I need to get a few beers made soon. I seemed to have gotten far behind and have started to run extremely low on beers. That’s not good going into fall and winter. (It in fact just snowed a bit today!)

So this first one is a beer that I have brewed for a beerfest or homebrew showcase event, and I just loved this beer. 

Jagged: Forign Extra Stout. It was good, but I also think I could improve it. 

This post is going to be my notes and thoughts that I normally jot down for all of my beers. 

 

This is very helpful for me because while yes I tend to brew alot of repeat beers, I am also very spontaneous with them at the same time. Substituting things, adding things, correcting things on the fly. So I need to keep track of everything along the way or by the next day I would have no idea what I did. These notes really help me to see where things worked and where they didn’t, plus lets me remember odd things I did. So here we go. 

 I may have to add some commentary, as these notes are usually meant just for me, and may be unclear to others what I meant

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Jagged: Foreign Extra Stout

I wanted a stout that was like stouts used to be. One that you know is a stout. Not some half hearted attempt.

Going back to look at the last time I brewed this beer, I see that I used the Mash and Boil and I think I will again this time ads well, because 13 lbs is all I really can fit in my mash tun.

I also see that the review for the first batch already has the updated ingredient list of what I thought at the time of what it needed improved on, and not what I actually brewed for that day. That will be mostly what I am gonna go with.

I remember I felt it needed more roast. At 2 lbs already you would think that it would be enough. But I want more, so will be upping the Roast Barley and Chocolate malt by ½ pound each. 

If 3 lbs of black roasted grain isnt enough to rip yer face off, I don’t know what will. 

I see in the notes that I used 1.5 oz of magnum. I know those Magnum were getting old and probably were not up to their best bittering. Thought maybe the sharp bittering feel that Chinook gives, but because I’m raising the roast to OMG proportions, I’ll use Columbus instead.  I think I will get a better bittering and get that slightly basementy thing I’m looking for in a Foreign extra.

Jagged – 5 gallon 

• 10lbs 2 row Am.
• 1.5 lbs Roasted barley
• 1.5 lbs chocolate malt (350srm)
• *½ lb flaked oats
• 1oz Columbus @60 15.9 AA
• 1 oz cascade @15
• Us 04 yeast.
• Mash 154

Homebrew store was out of flaked barley, so I’ll sub in some flaked oats,, should be a good fit. No problems there.

I think I will mess with the water this time. Looking up on Brewers friend, I’m gonna use the London dark ale profile.

First though I gotta find my water volumes.

Looks like I will need 7.70 gallons total water. 

Thats about ½ gallon more than I can heat in the M&B at one time. 

Commentary: So what I so with my strike and sparge water usually is: 

• find my total volume, 
• Heat as much of it or all of it if possible at one time
• Take out 2 gallons before mashing in and hold it for sparging later. Adding what ever more I need to in order to get my full volume

So in this case I need 7.7 gallons. I will heat 7 gallons of water in the M&B, take off 2 gallons. Mash into the 5 gallons in the kettle. To those 2 gallons I took off. I will add the rest of the .7 gallon and heat in smaller kettle to sparge temp.

Looking at the Brewer’s Friend water profile for London Dark ales, I think I will add ½ tsp each of gypsum and calcium chloride to my 7 gallons. 

That’s all the planning I need to do until this weekend, other than going to pick up my grain. Will continue of with the brew day notes then.

Set up the mash and boil for 160F for the morning.

Added ½ tsp gypsum and ½ tsp calcium chloride and ½ a campden tablet.

Going to mash in 5 gallons of the water. Basement and grain temp is 62F

Doughed in and was at 152F so hit the heat and recirc until 154F 

Used a pitcher to take wort from valve and pour back in over the grain. The tube isnt great about getting water back up into the grain while its in the kettle

Slightly over in preboil. Should be 6.6 gal  I’m at 6.8 ish.

Beersmith says I should be at 1.055 I’m at 1.052 very close.

Am going to boil a bit before starting timer. This should fix both numbers. These are close enough numbers where it would not matter much.

Really don’t seem to be boiling off that much. The boil is kinda slow today.

We had a little extra in the kettle and we were a bit short on gravity.

Supposed to be 1.062 and we are somewhere between 1.058 and 1.060.  Again.. Not far enough off for me to care.. But I could have boiled down more.

Pitched the yeast at 72F and will ferment at 63. 

Definitely looks Blaaaack.

We have good action 4 hours later. Looks good.