Storey Stout - Wednesday, November 1st, 2023

I am not using beer gas as I don't think I will make a lot of UK styles of beer. This will be on tap down in the beer room. I will use my stout faucet and try to get a creamy head on it the best I can do. If it is okay, I will make another one sometime in the winter of 2024.

Ingredients

9 lbs. Horton Ridge Organic

2 lbs. Flaked Barley

1 lb. Carafa Special III

1 lb. Choclate Malt

1 lb. Roasted Barley

40 grams Challenger at 60 min.

US-05

Mashing the 2 row and flaked barley only.

Cold Steeping the roasted malts

On the day before brew day, mix the roasted grains with 6 qts. RO water and toss it in the fridge over night. Take out of fridge sometime during the day to warm up. Add to the boil kettle the last 10 minutes of the boil. 

             

Water Profile - Yellow Balanced

Mash Water - 5.25 gallons

Sparge Water - 5 gallons

CA - 50

MG - 9

S04 - 75

CI - 59

PH - 5.40

Mash

Gyp - 1.4 g

CI - 1.8 g

Eps - 1.8 g

Lactic Acid - 1.7 ml

Boil

Gyp- 1.4 g

CI - 1.7 g

Eps - 1.7 g

Lactic Acid in Sparge - .2 ml

O.G. - 1.043

F.G. -  1.009

% -      4.5

SRM - 35 - May not be totally accurate considering the cold steeping of the roasted grains.

BU - 36 - Checked my previous stouts and 36 seems fine.

                                                   COLD STEEPED GRAIN PROBLEM

The steeped grains were thick as thieves the next morning. It would of taken an hour or so to extract them as they were. I sparged with wort from the kettle to get something out of them. Next time I will use the bigger pot and fill it like 2 days ahead of brew day. Then I will extract them and use water if I have to. I will adjust my volume in the boil to reflect the extract I will get. Still, it smells great. A big mess to clean up though. Smells like Xmas, not sure why, but it does. Other than that I am done. Cleaned everything. Definitely doing a faster cold steep next time.

                                                        YEAST PITCHED AT 11 AM ( 68 F )

Brew Day - Checked at 10 pm. Started to ferment already, nice. Going good next am.

Day 2 - Going good.

Day 3 - Steady. Lots of krausen around the top of the carboy. Activity every 5 seconds. 

Day 5 - Going good, a little slower but steady. I don't smell any roasted grains in the fridge. I have to 

             move it in a couple of days. That is fine, it will be at 50% attenuation by then.

              

There is no hurry for this as it is to be served on or around the wedding. I do want the carboy so I can brew another lager. Keg on day 16 or near that. This is going up in the pub room when ready. I can go ahead and keg this on Sunday, Nov 20. Checking the gravity on Nov. 19 to be sure if it is done.

                                                              TASTE ON NOV. 19

 

A little ash like. Not much, but some. I will lover the choc and roast barley to 8 ozs. and use more of the Carafa III to get the same amount of roasted grains. So, that will be 8 ozs. choc and roast barley and 2 lbs. CaraFa III next time. The taste will mellow out as my previous notes indicated so wait and see before making any recipe changes. It is really dark though. I love Stouts and this is a true Stout. Way better than those Stouts in PEI. 

                                                              KEGGED NOV. 22

Moved it to the Pub fridge and sanitized the stout faucet for a poor mans stout. Took like 2 hours to hook everything up. A real pita. Next time hook it up a week ahead of time and run star san through it before serving. Looks good though. Just a slight ash taste which may or may not subside with age. However, I do like the Mild better. Next one will have no roast barley and more Carafa III and choc malt. Starting to lose the ashy taste already. Maybe I won't change the recipe. The next one will be bottle conditioned. I want to fill the Beaus bottles which is 2 batches of beer.

                                                    UPDATE NO. 1

Nope, do not like it. I used way too much roasted grains. If you ever brew this again, use half of each ingredient or just brew your Mild which I really liked.

                                                    UPDATE NO. 2

                                                    January 17

Just having one from the Pub room. Haven't had one in weeks. Nice. The over roasty flavour is gone. Still a full bodied Stout, but a nice one. May re-think on brewing this again. If I do, it will be bottle conditioned in my 600 ml Beaus bottles.