Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Requested Recipe: Little Heater Brett Stout

I've had a few requests for this recipe, so I thought I'd publish it here. It took first in the Belgian Specialty Ale category at Knickerbocker Battle of the Brews in November, and is a great winter beer. Funny thing is this was a "clean out my grain stash" beer, where I tossed a bunch of random stuff together...



I used only the first runnings to make the Little Heater, so do whatever you want with the second runnings. (I used them for a Flanders Bruin that I don't really like...) The first runnings were 1.092 after boiling.

Recipe: Little Heater Brett Stout    TYPE: All Grain
Style: Imperial Stout (Belgian Specialty Ale)

---RECIPE SPECIFICATIONS-----------------------------------------------
SRM: 30.4 SRM        SRM RANGE: 30.0-40.0 SRM
IBU: 69.6 IBUs Tinseth    IBU RANGE: 50.0-90.0 IBUs
OG: 1.066 SG        OG RANGE: 1.075-1.115 SG
FG: 1.020 SG        FG RANGE: 1.018-1.030 SG
BU:GU: 1.057        Calories: 319.5 kcal/12oz    Est ABV: 6.1 %       
EE%: 67.00 %    Batch: 11.00 gal      Boil: 13.42 gal    BT: 90 Mins

Total Grain Weight: 29 lbs 4.9 oz    Total Hops: 2.50 oz oz.

---MASH/STEEP PROCESS------MASH PH:5.40 ------
>>>>>>>>>>-ADD WATER CHEMICALS BEFORE GRAINS!!<<<<<<<
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
13 lbs 4.8 oz         Pale Malt, Maris Otter (Bairds) (3.0            45.4 %       
11 lbs 1.6 oz         Munich Malt (7.0 SRM)                              37.9 %       
1 lbs 4.6 oz          Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM)                                 4.4 %        
12.0 oz               Carafa Special II (Weyermann) (415.0 SRM) 2.6 %        
11.6 oz               Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM)                                2.5 %        
8.0 oz                Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)         1.7 %        
8.0 oz                Pale Chocolate Malt (215.0 SRM)                   1.7 %        
7.2 oz                Kiln Coffee Malt (175.0 SRM)                        1.5 %        
7.0 oz                Carafa Special I (Weyermann) (320.0 SRM)   1.5 %        
4.0 oz                Black Malt (Thomas Fawcett) (660.0 SRM)    0.9 %        

Name                                        Description                             Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash In                                     Add 40.63 qt of water at 167.0 F        156.0 F       45 min       

---SPARGE PROCESS---
Fly sparge with 7.78 gal water at 168.0 F (I only used 1st runnings for Brett Stout!!)


---BOIL PROCESS-----------------------------
Est Pre_Boil Gravity: 1.058 SG    Est OG: 1.066 SG
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
2.50 oz               Apollo [18.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min         Hop           11       69.6 IBUs

---NOTES------------------------------------
Partigyle…1st runnings = Brett Impy Stout
2nd Runnings = soured Oud Bruin? (Roselaire + Flemish Ale blend.)

First runnings: [Targeting 7.7 gallons first runnings -- ~1.088+ wort; some calculation wrong somewhere…]

First Runnings:
Mash at 154º with 11 gallons water.
Add 5g chalk, 4g Gypsum, 1.5g calcium chloride, 7.5g baking soda (.5g baking soda to adjust after pH reading came in at 5.4ish)
1.071 @ 30 minutes.
Drain to HLT 5:32 PM
7 gallons of 1.077 wort =
Boil at 6:00; added hops @ 6:05 (2.5 oz. apollo)
6:45 Chiller in, switch pump to recirc bk.
7:05 flameout; 80º @ 7:18 PM; 70º @ 7:23 (Drain to carboy)
1.093 wort, approx 5.5 gallons
Pitched approx 800 ml thin slurry of Brett Trois at 10 AM 4/23/2013.
4/30/2013 - Moved Dark Trois portion upstairs into bathroom to increase temperature. Gravity at ~1.030 (~65% attenuation)
5/23/2013 - Dark Trois @ 1.022 (74.7% attenuation; 9.4% abv)
6/3/2013 - down to ~1.017; 10% ABV

Second runnings:
Cap mash with 4 lb. GW 2 Row; 12 oz. C60º; 4 oz. Special B; 6 oz. special roast malt.
Underlet grain bed.
Mash @ 1.043 (w/ added malts)
7:39 PM drain to kettle. Add 1.2 oz. Uncle Johns Hops
8:07 PM Boil
9:12 PM Flameout. Begin chilling. 9:27 @ 70 º F
1.053 wort ~ 5 gallons total.
Pitched yeast at 10 PM 4/22/2013. Approx 20 ml slurry blend of WYeast Roselaire and WL Flemish Ale
6/2/2013 - added dregs from 2013 La Folie

Tasting notes from Haskell:
Appearance: Very dark, tan on the edges. Small head dissipates to thin film of bubbles. After a swirl fine bubbles thickly coat edge of glass, almost milky in appearance - the beer itself is clear.

Aroma: Soapy? Musty graininess. Piney evergreen smell, similar to Juniper berries (I grabbed some from the cupboard to confirm!). Odd combination, not sure what to expect from this beer.

Taste: Super creamy, smooth, rich. Wow, not what I was expecting at all. Roast pops up late, clear alcohol component but not detrimental. Taste lingers for a long time, pine definitely shows up, almost tingly. Doesn't come across as sweet, no chocolate or vanilla - some subtle caramel comes through. I'm guessing the brett dried it out, but not much funk or tartness. Tough one to describe. 

Mouthfeel: Low carbonation, feels soft, luxurious. Great mouthfeel out of the gate. Finishes with astringency and a piney prickliness. Kind of coats the mouth.

Overall: Really enjoyable, an enigma out of the bottle (Enigma would be a good beer name!). After tasting the aroma feels more appropriate, but still curious. We kind of like the discrepancy. I think the brett is a key component in making this beer what it is, but for the life of me I can't pinpoint its contributions.  What a unique and interesting beer! I think the coffee version might be a great pairing, looking forward to trying that.

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