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Roll Over In The Grave Tootsie Roll Stout

Scott Ickes

Grandmaster Brewer
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Here's my Tootsie Roll Stout Recipe.  Enjoy.

The mash temperatures are unusual for a stout, with mash at 150F for a light to medium body, but the tootsie rolls and the high ABV make up for it.  It is a full bodied beer, despite the light to medium body mash profile.

The IBU's seem ridiculously high, but I've found that they are necessary, to balance out all of the sugar!

My latest attempt had a starting gravity of 1.142 and finishing gravity of 1.020 and an ABV of 16.5%.  My gravity finished at 1.020.

This takes forever to carbonate in the bottles.  Patience is rewarded.  Oh, and it's even good flat!  It's like nectar even when flat.

 

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After reading your post about month and a half ago on Tootsie Roll Stout, I brew a similar recipe a little lower in IBU. I didn't get much flavor from the tootsie rolls, mostly alcohol flavor. Just wondering if that flavor stayed in yours.
 
For the most part, it did.  It's more chocolate than tootsie roll, but the tootsie roll flavor is there.  It's under the surface of the chocolate though.  It's not pure tootsie roll though.  In mine, the alcohol is there, but it's surprisingly well hidden. 

Mine turned out very easy drinking.  Usually when you have such a high ABV, at least in my experience, you can only drink a little bit of it.  I could easily sit down and drink two or three of mine.  However, I'd be hammered.  It sneaks up on you.

I've made huge 13-14% Barley Wines and I have trouble getting through just one of them.  I've made 13% RIS's and I can only really drink one of them.  This one is much easier drinking, which is scary.  I'm looking forward to when it's matured and ready for a competition!

What recipe did you use for yours?  Can you post it please? 
 
I'm thinking about doing this with almond joy. Making an imperial chocolate coconut porter.
 
Brewmex41 said:
I'm thinking about doing this with almond joy. Making an imperial chocolate coconut porter.

I didn't see you at the brew club meeting.  If you make this porter, please bring it on "Adjunct" meeting night to share with us.
 
I know, the only reason i was able to make it to the one I did go to, was because i was temporarly on day shift. But now I'm back to the 3:30pm-midnight shift Monday thru Friday. I will try and make it ad often as i can and I think almond joy and maybe a splash of malibu rum would be fantastic.
 
I've been lurking and peeking at this thread  for a while, and I am very interested in this brew. How is it maturing?  Anything new?
 
It's been at least a month since I've opened a bottle.  At that time it had just a wisp of carbonation.  The flavor is already then and will only get better.  I think that was in early December when I had it.  I'll make it a point to open one this week end and try it.

I'll report back.
 
Any word on this one? Very interested in starting one to be conditioned for next winter.
 
Here is what I have in my notes.


I pitched more champagne yeast and bottling sugar on September 1 and bottled.  FG was 1.020 with ABV of 16.5%.

Tasted on October 15.  Very little carbonation, but what a smooth mouthfeel.  Slick, but not slippery.  Tastes like chocolate flavored bourbon, without the hot liquor taste.  I expected it to have a much hotter alchohol bite.

Tasted on November 9 with local home brew club.  Very well received.  The carbonation is coming along.  Still not a lot there, but I'm feeling much better that it will eventually develop a nice chocolate head.  This one may take two years to mature.  I can wait...I hope.  Flavor has smoothed out a little since the last time, I think.  My fellow brewing friends said that it's really good, even at this low level of carbonation.  We ended up opening two bottles.  3 bottles down, 51 to go!


I haven't touched it since November 9th.  I'm letting it get happy!!!

I would make a change next time.  Instead of the champagne yeast, I'd use WLP099.  WLP099 reportedly will go to 25% ABV and it will eat the types of sugars in beer wort better than the champagne yeast.  It might have carbonated more quickly with the WLP099.
 
I got a private message from a forum member about this recipe.  I got curious, since I hadn't cracked a bottle of it open since last year.

I'm basically taking notes right here in this window, while sampling it.

I don't think that I've ever been this patient with a beer.  I was worried it wouldn't carbonate back in November of last year.

However, I finally cracked one open just now and heard a very encouraging "hisssss".  I poured it into my glass and did get a thin tan head.  It is carbonating! Woooohoooooo...

The one I cracked open was room temperature, so it should have even more carbonation when cold.  The head lasts for about a minute or two.  I swirled it around in the glass and the head comes right back easily.  With about 4 or 5 swirls I had a good 1/2" head on the beer and it stays there for about 3 or 4 minutes, dissipating slowly over that time.  The head doesn't go completely away, even if I let it sit for 10 minutes.

There is a bourbony aroma and flavor to it.  But it isn't a hot alcohol flavor or aroma.  More like a slightly bitter dark chocolate truffle aroma and flavor.  It is a very heavy bodied beer, but that is to be expected from such a huge Russian Imperial Stout.  The alcohol can be tasted on the back of the tongue and the back of the roof of the mouth. 

There is no mistaking this for anything other than what it is.  It's a huge 16.5% ABV beer and it isn't one that sneeks up on you like some other bigger beers do.  You know it's big with the first hint of the aroma.  I've put two pints of bourbon in other Russian Imperial Stouts and got the hint of the bourbon in the flavor and aroma.  This beer has the same level of bourbon aroma and flavor, without having any bourbon in it.

It is definitely a sipper.  When I share it with friends, it will one that I split a 12 ounce bottle three ways in little brandy snifters.

My critique:
Aroma:  Roasty, malty, dark fruits (plums, prunes, raisiny), alcoholic.  Bourbon is definitely present in the aroma.  There's a hint of coffee aroma and definitely a lot of bitter chocolate.  I'm trying to detect some hop aroma, but even at over 84 IBU's, I'm having trouble detecting any.  Although, the bitter chocolate aromas might be a blend of the hops and chocolate.  There is even a wine type aroma going on.  I drink wine quite often and it reminds me of an "Old Vine Zinfadel" aroma hiding in there.  it's even in the flavor.  A dark red wine character to it.

Flavor:  The flavor is very similar to the aroma.  The truffel comes out in the flavor though, but not so much in the aroma.  The flavor is alcoholic, but not so much that you don't want more.  Bitter dark chocolately bourbon truffle flavor, with plums, prunes, raisins and cherries.  The cherry isn't in the aroma, but it is in the flavor.  The flavor is very rich!  It's like that sinful piece of chocolate cake, but not overly sweet.  But just sweet enough to make you want another sip.  You keep sipping until it's gone though.  It should age well.  I expect the flavors to mellow and blend with time.  It will be interesting to taste how it changes over time.  This one should age well for many years!

Appearance:  Dark chocolate brown color.  Not black.  It's definitely has some tootsie roll color to it, but much darker and deeper.  Nearly opaque without being black.  Some orangish hue when looking through a thin layer of it in the glass.  It definitely has legs when swirled with a good tan head that lingers a little bit.

Mouthfeel:  Very full bodied and velvety.  The carbonation is low to moderate at this time, but may develop more as it ages.  It's actually very chewy.

I will be entering it into some competitions over the years and see how it does as it ages.
 
Sounds awful. :)
I want one. When I see you Thursday we can talk about potential trades if you are interested, Scott.
 
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