Stout problems?

[bjartar]

I brewed a stout following John Palmer's How to Brew and ended with some odd things. I am currently at bottle conditioning

First, it is brown. Not very dark. My guess is the roasted barley wasnt properly milled. That and the other grain were milled together and I hear that can prevent tiny barley from getting milled properly.

Next, it looks a bit hazy in the bottle right now.

Also, when I give the bottle a little shake, black sediment from the bottle mixes in and makes the beer appear closer to the dark stout color I was expecting.

Any thoughts about how any of these three things came to be? Is the whole thing a wash or will I get to enjoy tasty beer?

FYI this is only my third batch.

 

[JimRausch]

You're going to be OK- drinkable, although maybe not the best beer you've ever had. Time will tell.
To answer your Qs:
1. Roast barley is easy to crush, so it's doubtful that it was poorly milled. I often crush my RB with a rolling pin. Depending on the recipe, maybe it wasn't supposed to be very dark? Stout colors vary widely. Also, wait until you pour a glass when it's fully carbonated before deciding on your color.
2. Haze. Stouts can be hazy, and that's OK because after all it's dark, so who cares? But if you are seeing black particles, then your racking technique may need some finetuning. After it's fully carbonated, chill the bottles for a week or more before opening. The sediment will settle to the bottom better and compact. Then when you pour, do it gently to not disturb that gunk on the bottom.
Bottom line- you made beer, and that's always a good thing. And you are learning with each batch. Now get started on batch #4!

 

[Kent88]

Please post what recipe you used or what kit you made.

 

[bjartar]

3.3lbs pale malt extract dme
3.3lbs pale malt extract dme (at knockout)
0.5lbs crystal 60L malt
0.5lbs roasted barley
0.75oz nugget hops (60)
1oz fuggles hops (30)
White labs WLP004 Irish ale yeast

 

[Kent88]

You could probably have used a little more dark steeping malts, but that doesn't seem very low. How long did you steep them and in how much water?

I was thinking the black sediment might have been scorched extract, but I think that is more of an LME problem. Maybe some fines from the steeping grains got in there?

Adding DME at flameout is a little odd, though. I've heard of some people adding a portion of their malt extract with 10 or 15 minutes left in the boil to increase bitterness extraction from hops, but not at flameout.

 

[bjartar]

Steeped for 30 minutes

 

[kh54s10]

My guess on the color is that your recipe just does not include enough dark malts. BTW roasted barley is the same grain as most of the other malts so the size is only different in a very small amount by moisture content. It really does not mill any different than any other barley malt.

There will be some yeast and sediment that will settle and compact on the bottom of the bottle during conditioning. With homebrews, pour into a glass gently leaving a little in the bottom of the bottle. If you pour it all you will get the sediment and the dead/dormant yeast.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Adding half the DME at the end is to help preserve a lighter color as far as I'm aware, for a stout not needed, but that wouldn't make a big difference in this case. Not all stouts are black flavor is what matters most. Enjoy.