester character and ever so gentle phenolic character although I'm not sure how much of that will shone through roasted malts.

 

[mhenry41h]

Things did not go according to plan and this fermentation locked up tight at 1.020. I tried rousing the yeast and I moved it to a warmer locale and nothing...she's done. So, I had a vial of ECY03 Farmhouse Brett lying around so I pitched it. There is a slight pellicle and fermentation is back underway. I pulled a sample yesterday and it's quite an amazing beer. The stout character is absolutely dead nuts perfect. Then, this light Belgiany character rises up and lasts into the finish. ECY03's Brett is mild so I'm hoping that when the Brett flavors arrive, that they just give me a light character for complexity.

 

[mhenry41h]

For those interested, this is an incredibly unique beer now. The roasted character is spot on. This delightfully light Belgian character does come through in the finish. For having to change things in the fly due to a stalled fermentation at 1.020...this may turn out to be one of my favorites. It's now down to 1.009 with a tiny bit of Brett fermentation still going. The 20+% Flaked adjuncts give it a respectable mouthfeel despite the dryness of the beer itself.

 

[mhenry41h]

Well, since this is already bastardized but high with potential, I went one step further today by adding a half ounce of EKG dry hops. So far, no one flavor is overly intense. Everything melds into an amazingly complex beer. I figure a week of dry hopping before bottling can only intensify the complexity. I've never been so excited about a beer gone awry.

 

[passedpawn]

Fun read... just finished a dry stout this morning myself.

 

[mhenry41h]

Fun read... just finished a dry stout this morning myself.

It's been fun. Reproducing this one could be a nightmare. I pride myself on mistake free brewing and predictable results. For once, I am actually pleased this beer has taken this direction. How did your brew day go? What recipe did you use?

 

[passedpawn]

It's been fun. Reproducing this one could be a nightmare. I pride myself on mistake free brewing and predictable results. For once, I am actually pleased this beer has taken this direction. How did your brew day go? What recipe did you use?

My day went perfectly. Got started really early, I'm now done and cleaned up. I made a 11g batch of Jamil's Dry stout from Brewing Classic Styles. I sorta improvised because I only had 2# of flaked barley on hand, needed 4#, so I subbed some rolled oats. Also, I used altbier yeast. Oh, and Wilamette instead of EKG.


Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
13 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 63.4 %
3 lbs Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 2 14.6 %
2 lbs Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain 3 9.8 %
2 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 4 9.8 %
8.0 oz Carafa II (412.0 SRM) Grain 5 2.4 %
130.00 g Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 39.9 IBUs
1.0 pkg Dusseldorf Alt Yeast (White Labs #WLP036 Yeast 7 -

 

[mhenry41h]

Sounds awesome. I'm still not sure why my original fermentation stalled at 1.020. I used 20% Flaked barley and 5% Flaked oats and I wonder if somehow this made my wort less fermentable? I really don't understand. I've never had a fermentation stick. I made a plenty sufficient starter and aerated thoroughly which is what I would have thought to be the problem. Oh well, I'm pretty happy about how the whole thing turned out.

 

[passedpawn]

Sounds awesome. I'm still not sure why my original fermentation stalled at 1.020. I used 20% Flaked barley and 5% Flaked oats and I wonder if somehow this made my wort less fermentable? I really don't understand. I've never had a fermentation stick. I made a plenty sufficient starter and aerated thoroughly which is what I would have thought to be the problem. Oh well, I'm pretty happy about how the whole thing turned out.

I did a protein rest at 120F.

 

[mhenry41h]

I did a protein rest at 120F.

Good to know. Thanks. I just did a 15 minute protein rest on a Blonde ale. Astonishing clarity in that beer.