Chocolate Stout bottled, label made…

Filed under:Uncategorized — posted by brad on August 29, 2008 @ 5:09 pm

The Chocolate Stout was bottled on 08/22/08. I will sample in the next week or  two to check its progress, the worst part about homebrewing is the waiting game!

Chocolate Stout Update!

Filed under:Uncategorized — posted by brad on August 16, 2008 @ 12:16 pm

After taking my first gravity reading (currently at 1.035) from 1.066 original gravity) for the chocolate stout I just had to take a sample and I must pat myself  on the back on this one, it is pure  chocolaty goodness! I was a bit worried about the flavor profile for this  batch as I used  about a 1/4 of a White Labs Irish Ale Yeast (WLP004) due to the vial exploding all over  my hands when I opened  it! (shake gently and open slowly!!) To be sure  of proper yeast cell  count I added the only  yeast I had on hand at the time, the Safale US-05 which is a basic, nutrual ale yeast. Mixing two different yeast should in theory create a funky flavor profile that is not desirable in your beers. Although I may be missing some of the Irish Ale Yeast smokey flavors, the beer tastes great  with a huge chocolate backing. I think I will save  some of these for  the upcoming 2009 Valentine’s Day goodness!

I will update once flocculation is complete and I am ready to bottle, which should be soon. Pics from the brew day have been uploaded here!

Also, just a quick note regarding the self adhesive duct insulation (Frost King) that I wrapped around my 5 gallon mash tun, it worked like a charm! Held the temp steady for an hour with no additional water additions. Highly recommened as a cheap solution to buying a whole new cooler for your mash!

New Brew! Chocolate Stout!

Filed under:Uncategorized — posted by brad on August 8, 2008 @ 1:49 pm

Chocolate Stout Ingredients

It’s time for me to brew again & this time I will be attempting my first chocolate stout! Should be a perfect recipe just in time for the fall & winter months to come! Here’s the ingredient list:

3 lbs. Dark DME (Dry Malt Extract)

4 lbs. Amber DME

1 lb. Chocolate Malt

1 lb. Roasted Barley

0.5 lb. Black Patent Malt

0.5 lb. Munich Malt

2 oz. Mt. Hood Hops

I will be doing a partial mash for this recipe & I may add more hops to play around with the hopping schedule a bit. Brewing tomorrow 08/09/08 I will post more either during the brewday or shortly afterwards.