Your favourite stout recipe?

[Gingerbrews]

I have GH American Stout conditioning currently. It tasted brilliant at bottling even with no carbonation

 

[BridgeBrew]

I've just done a Coopers irish stout, and its turned out great. Just a bag of muntons beer enhancer, and 500g of dextrose. Cant believe how nice it is for such a simple brew. I've done an AG stout many years ago that was lovely, and done a simply stout with added lactose, didnt turn out that nice. Got another Coopers in the fermenting fridge now, with 250g of cold steeped chocolate malt added. Cant wait for that one.

 

[An Ankoù]

I love stout and one of my favourite recipes is my Wheat Porter. Here's a recipe for 20 litres in case anyone wants to try it. Use a fairly well attenuating and non-phenolic yeast: Nottingham, Ringwood, London Ale, but I avoid US-05 and all it's mates as it made it too fizzy to pour easily: Opshaug is ok, if you must, but don't use Voss.
2.8 Kg Wheat malt
1.2 Kg Pale Ale malt (I used MO in my last one, but only because it was there)
400g Roasted Barley
Fuggles to 30 IBUs FWH
90 minute mash @ 65C (my last was overnight)
90 minute boil
25g Fuggles last 15 minutes and halp a protofloc tablet. Ignore IBU addition from this charge.
OG 1048 FG 1010. Don't overcarbonate otherwise you'll never pour it. I used 4½ g sugar per 75 cl bottle. 6-8 weeks conditioning.

Gorgeous slightly chilled

 

[BridgeBrew]

Gotta agree. You can't beat a chilled stout. This is my stout fridge, it's a small under counter fridge ( the type with the weird chiller shelf) the pipes just run through the shelf, non in the fridge body. So just detached the shelf, then carefully re positioned it, so it goes round the keg. With the stat on the warmest setting it's 7 degrees. Lovely, and it only cost a fiver.

 

[matt76]

This Josh Weikert recipe isn't actually a stout @Clint but rather a Porter. Nevertheless it's a tasty alternative to the GH Brown Porter and in the same neck of the woods as what you're looking for.

I've made both and/or hybrids of the two a couple of times and both are very good. As a general point for dark beers I can thoroughly recommend dabbling with Chocolate Rye Malt.

I also recommend checking out JW's "Make Your Best..." series for more inspiration for different kinds of stout - I haven't tried it yet, and I know it breaks your 5% ABV rule but his Tropical Stout recipe has really caught my eye!

 

[alsch890]

The Palmer stout came out quite well when I brewed it.

82% Pale malt, 6% flaked Barley, 6% roasted barley, 3% crystal 120, 3% black patent. Nugget @60 for 30ibu and my hood @30 for 12ibu (I used Mt hood but the recipe calls for fuggles).

 

[Brewnaldo]

Can someone have a look at this grain bill and tell me if it looks ok for a stout?

Maris Otter 4.5kg
Carafa Special Type 1 200g
Roasted Barley 200g
Chocolate Malt 600g
Light Crystal 200g
Torrified Wheat 200g

Hops will just be Challenger and EKG, and I plan to add some flavour in the FV, probably chocolate and maybe some nut flavour. I like the idea of a hazelnut chocolate stout.

 

[samale]

Can someone have a look at this grain bill and tell me if it looks ok for a stout?

Maris Otter 4.5kg
Carafa Special Type 1 200g
Roasted Barley 200g
Chocolate Malt 600g
Light Crystal 200g
Torrified Wheat 200g

Hops will just be Challenger and EKG, and I plan to add some flavour in the FV, probably chocolate and maybe some nut flavour. I like the idea of a hazelnut chocolate stout.

Personally I would go with one or the other as regards to the roasted barley and carafa.
Carafa will give you a smoother finish.

 

[Brewnaldo]

Personally I would go with one or the other as regards to the roasted barley and carafa.
Carafa will give you a smoother finish.

Thanks. I really know precious little about the attributes of individual grains. Especially the darker ones that you use small amounts of.

Unfortunately GEB will send that all in one bag so it will all go in this time but I will bear this in mind.

