Young's Double Chocolate Stout

After falling in love with Brooklyn Chocolate Stout, I decided to scour the internet for similar beers. Low and behold, there was an overwhelming affinity for another Chocolate Stout. So there is this big internet buzz surrounding Young's Double Chocolate Stout (Thanks to Jay's Beer Review, and others) which made me visit 4 suppliers to find it.

I was surprised to discover that this was a nitro brew. The appearance was pitch black with a light tan head. There wasnt a dominate chocolate smell like I began to expect from this type of beer (Brooklyn and Rogue). I could smell a hint of roasted malts, a twinge of floral hops, and even less of chocolate.

The mouth feel was pure silk. There was this milk like consistency that went down smooth. This is one of those brews that would win over non beer drinkers and connoisseurs alike. The taste was equally as creamy with dark and roasted malts being the most dominant. the chocolate kicked in on the swallow along with a little of the hoppie bite for balance. This is an excellent brew.

Rating 4.5 out of 5.

Brew day: Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

This is by far my most complex recipe to date. My grains include some roasted barley, crystal, and brown. The LME is a combination of 2 dark brown ales. I also went with Northern hops for bittering and got a little aroma from Perle. Dextrine was mixed with the coco to add body and flavoring.

Ive wanted to brew an oatmeal stout for a long time now however, my goal was to do a Sam Smith clone. Since you cant really walk into Brew Depot and pick up some Sam Smith proprietary yeast, II decided to wait till I cam up with my own recipe. The last chocolate beer I did (Rasperry Chocolate Wheat) was not chocolaty at all. I only used 1 roasted grain and no real coco. This time I was determined to get it right.
So after sanitizing my fermenters, tubing, pots, spoons, etc, I got started with the fun stuff. First thing I did was mixed the Dextrine and coco with a cup of water in a small gravy pot. After bringing it to a boil and whisking thoroughly, i sat it to the side and started on the wort.



After soaking my LME cans in hot water for 30 min, I started my wort with 4 gallons of water. The Northern Hops were added @ 60 min along with the Dextrine concoction. At 30 min I added the grains followed by the Perle @ 1 min. I was shooting for an OG of 1.061 or higher (considering all the sugars I included) but I made a grave mistake with the top off water. I estimated a 1 gallon loss due to evaporation (taking it down to 3 gallons) so I was supposed to add 2 gallons to the fermenter before adding my wort. I mistakenly added 3 gallons (no idea why), which took my OG down to 1.051.
Last time I checked, there was no law about DWB (Drinking While Brewing). Probably related to my OG issue :)

So after deliberating on whether or not to add more sugars to the mix ( I had 1 lb of crystal on hand) I decided to go with the 1.051 OG. If I am lucky, I might be able to get 5.3% ABV out of this batch. I was shooting for atleast 7%.

I then pitched my British Ale Liquid yeast (WL005 i believe) and crossed my fingers. It took a good 8 hours for the yeast to start talking to me, the longest I have every had to wait for any signs of life. But it seems to be doing its thing now.My temp is a little on the high side (76F) but things look good so far.With all of the sugars involved, I will probably leave this one in the primary for 4 weeks before transferring.

In the mean time, I am working on a full bodied Belgian Ale that I should be brewing in the next 10 days.

Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout

This has long been my measuring stick for all oatmeal stouts. Its Tan milky head, molasses like smell, and creamy chickory flavor is as close to perfect as you can get. Many home brewers try to replicate this brew but fall short. That's mainly because if Samuel Smith's own yeast strain that is not sold or distributed. I have been unable to confirm whether Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout is bottle fermented, but I have my doubts. So harvesting this unique yeast strain would become a chore.

And if by chance, your able to replicate the yeast strain, there is the 200 year old well that they draw their water from that may also become a problem.

But one taste and you will understand why this beer constantly wins awards including the World Beer Championships Best Oatmeal Stout.

Guinness 250 Anniversary

Growing up in New Orleans, Abita Turbo Dog has always been my favorite stout. I enjoyed the flavor of nitrogen mixed Guinness but it was always a novelty item for me. I would occasionally drink a Guinness only when I knew it would soon be followed by something else. I could appreciate the roasted chocolate-toffee like taste and the rich sweet smell but I never got use to its deceptive feel in my mouth. At first glance, it looks like a heavy, high abv, beer that you would drink for a nite cap, but it ends up feeling like a very good, sweet stout that was never conditioned.

Then came Guiness 250. I swear the first time I tasted this brew I pictured a Turbo Dog. It is everything that a Guiness should be. It still have that sweet alluring aroma and deep coffee-toffee taste, but the added co2 makes the finish just as good as rest. The only down side for me was that the 250 brew was not as heavy as the origional, which was not a heavy beer to begin with.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and look forward to another one.

Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout

It's thick, never ending, creamy head has an off white to tan color. The taste feels more like a porter than a stout but does have a nice roasted coffee like finish. If your one of the rare individuals that cant get past the creaminess of Oatmeal stouts like Sam Smith, this one if for you. It appeared sweeter than Sam Smith which would make this a great choice for a desert brew. However its versatile enough to work with a nice porter house or Ny Strip. APV is just a shade under 5%. Accodring to their site, bittering comes from Chinook and Perle but the aroma is all roasted malts.