week 4 beer

Week 4 Beer

After making a very light, hazy wheat beer that was geared toward mushroom colonization, I decided to take this week’s beer in a different direction. I decided that I wanted to make an extremely dark beer that gets its flavor/texture from the grain bill and non-hop flavoring agents i.e. Spices. I researched a number of different flavor profiles for different grains and how they are used to impart different characteristics into the beer to develop the grain bill for this recipe, then once I had the overall mash figured out, I chose hops that will pair well with that flavor and character, then attempted to complement this combination with a few different spices. This was my first attempt of tailoring a stout as much as possible to my specific liking.

Spiced Vanilla Stout

Mash

4lbs American 2-row malted barley (high amount of fermentable sugars)

4lbs Maris Otter (toasty, toffee like base malt from England)

2lb Cara-pils (for frothy head retention)

1lb Black Patent (roasted coffee like flavor and dark molasses like color)

1lb Chocolate Malt (dark chocolate like flavor and richness)

1lb Flaked Oats (for silky smooth texture and mouth-feel)

1 tsp. gypsum (lowers ph. of water so that the wort will reach its highest enzymatic potential)

Boil

2 oz. Fuggel hops divided into quarters (Low bitterness, dried maple wood/wet dirt flavor)

2 grams crushed Seeds of Paradise (Orange peel/pepper chai like flavor)

2 grams crushed Cardamom Seeds (cardamom flavor)

2 whole vanilla beans (blends and complements the seeds of paradise and cardamom)

2 cups Brown sugar (bump up the gravity and add a light syrupy texture to the overall body of the beer)

1 pinch Irish moss (dehydrated red seaweed for clarity)

Ferment

2 packets of Nottingham English ale yeast.

Heat strike 4 gallons (1-2 quarts per pound of grain) of water to 169°F for a target resting temperature of 155°F.

Mash grains for one hour with 1tsp of gypsum.

Sparge with 3 gallons of water at 170°F, running water through grains a couple times. Do this until 5 gallons of wort is achieved.

Return wort in kettle back to high heat in anticipation of the heat break.

When heat break occurs, stir, blow on foam, reduce heat, start timer for 60 minutes, and add 1.5 oz. of Fuggel hops.

In 45 minutes, add remaining .5 oz. Fuggel hops, 2 cups brown sugar (stirring until dissolved), crushed vanilla beans, seeds of paradise, and cardamom, 1 pinch of Irish moss.