Recipe Check - My First Stout

[slcmorro]

SCOPE (English Stout)

Original Gravity (OG): 1.049 (°P): 12.1
Final Gravity (FG): 1.012 (°P): 3.1
Alcohol (ABV): 4.81 %
Colour (SRM): 22.7 (EBC): 44.6
Bitterness (IBU): 52.2 (Average - No Chill Adjusted)

75.27% Golden Promise Malt
6.45% Caramunich I
6.45% Carapils (Dextrine)
6.45% Flaked Oats
5.38% Roasted Barley

0.5 g/L Magnum (12.5% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
2.3 g/L East Kent Golding (4.7% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil)
2.3 g/L Fuggles (5.7% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil)


Single step Infusion at 66°C for 60 Minutes. Boil for 60 Minutes

Fermented at 19°C with Danstar Windsor


Recipe Generated with BrewMate

Hi guys - Using Fuggles for the first time. I've got 40gm of leaf to use up, was thinking of adding that in a sock (along with all other additions), and the flaked oats you see will be gelatinised breakfast oats straight into the mash. I've also got around 500gm of plum/cherry jam I made from some leftover fruit from Christmas, which has been made inert and frozen for a month I'm planning on adding on day 5 or so which will increase the ABV, but by an unknown quantity - hence the lowish OG I'm aiming for. I'll bottle this, and sit on it until winter.

Wouldn't mind a bit of feedback if you're willing

Edit: Just realised this thread titles sounds like it should have been written in crayon. Ah well.

 

[brzt6060]

Other then the fact that I don't like Magnum was going to use cascade for the 60 minute addition (Personal Taste) I like the recipe and I'm planning something very similar but with more oats (about 10%), 200g of chocolate malt and using frozen raspberries. Oh and I was planning on going with Danstar Nottingham Yeast.

Here have your crayon back, I borrowed it.

 

[Blind Dog]

Do you really want it that bitter? OG to IBU of around 2:1 is more typical. The roast barley (assuming it's mashed not cold stepped) adds a nice astringency, but with your hopping schedule I'd be concerned the end product would be bitingly bitter drowning everything else. Maybe that's what you want though?

 

[brzt6060]

Do you really want it that bitter? OG to IBU of around 2:1 is more typical. The roast barley (assuming it's mashed not cold stepped) adds a nice astringency, but with your hopping schedule I'd be concerned the end product would be bitingly bitter drowning everything else. Maybe that's what you want though?

If you are talking to me I was planning on cold steeping the chocolate malt and Roasted Barley.

 

[slcmorro]

Do you really want it that bitter?

I don't mind my bitter beers to be honest, and this one will sit bottled for 6 months or so - the bitterness should have the edge taken off a little. I was aiming for an IBU of around 50, as I think the addition of the plum/cherry conserve will really add a bit of sweetness to the beer. Perhaps?

 

[JDW81]

I reckon you can drop back the bitterness to a ratio of about 0.8:1 BU:GU.

You need to bear in mind that you will get some perceived bitterness from the roast barley.

If it were my beer I'd also drop the dextrine malt and add either some more roast barley (no more than 9-10% of the grist though) or some other dark spec grain (dark cystal for some raisin character). I'd probably up the roast barley and add some crystal 120L instead of the caramunich.

FWIW I also don't like a lot of late hops in a low-medium gravity stout. IMHO the grain (and to a lesser extent the yeast) are the real heros of the style, and too many hop additions (and bitterness) can detract from what should be a fairly simple and easy drinking beer.

I'd bitter with fuggles and consider a small cube addition of EKG for flavour (if at all).

JD

 

[slcmorro]

Thanks mate.

Changed the Caramunich to dark crystal at 300gm, pushed the Roasted Barley to 500gm as well.

Played a bit with it, and made the 40gm of Leaf a 60 min bittering charge and thrown in 20gm of EKG @ 20 (treating it as 20 even though it'll be a cube addition), and to get me to 39.9IBU with a BU:GU Ratio of 0.81.

 

[Blind Dog]

I don't mind my bitter beers to be honest, and this one will sit bottled for 6 months or so - the bitterness should have the edge taken off a little. I was aiming for an IBU of around 50, as I think the addition of the plum/cherry conserve will really add a bit of sweetness to the beer. Perhaps?

Not sure the fruit conserve will add sweetness as the sugars are likely to be fermented out. Should definitely add some complexity though. Also reckon JDWs points are all good points and I'd second switching the caramunich and carapils for something darker, and dropping the OG to bitterness ratio. My personal tastes would be UK dark crystal for one and caraaroma for the other, and an IBU:OG ratio closer to 0.6 (but taking into account the sugars in the conserve)

 

[TheWiggman]

With those hops and basic recipe you're going for an English style stout, along the lines of a dry stout. I'd personally leave the carapils out, not sure it'll add anything. The caramunuch might add an interesting depth to it and while not out of place, isn't exactly textbook to my knowledge so see how it goes. Could be a winner.
I agree that the bitterness is high and 30 IBU is on the high end for this style. Depends, considering this is your first stout (can't believe that) do you find regular stouts to not be bitter enough for you? Do you think they need the cherries to make it interesting? If so, go nuts, otherwise maybe restrain a bit. Up to you but that's my feedback.
For yeast, go 1084 or 1187.

Edit: gotta be quick around here. Good informative posts above. 500g roast barley is getting high and I wouldn't go beyond that for 23l, especially with the quantity of dark crystal in there. Keep the flaked barley at or above your roast. Another good dark addition is chocolate malt... bloody hell I'm getting thirsty from all this and it's only 9AM.

 

[slcmorro]

Why can't you believe it's my first stout?

 

[TheWiggman]

Stout was the 2nd AG brew I did for myself, I love them
I consider it one of the 'basic' styles to do as a brewer: American pale ale, Coopers pale, wheat, stout, lager.

 

[slcmorro]

Aaah. Yeah, I'm not a huge stout drinker that's probably why. Coming to appreciate a good one more and more though.

 

[Blind Dog]

Coming to appreciate a good one more and more though.

Do you have a commercial favourite, or maybe a few? I've always found that hunting out details of commercial beers I like and even attempts at a clone where there is feedback and discussion rather than just a recipe helps a lot with the formulation of my own base recipe and helps me to work out what to add or take away to get to where I want to go. I've found it tends to save a fair amount of the blind trial and error (and 'meh' batches) that characterised my initial forays into AG brewing and the first brew of a recipe often ends up a lot closer to what I want.

 

[slcmorro]

Do you have a commercial favourite, or maybe a few?

Nah, I really don't. I tried one of billygoats American Stouts the other day, and it was delicious. That's what really gave me the bug to make my own.