 

[samale]

Thanks. I really know precious little about the attributes of individual grains. Especially the darker ones that you use small amounts of.

Unfortunately GEB will send that all in one bag so it will all go in this time but I will bear this in mind.

Is this an all grain kit.

 

[Brewnaldo]

Is this an all grain kit.

Yeah, well not a kit per se just used the recipe builder on GEB

 

[dv12]

The Graham Wheeler, British Real Ale has a Guinness Extra Stout that i'm going to brew shortly.
Do you think he was being sarcastic with the one line description "World classic beer of enormous complexity and character". Given the recipe is the simplest of all the stouts / porters in the book. Practically every other recipe gets a paragraph with tasting and aroma descriptions.

 

[Clint]

It probably was before they buggered about with it...

 

[Brewnaldo]

The stout mentioned above is now next in my brew queue. Have been raking the site and am intrigued by a previously mentioned 3 bean stout with tonka, coffee and vanilla. Thinking maybe not add chocolate since the malt should give some of that anyway.

Whats the consensus for adding the above 3 beans? Tincture and into FV? How long for normally? Any help appreciated

 

[Slid]

The Graham Wheeler, British Real Ale has a Guinness Extra Stout that i'm going to brew shortly.
Do you think he was being sarcastic with the one line description "World classic beer of enormous complexity and character". Given the recipe is the simplest of all the stouts / porters in the book. Practically every other recipe gets a paragraph with tasting and aroma descriptions.

No, I think not sarcastic at all. The Guinness recipe (as of a certain point in time?) is quite well known to be roughly:

Base Malt 70%
Flaked Barley 20%
Roast Barley 10%

And that, as Clint says, was before it was amended to cut even more corners.

Greg Hughes' recipe for a Dry Stout reduces the amount of flaked barley, and increases the proportion of malted barley. Even a dash of Chocolate malt, but GW was reporting it as best was known.

 

[Clint]

Trying a Guinness clone soon..

 

[joel]

I've done an AG Guinness Clone, close to Wheeler's recipe and it went down very well, a really good session beer and better than the real thing. Using the Guinness yeast strain was quite important though, it's got quite a distinct character. That said... I love any stout really and my current (partial mash) effort uses Empire Ale for a slightly sweet finish (but not as much as those sickly lactose bomb stouts popular in 'craft beer' circles right now!!) and it's promising but different to a dry stout.

I've used cacao nibs and vanilla as an addition to a Coopers Stout kit, but not tonka beans or coffee yet. I made a tincture with some vodka (about 100ml?), left it to soak for a week and added after primary fermentation was done. Seemed to work OK but one pod was not quite enough in my case. From what I've read coffee can be added several ways (either brewed or as beans) but cold steeped seems to be popular, that way it doesn't extract any harsh flavours.

 

[Horners]

I've done an AG Guinness Clone, close to Wheeler's recipe and it went down very well, a really good session beer and better than the real thing. Using the Guinness yeast strain was quite important though, it's got quite a distinct character. That said... I love any stout really and my current (partial mash) effort uses Empire Ale for a slightly sweet finish (but not as much as those sickly lactose bomb stouts popular in 'craft beer' circles right now!!) and it's promising but different to a dry stout.

I've used cacao nibs and vanilla as an addition to a Coopers Stout kit, but not tonka beans or coffee yet. I made a tincture with some vodka (about 100ml?), left it to soak for a week and added after primary fermentation was done. Seemed to work OK but one pod was not quite enough in my case. From what I've read coffee can be added several ways (either brewed or as beans) but cold steeped seems to be popular, that way it doesn't extract any harsh flavours.

Which is the Guinness yeast strain?

 

[joel]

Depends which lab you buy from, it's usually called something like 'Irish Ale', it's Wyeast 1084 or WLP004 but the specific one I used was Imperial Darkness as it doesn't need a starter for lower strength beers.

 

[Horners]

Depends which lab you buy from, it's usually called something like 'Irish Ale', it's Wyeast 1084 or WLP004 but the specific one I used was Imperial Darkness as it doesn't need a starter for lower strength beers.

Yep think I used 1084 for my attempt