The last batch also ended up at a higher gravity than planned because I intended to dilute with water but didn't have enough room in the carboy.This time I'll try actually hitting the 1.040 OG mark.
Brew Recipe
Brew Date: 11/11/2013
Style: Dry Stout
Batch Volume: 5 gal.
Type: All Grain
Color: 34 SRM
Target Bitterness: 34 IBU
Target OG: 1.040
Estimated FG: 1.012
Grist
5 lb. Golden Promise
2 lb. Flaked Barlye
1 lb. Roasted Barley
2 oz. Willamette Hops 5% AA (60 min.)
Style: Dry Stout
Batch Volume: 5 gal.
Type: All Grain
Color: 34 SRM
Target Bitterness: 34 IBU
Target OG: 1.040
Estimated FG: 1.012
Grist
5 lb. Golden Promise
2 lb. Flaked Barlye
1 lb. Roasted Barley
2 oz. Willamette Hops 5% AA (60 min.)
1 pkg. Safale S-04 Ale Yeast
Brew Notes
Brew Notes
Mash Temp: 152 °F
Mash Time: 60 min.
Boil Time: 60 min.
Fermenter Volume: 5.25 gal.
Measured OG: 1.038
Measured FG: 1.012
ABV: 3.4%
Calories: 126
Started with 5 gallons of water and ended up with 4.25 after mash. Added a little tap water up to 4.5 gallons and started the boil. Hops in at 60. Back down to 4.25 gal post boil. It was hard to take a gravity reading with StarSan foam covering the top of the hydrometer and the dark wort occluding the bottom but estimated it at 1.050. Since I'm adding tap water anyway I should really just rinse the StarSan out of the hydrometer tube before measuring.
Calculated about 1 gallon of tap water should bring it down to 1.040. Second gravity reading was much easier to see and read 1.038. Undershot the gravity a little bit but whatever.
I'm planning to split this batch up into 1 gallon fermenters once primary has finished. I think one will be the control but I'm trying to narrow down what to put in the other 3-4. Here's what I'm thinking so far...
- 1 oz. coarse ground dark Arabica coffee
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 oz. cocoa powder
- 2 lb. cherries
Update 11/18/13 - Gravity is sitting at 1.014. This is probably as low as it's gonna get. The S-04 makes it taste a little different than the US-05. Buttery? Bready? Something. Decided to split the batch into three secondary containers - two 1 gal. fermenters and a 5 gal carboy for the remainder (control). One of the 1 gal. fermenters got 1 oz. of coarsely ground Arabica coffee and the other got 1 oz. by weight of a Canadian blend whiskey (I didn't have bourbon.) We'll see how it goes.
Update 11/25/13 - Finished up at 1.012. Tastes much better than it did a week ago. Very dark, smooth, and dry. Made a 16 oz. sugar solution again with 4 oz. priming sugar. Got 2.75 gal. of the 'control' beer in the bottling bucket => added 8.8 oz. of sugar water. Split the rest between the two 1-gal. experimental brews. I couldn't taste much difference in the whiskey experiment. Maybe a hint of alcohol way back there.
The coffee experiment on the other hand tasted VERY heavily of coffee. Almost tastes more like coffee than beer. Maybe a little less next time? Rubber banded a hop bag around the auto-siphon to keep the coffee grounds out of the bottles.
Mash Time: 60 min.
Boil Time: 60 min.
Fermenter Volume: 5.25 gal.
Measured OG: 1.038
Measured FG: 1.012
ABV: 3.4%
Calories: 126
Started with 5 gallons of water and ended up with 4.25 after mash. Added a little tap water up to 4.5 gallons and started the boil. Hops in at 60. Back down to 4.25 gal post boil. It was hard to take a gravity reading with StarSan foam covering the top of the hydrometer and the dark wort occluding the bottom but estimated it at 1.050. Since I'm adding tap water anyway I should really just rinse the StarSan out of the hydrometer tube before measuring.
Calculated about 1 gallon of tap water should bring it down to 1.040. Second gravity reading was much easier to see and read 1.038. Undershot the gravity a little bit but whatever.
I'm planning to split this batch up into 1 gallon fermenters once primary has finished. I think one will be the control but I'm trying to narrow down what to put in the other 3-4. Here's what I'm thinking so far...
- 1 oz. coarse ground dark Arabica coffee
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 oz. cocoa powder
- 2 lb. cherries
Update 11/18/13 - Gravity is sitting at 1.014. This is probably as low as it's gonna get. The S-04 makes it taste a little different than the US-05. Buttery? Bready? Something. Decided to split the batch into three secondary containers - two 1 gal. fermenters and a 5 gal carboy for the remainder (control). One of the 1 gal. fermenters got 1 oz. of coarsely ground Arabica coffee and the other got 1 oz. by weight of a Canadian blend whiskey (I didn't have bourbon.) We'll see how it goes.
Update 11/25/13 - Finished up at 1.012. Tastes much better than it did a week ago. Very dark, smooth, and dry. Made a 16 oz. sugar solution again with 4 oz. priming sugar. Got 2.75 gal. of the 'control' beer in the bottling bucket => added 8.8 oz. of sugar water. Split the rest between the two 1-gal. experimental brews. I couldn't taste much difference in the whiskey experiment. Maybe a hint of alcohol way back there.
The coffee experiment on the other hand tasted VERY heavily of coffee. Almost tastes more like coffee than beer. Maybe a little less next time? Rubber banded a hop bag around the auto-siphon to keep the coffee grounds out of the bottles.
