My First Partial - Sweet Stout

[LKC]

I have just started steeping the grains for my first partial brew.

I am using Brew in a Bag making a Sweet stout.




My recipe is as follows

8.2% Roasted Malt - .5kg

5.7% Crystal 120 - .35kg

4.1% Choc Pale - .25kg

82% Biess DME Sparkling Amber - 5.0 KG - To be added within the last 5 min of the boil.




40g Fuggles - Boil time 60 Min

12g Cascade - Boil Time 60 Min




Yeast will be 2 packets of Safale 04 (the blue packet)




I went into Grain and Grape in West Footscray last week wanting to make my first Partial brew. Knowing that winter will soon be upon us I wanted a nice strong stout that I could sit down and drink on a cold night. So I thought why not make my first Partial a sweet stout with a hopeful ABV of around 8%.

Once I was in G'n'G and told them I wanted to start making a partial we jumped on the PC and created the above recipe. (The cascade being used as I already had some lying around). and to save cost on Hops it was decided to add the DME in the last few minutes of the boil.

I will only be doing a primary ferment and then allow it to age in the bottle untill June. ( I will obviously be having a tester bottle after a few weeks to make sure that it is going in the right direction.




I am hoping this turns out good as all my other Homebrews have been made using coopers cans that I have added a Hops Tea to the fermenter.




I was told to steep the grains at 70 c and knowing that adding the grains will make the temp drop I added them at around 85c. After adding them the temperature did not drop much and at the time I was wrapping my pot up in towels whilst I wait my hour for steeping the temp was still just under 80 C. Will this have any negative effects on the end product?




I am really enjoying doing a partial brew and even though I am only half way through the brew its seems not much harder than kit brewing but will allow me to customise my beer to make it my own unique way.

 

[RdeVjun]

Firstly, I encourage and support your enthusiasm for brewing, however its not really a partial mash I'm afraid, you're not really mashing but just steeping that grain and there's no base malt undergoing conversion from starch to sugar. Pretty much all of the fermentables are coming from the DME and that's already been mashed during manufacture, hence it goes in at the end of the boil. Have a squiz at Palmer's "How To Brew" where mashing is covered in detail, what you're doing there is an extract with steeped specialty grains.
I'm not sure steeping specialty malts at higher temperature would be detrimental, however I'd recommend a lower temperature, its probably quite high because you/G&G have estimated temperatures based on a few kilos of base malt. If you're going to mash though you will definitely need to control mash temperature with some precision. Stout is quite OK as style for novice brewers, there's plenty of scope for flavour and should be reasonably quick to condition, the stronger variants tend to take a little longer though.
This one should be OK as far an extract beer goes, stout can be a fairly forgiving style anyway, but read up on Palmer a bit more when you get the chance, it should be very helpful in deciding what the next one will be like and how you make it! :icon_cheers:

 

[LKC]

I was not sure If this should be considered a partial or not. Thanks for the clarification.

The wort did taste very bitter after the steeping was complete but once all the DME was added it tasted very sweet as expected.

I pitched my yeast this morning around 9ish and now my airlock has started to bubble. but I have got minimal foam / karusen. is this normal? I have heard that with High gravity beers the foam karusen should be massive / potentially coming though the airlock. As I am getting bubbles I am not worried as it proves that fermentation is happening.

OG was 1.100

As a note on my original recipe I had some spillage and over flow during the boil and lost about 1.5 litres so to be safe I have dropped the batch size to 20L.

I will be sure to read Palmers guide.

I am very interested in doing steeping / specialty grains again.

Maybe as an addition to the Coopers IPA or Pale ale cans I have lying around with some additions of hops.

 

[hoppy2B]

I think the last time I used 04 I was looking at the fermentor and thinking there wasn't much krausen. I prefer not to have it coming out of the airlock. :lol:
Excess tannins are meant to be associated with too high a temp. As long as it tastes ok then everything's fine.

 

[troopa]

I recon youve made beer
For future that amount of grain as you now know wont drop the temp that much and for a safer bet with steeping you can easily chuck them in at a much lower temp and bring it up to 70-80 degrees and then hold for about 20-60 mins(for steeping specialty malts like the ones you had)

Also with that higher grav beer i would of used 2 to 3 packs of s04 (or a starter) but dont let that worry you as it should still turn out perfectly fine

I cant wait for winter and choc porters and stouts .. hmm yummy

 

[kario]

I pitched my yeast this morning around 9ish and now my airlock has started to bubble. but I have got minimal foam / karusen. is this normal? I have heard that with High gravity beers the foam karusen should be massive / potentially coming though the airlock. As I am getting bubbles I am not worried as it proves that fermentation is happening.

You're Krausen will come....day 2-3.

 

[dth]

Mate, if your OG was 1.100, even if you're using extract I wouldn't be surprised if your ABV is at least 9% if not higher. Should be a nice winter warmer though from the looks of the recipe and probably just starting to drink nicely during midwinter after few months aging.

If you're bottling, it might be worth considering doing it in stubbies, I know I'd have trouble going through a tallie of something that strong by myself.

 

[LKC]

i used 2 packs of 04 one in a small starter i made an the other i sprinkled on top. thought process being if one did not take the other would but the wort was at 20 degrees as I let it cool over night.

AsI will be bottling I will amke sure I order some smaller bottles. (did not really think about the high ABV that much even though it was an aim.)

Looks Like I will have to start making next years winter warmer soon too so it can get some good age

 

[LKC]

To update this thread. it has now been a little over a week and while I can see the water in the Airlock moving I have not heard it bubble in a while.

I have just taken a gravity reading 1.031 @ 15c (I will check in 2 days time to confirm fermenation has finished.

The ABV Calculators that I have found on the net have said this gives me an ABV of around 9%.

Is this ABV too high for the SAFALE 04? looks like fermenation has stopped yet the gravity is still quite high. This is the first time I have used my Hydrometre but from looking at the forums I thought fermentation usually stops around 1.017.

When I add sugar for carbonation will the carbonation still occur? Should I add some champagne yeast just in case.

I am a little worried with such a high ABV and gravity reading.

 

[manticle]

1100 is very high but you did use two packs of yeast rather than one so that is good. However S04 does, on ocassion, stall. Are you positive that it was 1100? Was the sample properly mixed and the hydrometer used correctly? Those ingredients, without checking myself, look like they possibly could get close to that.

Try and rouse it. Read this for tips: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showarticle=130

Sweet stout usuallly has an addition of lactose which is unfermentable by brewing yeast and therefore gives a higher finishing gravity. Extract brews will often finish high too. You don't mention lactose in your recipe above though - did you use it or not?

I have had sweet, high gravity, extract stouts finish at 1030 and no amount of rousing tricks would do anything. Ended up fine but make sure you know that's where it should finish before bottling (fast ferment test suggested in the article should help). Be patient and try and shift it.

Fermentations stops at various points which depend on starting gravity, ingredients, yeast strain, yeast health, pitching rate, temperature etc. Many many things, many many different finishing gravities. You need to work out what is expected for your beer.