American Stout Rhinestone Carboy
- Thread starter Jayjay1976
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Session stout brewday is in the books, didn't get much aroma from the barrel aged chocolate malt during the mash or boil but I swear I could smell a rum/whiskey aroma as I was oxygenating the wort. Also got bit better efficiency than planned. Measured a 1.060 O.G. vs planned 1.057. Could be the boil off, it looks like I was a bit low but hard to tell see my fermentor markings with the darker color.
duncan_disorderly
Well-Known Member
Good name and good looking recipe. Not sure how it categorises as American Stout? Maris Otter, EKG and S-04. Not that I am category fixated! I just crossed the virtual pond to look at an American stout recipe and I don't think I found one....
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Well it is brewed in America by an American, and although the ingredients come from several different countries, America is a melting pot, so in that spirit I consider it to be an American stout. Whether or not the BJCP would agree is really none of my concern.Good name and good looking recipe. Not sure how it categorises as American Stout? Maris Otter, EKG and S-04. Not that I am category fixated! I just crossed the virtual pond to look at an American stout recipe and I don't think I found one....
I do understand your interest in brewing a 100% domestic American stout. I think you could follow the basic recipe substituting the German, English, and Belgian malts and hops with suitable American counterparts. Choose which region of the US you want it to be representative of and go from there. I was recently gifted a few pounds of Admiral Malting's Kilnsmith crystal malt and will use some of that to brew a special edition higher gravity Rhinestone Carboy that I will age on oak. I also plan on brewing a sour version with Lacto at some point.
duncan_disorderly
Well-Known Member
That's a very good point about it being made in America by an American
I might do as you suggest, and also use Cascade, Centennial or Willamette or something. And US05 or Bry-97.
Thank you!
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Make it yours! That's the best thing about being a homebrewer, total freedom to brew whatever beer you want to drink.That's a very good point about it being made in America by an American
I might do as you suggest, and also use Cascade, Centennial or Willamette or something. And US05 or Bry-97.
Thank you!
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I'm brewing this again on Saturday, this time using Weyermann boho pils for the base malt, a pound of Admiral Maltings Kilnsmith courtesy of @markcurry and fermenting it with Denny's favorite.
A while back I rationalized the malt bill and ordered three "kits" of just the specialty malts, to which I will add my own base malt. Convenient way to stock up for future batches while retaining some flexibility.
A while back I rationalized the malt bill and ordered three "kits" of just the specialty malts, to which I will add my own base malt. Convenient way to stock up for future batches while retaining some flexibility.
Just thought I’d report back on my thoughts on the Sugar Creek barrel aged chocolate malt in my American Stout. At 5% of the grist I didn’t get any noticeable barrel characteristics and the rum aroma I thought I picked up during fermentation isn’t present either. Probably won’t use it again. I’m going to split the 5% with 2.5% each of pale chocolate and chocolate malts next time around. Also tried Galena and Northern Brewer as a hop combo that didn’t really work for me in this style. On a positive note I do like A10 darkness and will continue to use that in stouts.
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Thanks for commenting and glad you liked the A10. I was curious about that strain I'll try that out next time around. For this batch I chose Denny's Favorite based on what @Yooper wrote about it in another thread. I'll dig that post up and link to it.
To bring some Bourbon barrel character I'll add some soaked oak chips to primary once fermentation is complete, might also add a few to the keg.
Side note, I'll vacuum cycle the chips while they're soaking and post some photos.
I’m following along for this next batch.
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This is a "short kit" for brewing Rhinestone Carboy, just add 12lb (or more) base malt of your choice.
AG brewers get attached to working with certain base malts and I know I'd start brewing kits if they were available like this. Also saves on shipping especially when ordering multiple kits. HB retailers could offer recipe short kits, with optional hops kit and yeast.
AG brewers get attached to working with certain base malts and I know I'd start brewing kits if they were available like this. Also saves on shipping especially when ordering multiple kits. HB retailers could offer recipe short kits, with optional hops kit and yeast.
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I backed off to 8oz kilnsmith since I upped the CaraMunich in my kit recipe to 8oz... First brew day using my Unibrau grain basket, totally exceeded my target OG ending up with 1.070, despite the fact that I fly sparged with an extra gallon of boiling water BOOM!
I like that idea since a lot of brewers bulk buy base malt but may not do the same with specialty malts.
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Kegged this beer on Saturday; 36 hours on 60psi @34f, then rested a day before bleeding off excess pressure and connecting to 11psi serving pressure. Pours a smooth pint with a tan head that sticks around; the additions of kilnsmith and 60L crystal transformed this recipe into something like a Guinness Extra Stout but even more rounded malt richness. Photos coming soon.
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It's only been on gas since last weekend but it already tastes really good, no 'green' flavor and the head is nice and dense. Very happy with the Kilnsmith addition and with the Denny's Favorite strain. Might be the best stout I've ever brewed and perfect for St. Paddy's day shenanigans. Ordering a creamer nozzle for my intertap right now...
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Latest recipe, RC #3 Rhinestone Carboy #3 | American Stout BIAB Beer Recipe | Brewer's Friend
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Reading back through the thread I forgot that I was going to add whiskey-soaked oak to this latest batch. The beer turned out really good, but its already kegged and fully carbonated. I know better than to open it up and drop anything in there, which would result in a beer geyser.
