51 replies to this topic

[CaptRon]

Man, I had a few problems making this yesterday. I was shooting for a mash temp of 156. My buddy and I were arguing about what strike temp to shoot for. He insisted on 160 because he didn't think that it was going to lose more than a few degrees during the transfer from the pot to the mash tun and then the grains being added. So yeah, we hit 141 after getting it in there. So we decided to boil some water and add that in there to raise the temp, which it did, but my dumb ass didn't realize how much water was still actually in the pot and so the temp of the mash jumped to 172. So we took some of the mash out to cool off and then add that back in to lower the temp and that worked good and we hit the 156 temp that I wanted originally. Hopefully I didn't jack up the enzymes from all this temp stuff. It didn't go longer than 5 minutes at the high temp, but still.Then, came the sparge. Everything was going great for about 10 minutes. Then, it just stopped. I tried blowing in the tube several times and that didn't help at all. So we decided to stir up the grain bed a little and that seemed to at least get it flowing again for the rest of the sparge. I'm thinking I should have added some rice hulls or something right before the sparge, but oh well. It is what it is now. I missed the OG by quite a bit. I got 1.054. Meh, I think it is still going to be quite good as it really smells great and the little taste I took tasted good. Sweet, but good. I really need to figure out how to prevent stuck sparges, as they are teh suck.

[CaptRon]

So I brewed this on Saturday, and had active fermentation by Sunday morning. Wasn't really vigorous, but we chugging along just fine - ambient temps have been about 65 give or take a degree or two. Fermentation has slowed down dramatically this afternoon and tonight. Is this typical of WLP004 yeast to be a quick finisher?It would be awesome as that means I can get it kegged sooner than later!

[CaptRon]

I JUST finished putting this in the keg. Smelled nice, didn't taste it yet. I'm trying the patience thing that everyone tells me I need to practice.

[CaptRon]

So yeah, been a long time since I brewed this and polished off the keg. It was easily one of the best I've brewed, and I got a lot of "Wow, you made this yourself???" kind of comments. So I want to brew this up for a brew club only competition that is coming up in a few months where 50% of the fermentables have to come from extract. Anyone want to help me out with a mini-mash recipe for my submission? I ask because I pretty much suck bad at recipe building.

[CaptRon]

Ok, so I am trying to tackle this myself. I am halving the recipe as I only want 5 gallons. What I have come up with using the conversion formula's from the FAQ is 4.25lbs of DME in place of the 7lbs of Pale Malt. Does that sound right? Then I can mash everything else and add to it right?

[Joe]

Brewed this a few months back and just now starting to break into the bottles. I held off for quite awhile because I thought all of the roasted malts would just clash too much, but it is a really nice smooth drinking stout. I used WLP005 for yeast and I think I will use a better attenuator next time - my final gravity was a bit high at 1.027 but there was no cloying sweetness and things still seemed to be in balance. I'm wondering if anyone has made a successful Imperial version of this stout. Thinking of just doubling the base malts (pale and munich) and leaving the specialty grains the same for next time.

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

Resurrecting an old favorite. I'm brewing 10 gallons of QSS tomorrow. For anyone who hasn't brewed this, its a great Oatmeal Stout.

[johnpreuss]

I'm a cheap ass so making this is so tough to pull the trigger on.  But 10 gallons of this is a great idea.  Hmmmm....

[matt6150]

I'm a cheap ass so making this is so tough to pull the trigger on. But 10 gallons of this is a great idea. Hmmmm....

Pfff this is nothing. You should make 10 gal. of BVIP.

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

It's really good, super full, creamy and chocolatey. 5 gallons is going to a contest and I'm drinking the rest. I overshot my volume by a bit so I missed my gravity by a few points. I haven't brewed a 10 gallon batch in a while. Nothing to be concerned about. 

[DieselGopher]

Pfff this is nothing. You should make 10 gal. of BVIP.

I do that, twice a year.

[matt6150]

I do that, twice a year.

Yeah i think we were talking about the cost of it once. I just kegged my first batch of it tonight actually!

[DieselGopher]

Yeah i think we were talking about the cost of it once. I just kegged my first batch of it tonight actually!

It is, hands down, the most popular beer I make. The hockey gang does a Christmas party, and a New Years party, keg at each. I also need a keg each year for my company holiday party. The last 5 gals are mine. ALL MINE!! Hail Denny, all credit goes to him.

Edited by DieselGopher, 20 November 2014 - 11:33 AM.

[darkmagneto]

I haven't brewed since August, but on Wednesday I will be brewing up a batch of Quiet Storm Stout!  I remember making this beer many, many years ago and enjoying it.  I have a pack of 1056 that I'll be using instead of the Irish Ale yeast.  Cheers!

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

Nice!

[darkmagneto]

What finished gravity are you guys hitting on this stout?  I brewed this with a saved cake of 1056 and got it down to 1.018.  Seems about right with all of the crystal in it. 

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

Sounds about right. I need to check my numbers.

[MyaCullen]

Sounds about right. I need to check my numbers.

IIRC right around 1.018-21 was typical in this big bastard

[CaptRon]

Made ten gallons of this yesterday. I did a partial mash, I used 8lbs dme instead of the base malt and then ended up doing a mash with the rest of the grain and oats. I got an OG of 1.056 which is off from the recipes, but I think it'll be fine. This morning I have a two inch krausen and they are chugging along. Not too crazy of a fermentation, but their going.

[positiveContact]

Made ten gallons of this yesterday. I did a partial mash, I used 8lbs dme instead of the base malt and then ended up doing a mash with the rest of the grain and oats. I got an OG of 1.056 which is off from the recipes, but I think it'll be fine. This morning I have a two inch krausen and they are chugging along. Not too crazy of a fermentation, but their going.

 

what happened?  low mash efficiency?