I made the jump into partial mash brewing two weeks ago. I've made a few Mr. Beer batches and was not overly satisfied with the process and the final product. Nothing against Mr. Beer, but I wanted to be more involved in my brewing.
So I got a 1 gallon kit from Brewer's Best and started researching recipes. I'm a darker beer fan so I wanted to brew that way as well. I chose a partial mash/extract chocolate stout batch that I found online and kinda tweeked the formula. Added a little more of this...a little less of that. Steeped my grains at around 152 degrees for an hour and added it to my kettle.
Calculated OG was 1.080 and mine tested at 1.076...not too bad, and FG was 1.029. I think the ABV was 6.17% and the fomula calculated it at 6.2%, so again...not too shabby.
I'm putting it the secondary 'fermentor' with cocoa nibs and a vanilla bean. The plan is to keep it in there for 2 weeks to condition and cold crash near the end, then bottle carb for a week. I'm very excited to finish this beer off and see how the flavor develops. I tried a small sample when I checked the FG and it tasted similar to Guiness!
Once my beer is fully carbed, I will report back with an update of how awesome it is and maybe a pic or two as well. Do you guys have any favorite dark beer recipes to share, or tips or advice for a newby?
So I got a 1 gallon kit from Brewer's Best and started researching recipes. I'm a darker beer fan so I wanted to brew that way as well. I chose a partial mash/extract chocolate stout batch that I found online and kinda tweeked the formula. Added a little more of this...a little less of that. Steeped my grains at around 152 degrees for an hour and added it to my kettle.
Calculated OG was 1.080 and mine tested at 1.076...not too bad, and FG was 1.029. I think the ABV was 6.17% and the fomula calculated it at 6.2%, so again...not too shabby.
I'm putting it the secondary 'fermentor' with cocoa nibs and a vanilla bean. The plan is to keep it in there for 2 weeks to condition and cold crash near the end, then bottle carb for a week. I'm very excited to finish this beer off and see how the flavor develops. I tried a small sample when I checked the FG and it tasted similar to Guiness!
Once my beer is fully carbed, I will report back with an update of how awesome it is and maybe a pic or two as well. Do you guys have any favorite dark beer recipes to share, or tips or advice for a newby?