Stoatally Wired

[MPLMPL]

As The Fall is upon us ah, and temperatures are more conducive to brewing ah, I'm planning on knocking up a merkin-style stout/porter affair at the weekend ah.
Thoughts? Too much chocolate for a 12L batch size (can you have too much chocolate malt?)? Too much crystal? I don't have any roasted barley in, so it will have to be black malt.
Toying with the idea of racking half of it off after a week or so onto some blackberries or elderberries, as the garden is teeming with them at the moment.

Stoatally Wired
American Stout

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 12.0
Total Grain (kg): 2.145
Total Hops (g): 75.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.056 (°P): 13.8
Final Gravity (FG): 1.014 (°P): 3.6
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 5.50 %
Colour (SRM): 38.3 (EBC): 75.5
Bitterness (IBU): 46.8 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
----------------
1.500 kg Dry Malt Extract - Light (69.93%)
0.220 kg Chocolate (10.26%)
0.150 kg Crystal 60 (6.99%)
0.150 kg Malted Oats (6.99%)
0.125 kg Black Patent (5.83%)

Hop Bill
----------------
20.0 g Northdown Leaf (8.16% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (1.7 g/L)
10.0 g Cascade Leaf (9.2% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil) (0.8 g/L)
10.0 g Northdown Leaf (8.16% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil) (0.8 g/L)
20.0 g Cascade Leaf (9.2% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Aroma) (1.7 g/L)
15.0 g Northdown Leaf (8.16% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Aroma) (1.3 g/L)

Misc Bill
----------------
Protafloc @ 15 Minutes (Boil)
Single step Infusion at 66°C for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 18°C with Safale S-04
Recipe Generated with BrewMate

 

[graysalchemy]

If you are planning on using elderberries I find they are best added in the last 10 minutes of the boil, it lends for a more port like flavour. However if you were to use strabs or raspberries I would sugest adding post fermentation :thumb:

 

[MPLMPL]

If you are planning on using elderberries I find they are best added in the last 10 minutes of the boil, it lends for a more port like flavour. However if you were to use strabs or raspberries I would sugest adding post fermentation :thumb:

Cheers.
I've been reading your posts on elderberry stout, this is what put the idea in my head. Having never sampled the delights of a 'velvet pussy', I'm reluctant to make the whole batch elderberry stout. I'm still not sure of the idea of fruit and beer, but fancied trying. Sounds like a good excuse to crack open a bottle of port though, purely for research purposes you understand.
I think I'll leave this one as an unadulterated stout and freeze the elderberries for use at a later date in small-scale batch (demijohn) of elderberry stout.

 

[MPLMPL]

Got this made on Saturday, with plenty of breaks in between steps to do other things. 60 min steep of grains, 60 min boil. All went smoothly. A black chocolaty 1.060, probably more porter than stout. Re-hydrated Safale S-04 and pitched about 7pm at ~28C as taxi was waiting. 6 cm of krausen the following morning with the airlock going like the clappers, ~19C.

 

[PD]

elderberries/blackberries and chocolate.....hmmmm sounds a good brew for the festive season.

 

[MPLMPL]

Bottled this after fermenting for two weeks. SG 1.017 = 5.6%. Went for 1.7 volumes of CO2 on priming. I went for the lower end of the scale as I thought 1.017 was a bit high, but wouldn't have got the chance to bottle for another two weeks if I hadn't bottled when I did. It went like a rocket in the first few days of fermenting, so I felt it was probably finished. Didn't get around to checking the gravity before bottling, but it had been quiet for at least a week. It's now been in the bottle for three weeks (2 weeks room temp, 1 week in the cellar ~12C), so I thought I'd sample one of the 330 mL bottles. It's looking and tasting good, although I think I'll leave it a few more weeks before getting properly stuck in. Nice bit a cascade coming through, but not over the top, lots of good dark roast/burnt tastes (in a good way). Carbonation spot on. A success I reckon.