Wil Wheaton's w00tstout - Questions and concerns

[nikkuchan]

Hello. My current brew is almost ready to be bottled, so I've been trying to decide on what to make next, and I came across this:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/wil-wheaton-w00tstout-recipe-kit.html

I read it and was thinking both "this is too much," and "This looks really good" at the same time. I found out that Stone sold it, but alas, I couldn't find any to try.

I thought about trying to make it, but it seemed beyond me (I'm not that experienced, and I'm not sure what I should and shouldn't do concerning making changes to suit my brewing situation). After some research, I thought I could pull it off, but I had a few questions and concerns:

1) I've never done a secondary before (mostly because of space/equipment limitations (but I could borrow equipment and also use my apartment's storage units), but also because I hear lots of talk that it's not worth doing). Am I required to do a secondary if I'm, say, adding oak chips? Is it not okay to add it to primary?

2) The recipe calls for 4 weeks in primary and 2 months in secondary. That's a long time. Is it necessary to wait that long. Also, if I don't use a secondary, would letting it sit too long in the primary be bad (I heard it is)? I had thought about just doing a 4 week primary fermentation and adding the oak and whiskey 2 weeks in. Would that not work?

3) This beer is very strong - about 13% - Since I never made something so strong, and I use dry yeast (the recipe recommends Safale US-05), would one packet still be enough? Should I use 2?

I'd love some advice, especially if anyone has actually made this before. I'd really like to try it, and it seems like it'd make a fun project and boost my brewing confidence, but I don't want to jump in with the wrong ideas. Perhaps I should just give up and go for the regular Bourbon Barrel Porter that NB has. Anyway, Thanks for any help.

 

[Homercidal]

hello. My current brew is almost ready to be bottled, so i've been trying to decide on what to make next, and i came across this:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/wil-wheaton-w00tstout-recipe-kit.html

i read it and was thinking both "this is too much," and "this looks really good" at the same time. I found out that stone sold it, but alas, i couldn't find any to try.

I thought about trying to make it, but it seemed beyond me (i'm not that experienced, and i'm not sure what i should and shouldn't do concerning making changes to suit my brewing situation). After some research, i thought i could pull it off, but i had a few questions and concerns:

1) i've never done a secondary before (mostly because of space/equipment limitations (but i could borrow equipment and also use my apartment's storage units), but also because i hear lots of talk that it's not worth doing). Am i required to do a secondary if i'm, say, adding oak chips? Is it not okay to add it to primary?

for the majority of beer styles i say that a secondary is often unnecessary. In this case, with a long aging process and oaking, i say it's practically necessary. When you pitch as much yeast as recommended for such a big beer, it makes sense to get it out of the beer after fermentation. There will be plenty left in there for conditioning, but not so much that any off flavors from the yeast itself will present themselves. Plus, what good is oaking, if it's just going to settle down into the yeast anyway?

2) the recipe calls for 4 weeks in primary and 2 months in secondary. That's a long time. Is it necessary to wait that long. Also, if i don't use a secondary, would letting it sit too long in the primary be bad (i heard it is)? I had thought about just doing a 4 week primary fermentation and adding the oak and whiskey 2 weeks in. Would that not work?

well back to the first question where i recommend a secondary. I would really advise using a secondary, and taking the time to do this beer right. You *could* add whiskey in the primary, but there is no advantage. It will just add more alcohol earlier, which would not be beneficial to the yeast. You want them to have the best conditions possible for complete fermenation. There is no disadvantage to adding the whiskey when you add the oak, in the secondary. One main reason for oaking in secondary is that you can add it after a few weeks when it's almost ready to bottle. Then you can add the oak and have it in there only as long as you want, then bottle. It's not hard to get too much oak in a beer. Adding it early might make removing it when it's time a challenge if the beer is not ready yet.

3) this beer is very strong - about 13% - since i never made something so strong, and i use dry yeast (the recipe recommends safale us-05), would one packet still be enough? Should i use 2?

I'd love some advice, especially if anyone has actually made this before. I'd really like to try it, and it seems like it'd make a fun project and boost my brewing confidence, but i don't want to jump in with the wrong ideas. Perhaps i should just give up and go for the regular bourbon barrel porter that nb has.

personally, i don't see the big difference between brewing this recipe and most any other. You will need to add at least 2 packets of yeast. This is a monster beer for most kit recipes and still huge for most brewers. It will take plenty of yeast to chew through those sugars.

Adding bourbon and oak is not a technical challenge. Simply rack the beer to secondary when it's time, then give it some time to clear and age. When you think it's had enough time to clear, add the bourbon and oak. Leave it sit for a week or two, then bottle. You will want to get a thief and taste it once or twice a week to judge the amount of oak you prefer.

This is a special recipe. It's not going to have the same schedule that a beer of average strength is going to have. It will take longer. Trust me, if there were reliable methods of speeding up a big beer's fermentation, clearing, and conditioning, we'd all know about it. Until that happens, take the time to do it right and you will be rewarded in the end.

Oh, and if you are using liquid yeast, build a big starter. Aerate very well. They claim dry yeast doesn't require aeration, but on a beer this big i doubt it will hurt anything.


anyway, thanks for any help.

-h

 

[nikkuchan]

That was more helpful than I hoped for. Thanks a lot!

 

[FatDragon]

I got a bottle of W00tstout 2.0 at the brewery the day it was released. It's a monster. It was a delicious beer, but half a bomber sated my giant sticky RIS tastebuds for months. If you're making a 5 gallon batch of this stuff, get some oxygen-absorbing caps for your bottles and then wax them over, because you won't finish the last one until midway through Hillary's second term...

 

[nikkuchan]

I got a bottle of W00tstout 2.0 at the brewery the day it was released. It's a monster. It was a delicious beer, but half a bomber sated my giant sticky RIS tastebuds for months. If you're making a 5 gallon batch of this stuff, get some oxygen-absorbing caps for your bottles and then wax them over, because you won't finish the last one until midway through Hillary's second term...

Wow, really? While it sounds delicious, and I really want to try it, I don't know if I want 5 gallons of it (I definitely wouldn't be able to drink something this strong regularly). I think I may pass on brewing it and just keep a lookout for it at the liquor store.

 

[eatmorefrogs]

@ question #3. I always pitch twice the yeast for big beers. Like a lot of brew habits, I can't remember if that's science or superstition, but the only victim is your wallet. I googled for the recipe and the author suggests a big starter.

 

[MaxStout]

Wow, really? While it sounds delicious, and I really want to try it, I don't know if I want 5 gallons of it (I definitely wouldn't be able to drink something this strong regularly). I think I may pass on brewing it and just keep a lookout for it at the liquor store.

I'm in the Twin Towns, too, but I haven't seen that one in stores. The Stone beers distributed here seem to be mainly the "flagship" beers. Maybe call Four Firkins--you never know.

You could post on the trade section and see if someone out on the west coast would send you a bottle.

 

[FatDragon]

Wow, really? While it sounds delicious, and I really want to try it, I don't know if I want 5 gallons of it (I definitely wouldn't be able to drink something this strong regularly). I think I may pass on brewing it and just keep a lookout for it at the liquor store.

It is/was a one-off. 2.0 came out in mid-July, so even it's probably completely off shelves by now. You could try to see if a one-gallon kit or recipe is available, or make the 5-gallon kit and give out a lot of gfts, or even buy the 5-gallon kit, make 1/5th of it, then use the rest of the ingredients for other brews.

 

[crapstash]

I'm interested in this beer as well. Subscribed.

Please update your progress if you decide to brew it. I have the same concerns as you and I'm currently looking for a sample somewhere before I go brew 5 gallons.