CS9 - Belgian Stout

[Dan]

This is my first attempt at a Belgian Stout - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!! There are a few things I've learned and changes I would make, but I'll let you all judge it for yourselves.

22lt batch  brewed 30/3/2013

O/G - 1.059

F/G - 1.016

IBU - 31

ABV - 5.5%

3.0 kg pilsner Malt

1.0 kg munich

200g light wheat

200g choc roasted wheat

200g rauch smoked malt

100g special B

100 chocolate

100g cara-aroma

60 min mash @ 68'c - 90 min boil

60 min - 16 IBU NZ styrian Goldings

45 min - 15 IBU UK Goldings

Yeast was supposed to be wyeast Belgian Abbey 1214 - but it was 18 months old and took an extra few days to start. (And a couple of starters).

So I smacked a pack of wyeast Ardennes 3522 instead. Pitched at 18'c and raised to 20'c over the next few days and finished at 22'c.

Kegged , force carbed and bottled - so there shouldn't be any sludge.

ENJOY!

[Tilt]

Beaudy Dan - first recipe posted.  Liking the sound of Spec B and Cara aroma in the roasty mix.  I'll try and remember to bring a bottle of my first crack at Belg stout to the WBC on the 25th.  Its the equivalent of a Foreign Extra Belgian stout with 3522 (if there is such a thing).  Will be good to compare.

[Dan]

Yeah - I'll bring along a bottle of version 2 to the WBC. The one brewed with 1214.

Is it cool if I bring down the Whangarei consignment to the WBC and give them to you then?

[Tilt]

Yeah sure.  I'm hoping there might be a bundle to give back to you too.  We'll be doing dodgy looking swaps in the car park.

[Tom C]

Appearance Dark red/brown (rather than black), Fine solid, light tan head

 

Aroma Roasty, Sweet chocolate notes, Background 'funk' or sourness - becomes stronger as warms up

 

Flavour Mild Roast, Chocolate & caramel as warms, Farmyardy sourness

 

Mouthfeel Very smooth, Quite high but fine carbonation, Slightly puckering finish

 

Overall Lovely velvety beer with right level of sourness to keep you coming back for more (but maybe too much on the nose),  Mrs Tom said this was her favourite of all the swaps she tried.

But it did have me a little confused, it was more like a porter than a stout and even if I'd looked at the grain bill first I don't think it would have been any clearer!  I'm guessing all the funky/sour notes are from the yeast which was interesting, my adjustment would be to add roast barley adding blackness, aroma and 'stouty' flavour.

[paul m]

Dan,

great beer mate, in terms of classifiying its belgiumness or where it sits on the  porter / stout spectrum- i canneh help ya. I decanted it into a just cos i thought i saw a yeast cake on the bottom. Really enjoyed the complexity of flavour, really a great distraction to the end of the week. Great to try beers made with obscure yeasts. Did you muck around with water? ph? gypsum? to get the super smooth mouthfeel? Almost oily- shit it goes down well,cheers!

[DP]

Appearance
Deep, black brown with a lasting but rocky head.

Aroma
Roasty, chocolaty, dusty, funky, prunes. Complex.

Palate
Lively carbonation (perhaps a little high). Dry.

Taste
Nicely balanced. Great variety of flavours. Fruity with slight souring.

Overall
I'm not very experienced with Belgian beers but I found this very drinkable. I think you've got the balance between bitter/sour/sweet just right and it makes for a very drinkable beer. As Tom says, it's more a porter than a stout but that's OK, just change the name. Cheers!

[Tilt]

Had this one tonight after cooking up a pot of jaggery invert sugar to add to the Russian Imperial sitting in the fermentors.  A perfect beer for by the fire.  Its dark brown amber in my glass with a thin tan head that persists.  Aroma wise I can smell light roast and clove spice, with a hint of bubblegum and dark cherry in the background.  On first taste I'm loving the belgian spice and cloves with the roast dry choc.  Its got a great European flavour that makes me think of liebkuchen, those German clovey, cinnnamony biscuits.  The bitterness and mouthfeel are lighter than I expected and thats not a bad thing.  Its pretty nicely balanced without too much of anything - but definitely belgian.  Loverly beer Dan...Prost!

[Luke Davey]

Appearance: deep dark red, very small fine off white head that lasts to the end

Nose: malty,  my slight cold has killed the sensors

Taste: a lot going on, nice smooth roast hints with a mild chocolate note

Mouthfeel: nice smooth feel, good carbonation,  slight tang at the end

Overall: a very tasty complex beer,  with some very interesting malty notes. Very enjoyable. Cheers

 

[Adam Barnes]

Appearance: Solid large head, dissipates quickly. Very dark ruby brown (may be the lighting!).

Aroma: Lovely big Belgium aroma, creamy, fruity – bananas, slight spice. Smells like a farmhouse saison I brewed recently.

Flavour: Nice roasty flavour coming through, slight hint of chocolate. Blends well with the flavours of the yeast. Delicious! Well balanced, not too harsh, nice level of bitterness. Flavours lingering for a while.

Mouthfeel: Medium body which dries out at the finish, nicely carbonated.

Overall: Very nice beer. Just what I was hoping this would be and just what I was after tonight!

[Stu H]

Before I submit my comments, just want to check I got the right bottle - Is this the "Baker's Brewery Black Stoat Stout"?

[Dan]

Hey Stu - yup that's the one. I will concede it is more of a porter, but I still enjoyed it.

[Stu H]

Great. I really enjoyed this one. Poured a very clear, very dark red, with a creamy off-white head that dissipated quickly in the glass. Not a huge aroma, some roasty/toasty notes coming in, though to be fair I may have been drinking it a bit too cold for the style.

I thought this beer was very well balanced, very rich in flavour without being cloying or astringent. Great job, very well brewed.