Plan A is to sanitize another keg, add the whiskey-soaked oak chips in a hop sock, and then purge a couple of times with CO2 before pushing the beer over with a jumper across the liquid out posts. Sounds simple enough, relieve excess pressure from the receiving keg before connecting the jumper, then use a few PSI on the first keg, venting the PRV on the second keg as transfer progresses to moderate the flow speed.
Pros: I can easily add whatever I want into the second keg.
Cons: Can't pull the oak after a few weeks, only option would be to transfer off the oak into another keg.
Plan B would be to heavily infuse some whiskey with oak and then add only the whiskey to the keg. How to add it into the beer without introducing oxygen? Put the oak-infused whiskey in a soda bottle with carb cap, purge/pressurize, then inject it through the gas post with a jumper.
Pros: Easier! Fewer steps and less risk of infection, and no worries about over-oaking.
Cons: Having to pull sufficient oak flavor out of the chips to flavor the whole 5 gallons, which is a crap shoot. Of course I could always add more if needed.
Plan A is to sanitize another keg, add the whiskey-soaked oak chips in a hop sock, and then purge a couple of times with CO2 before pushing the beer over with a jumper across the liquid out posts. Sounds simple enough, relieve excess pressure from the receiving keg before connecting the jumper, then use a few PSI on the first keg, venting the PRV on the second keg as transfer progresses to moderate the flow speed.
Pros: I can easily add whatever I want into the second keg.
Cons: Can't pull the oak after a few weeks, only option would be to transfer off the oak into another keg.
Plan B would be to heavily infuse some whiskey with oak and then add only the whiskey to the keg. How to add it into the beer without introducing oxygen? Put the oak-infused whiskey in a soda bottle with carb cap, purge/pressurize, then inject it through the gas post with a jumper.
Pros: Easier! Fewer steps and less risk of infection, and no worries about over-oaking.
Cons: Having to pull sufficient oak flavor out of the chips to flavor the whole 5 gallons, which is a crap shoot. Of course I could always add more if needed.
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Plan C; turns out it's good as is, so I'm not going to mess with it. Free advice from my brewing buddies.
This sounds so good! Im in the process of rebuilding an old house… It’ll be a few months before I can get back to brewing. Drinking commercial beer is getting old.
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I brewed another batch of RC stout yesterday, this time I did a partial mash; 3lbs Briess pale malt plus the specialty grain "short kit" @155 for 30 minutes, then topped up to pre-boil vol and boiled for 60 adding two cans of extra light LME during the last 15 minutes. Also had a crazy idea to use all Citra hops; half an ounce at 60, then an ounce at 20 and another ounce with two minutes left to boil. Due to my garage being 90f in August, I went with Lutra Kveik from Omega, and it's going like gangbusters.
bruce_the_loon
Well-Known Member
Don't forget the oak this time.
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Well ****, the lutra kveik I pitched was a bit old and didn't kick off, by the time I managed to get a fresh pouch to pitch 24 hours later I thought I saw a wispy tendril or two of funk starting up. Now that it's had four days to finish out, btw the kraeusen never rose more than an inch, the bubbling continues at a slow steady pace and I'm smelling Brett character from the bubble jar. Is there something I can do now or just suck it up and accept the fact that my 66th batch is my first real infection?
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Slimestone cryboy 
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Why God, why?!
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kegging today.... hopefully the whiff of brett was just my paranoid imagination.
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Pulled a foamy sample today, no off taste!!! Infection could be all in my mind, tasted like a dry Irish stout, sorry @bruce_the_loon I got distracted by the appearance of infection and forgot to add the oak!
I've got one "short kit" of Rhinestone Carboy left and I'm planning to brew it soon so it has plenty of time to mature, will definitely add an oak spiral to that batch.
Time to order three more short kits I guess! I love this beer!!!
Side note: my partial mash adaptation turned out almost exactly like the AG original; I added a few pounds of pale malt to the mash for conversion, and added the LME late in the boil. All Citra this time yielded a crisp stout that I am very happy with.
Also, the Lutra yeast fermented very clean in my hot summer garage. Actually I kinda miss the soft esters of Denny's Favorite, this is almost lager-like. Its crisp enough that it has me thinking about keg hopping.
I've got one "short kit" of Rhinestone Carboy left and I'm planning to brew it soon so it has plenty of time to mature, will definitely add an oak spiral to that batch.
Time to order three more short kits I guess! I love this beer!!!
Side note: my partial mash adaptation turned out almost exactly like the AG original; I added a few pounds of pale malt to the mash for conversion, and added the LME late in the boil. All Citra this time yielded a crisp stout that I am very happy with.
Also, the Lutra yeast fermented very clean in my hot summer garage. Actually I kinda miss the soft esters of Denny's Favorite, this is almost lager-like. Its crisp enough that it has me thinking about keg hopping.
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Latest batch is drinking really nice. I'll post some sweet sweet pourn this weekend.
In the meantime I spent some weirdly quality time with an AI image engine trying to come up with some beer label ideas for Rhinestone Carboy. I played with various style prompts; poster, ad, label, as well as styles like art deco, art nouveau, mid-century modern, etc. I even went north korea for a minute, just the tip, just for a second, just to see how it feels.
Below is a smorgasbord of AI output....
In the meantime I spent some weirdly quality time with an AI image engine trying to come up with some beer label ideas for Rhinestone Carboy. I played with various style prompts; poster, ad, label, as well as styles like art deco, art nouveau, mid-century modern, etc. I even went north korea for a minute, just the tip, just for a second, just to see how it feels.
Below is a smorgasbord of AI output....
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