Suggestions for Stout

[bobbyc]

Working name is "Burnt Monkey Stout"
10 gal, 1.065 OG, 60 IBU, 40 SRM
This is my first recipe from scratch, based on some Imp Stout recipes from Beer Captured, but I was aiming for something not quite as strong... I was going for something more chocolatey, with a lot of mouthfeel.

Fermentables
Ingredient Amount % When
US Pale Ale Malt 20.00 lbs 70.7 % In Mash/Steeped
US Chocolate Malt 3.00 lbs 10.6 % In Mash/Steeped
US Roasted Barley 1.50 lbs 5.3 % In Mash/Steeped
US Caramel 80L Malt 1.50 lbs 5.3 % In Mash/Steeped
US Victory Malt 1.00 lbs 3.5 % In Mash/Steeped
US Flaked Barley 1.00 lbs 3.5 % In Mash/Steeped
US Black Barley 0.30 lbs 1.1 % In Mash/Steeped

Hops
Variety Alpha Amount Form When
US Centennial 8.5 3.0 oz Pelletized Hops All Of Boil
US Centennial 8.5 1.0 oz Pelletized Hops 30 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 2.0 oz Loose Whole Hops 5 Min From End

Yeast
White Labs WLP001-California Ale

Any suggestions from you more experienced recipe-builders?

Thanks!!

 

[Glibbidy]

Sounds like you are looking to make something other than an imperial stout since you desire a beer that is not as strong. Why not make a regular old stout? Since it is you first experiment with recipe design, you may want to keep it simple. This recipe while straight forward is going to have a rather complex taste.

From experience I would recommend just using some basic ingredients to get started so that you can understand how the different malts and hops affect the overall taste of the beer. This gives you the brewer control over what you want to drink in the future.

Consider making something more basic here on your first endeavor. If you decide to make this beer, I would cut back the total combination of black & Chocolate malt to under 10% of the total grist. A little bit goes a long way with these malts, and if you overdo it, you make be disappointed with the results. You may wish to consider reducing the amount of roasted barley in this beer as well to somewhere between 5-10%. Good luck you'll mak a fine beer!

 

[bobbyc]

I did want this to be a bit stronger of a stout with plenty of flavor... somewhere along the lines of Sam Smith Imp. Stout & North Coast Old No. 38.

The roasted barley is at 5.3% right now... so I was a bit confused about your suggestion there. Most of the stronger stout recipes I saw included pale ale malt, chocolate, roasted barley, 80L, black & one other malt - typically victory or flaked barley/oats.

I guess this is more of a modified recipe than from scratch. Maybe my percentages are off. Were you suggesting all specialty grains make up only 10% of the total grain bill?

 

[Glibbidy]

My bad sorry about the mind fart there. 5.3% Malted barley should work. For this beer I think a total combination of the Chocolate, Black, and Roasted Barley should not exceed 10%. As far as your other specialty grains go I'd say go no more then 20% for these, leaving at least 70% for your pale malt as you have it.

Chocolate + Black + Roasted Barley <= 10%
All other specialty grains <= 20%
Pale Malt >= 70%

 

[bobbyc]

OK, so I'm pretty close then... maybe just need to trim down some of the specialty malts more. As far as achieving a thicker mouthfeel, would you recommend keeping Flaked Barley where it's at, while reducing other specialties?

I'm looking at something like this right now for the grain bill:

Fermentables
Ingredient Amount % When
US Pale Ale Malt 21.00 lbs 78.5 % In Mash/Steeped
US Chocolate Malt 2.00 lbs 7.5 % In Mash/Steeped
US Roasted Barley 1.00 lbs 3.7 % In Mash/Steeped
US Caramel 80L Malt 1.00 lbs 3.7 % In Mash/Steeped
US Flaked Barley 1.00 lbs 3.7 % In Mash/Steeped
US Victory Malt 0.50 lbs 1.9 % In Mash/Steeped
US Black Barley 0.25 lbs 0.9 % In Mash/Steeped

Also, thanks a ton for your help...

 

[Glibbidy]

As far as achieving a thicker mouthfeel, would you recommend keeping Flaked Barley where it's at, while reducing other specialties?

You could keep the Flaked barley and the other specailites where they are at, and simply mash in at a higher temp (say 153-156f). This will increase mouthfeel. Keep in mind it will also reduce the overall ABV as well.