Description:

This recipe was made to explore the trend of high abv / high FG pastry stouts in demand now. Loads of dark grains create a very dark color with rich roasted, earthy, and chocolate flavored base. A long boil creates a condensed and thickened beer with some lactose and maltodextrin added to enhance body and raise the FG. The combination of vanilla, lactose, light Belgian candied syrup, and molasses provide the base flavor for the cheesecake flavor profile, with cacao nibs creating additional flavor depth and complexity. In the end, this is a rich tuxedo cheesecake stout. Aging on bourbon soaked staves or cubes will further enhance the final beer.

Taste Notes ~
Brewday: 5/21 - Holy mother of sweetness. Thick and viscous, coats the entire tongue. Caramel is dominating. Vanilla, chocolate are there as well. Hop bite is significant at this point burning the throat, but I suspect that will fade. Some other earthy notes are present as well. Aftertaste is largely molasses caramel and vanilla. Aroma is caramel and vanilla primarily. 5/24 - The yeast is throwing all sorts of esters during fermentation, however the 5 ml sample pulled has a strong odor of chocolate, vanilla, burnt earthy notes, some light creaminess, definite sweetness. Flavor has an almost liquor quality to it. There is a lot of harshness and bitterness present. Definitely some heavy caramels and nice sweetness. Dark fruit around the back and edges. Chocolate and vanilla aren't readily apparent on the taste yet. Bite in the middle of the tongue. Definitely a cheesecake type quality if you will to this beer amazingly. Already pretty boozy. 5/31 - Thick, earthy, sharpness on the middle-back tongue, caramel, chocolate, more earthiness in the aftertaste. Decent amount of nuttiness. Sweetness balances nice. Booziness isn't too much with everything else. Vanilla is present but not a major player. That is nice, but still a bit harsh. Age will do wonders. 6/7 - Thick, sweet, chocolate, a bit of caramel sharpness. Very nice! 6/15 - Thick, viscous, chewy (though some of this may be from the yeast), and the right amount of booziness. Flavor is rich, sweet bittersweet chocolate layered on top of a traditional stout base. Loads of creaminess. The backend brings a bit of bite and a thick caramel flavor with vanilla layered on top. Overall, a very good stout at this point. 6/26 - Thick, viscous, chewy, gritty almost with a hint of booziness. Flavor is rich with some caramel sharpness on the backend. Layers of vanilla, cream, caramel, and chocolate fill out the beer. There are some light hints of bourbon and oak notes hiding behind the rest of the intense flavors. This will be a very interesting beer as it gains some age on the oak and after it is carbonated.

Ingredients:

• 6.00 gal Stout Water
• 11.06 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60 min) Misc
• 2.51 g Salt (Mash 60 min) Misc
• 1.27 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash 60 min) Misc
• 1.23 g Baking Soda (Mash 60 min) Misc
• 1.20 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60 min) Misc
• 1 lbs 4.00 oz Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct
• 3 lbs 8.00 oz Biscuit Rice Malt (5.7 SRM) Grain
• 3 lbs 8.00 oz Vienna Millet Malt (12.0 SRM) Grain
• 1 lbs 8.00 oz Organic Roasted Buckwheat Malt (8.0 SRM) Grain
• 1 lbs 8.00 oz Roasted Cara Millet Malt (42.0 SRM) Grain
• 1 lbs Chocolate Roasted Millet Malt (140.0 SRM) Grain
• 1 lbs Dark Roasted Millet Malt (300.0 SRM) Grain
• 12.00 oz Flaked Quinoa (3.0 SRM) Grain
• 8.00 oz Crystal Rice Malt (21.0 SRM) Grain
• 8.00 oz French Roasted Millet Malt (20.0 SRM) Grain
• 8.00 oz Gas Hog Rice Malt (400.0 SRM) Grain
• 5.00 ml SEBstar HTL (Mash 150 min) Misc
• 4.00 ml SEBflo TL (Mash 75 min) Misc
• 3.00 ml AMG-300L (Mash 75 min) Misc
• 2.50 ml HopShot [89.0%] (CO2 Extract) - Boil 180 min Hops
• 1 lbs Candi Syrup, Golden [Boil for 5 min] (5.0 SRM) Extract
• 2.00 oz Roasted Cacao Nibs (Boil 5 min) Misc
• 1.00 Vanilla Beans (Boil 5 min) Misc
• 0.75 oz Exp 5256 [17.5%] - Boil 5 min Hops
• 3.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 5 min) Misc
• 1 lbs Maltodextrin [Boil for 5 min] (3.0 SRM) Sugar
• 1 lbs Milk Sugar (Lactose) [Boil for 5 min] (0.0 SRM) Sugar
• 12.00 oz Molasses [Boil for 5 min] (80.0 SRM) Sugar
• 1 pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) Yeast
• 1 pkgs Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) Yeast
• 2.00 oz American Oak Cubes - Heavy Toast (Secondary 28 days) Misc
• 5.00 oz Bourbon (Secondary 28 days) Misc
• 4.00 oz Roasted Cacao Nibs (Secondary 7 days) Misc
• 2.00 Vanilla Beans (Secondary 7 days) Misc

Additional Instructions

Primary Ferment: Boil Size: 5.82 gal
Secondary Ferment: Total Boil Time: 180 minutes

Beer Profile

Original Gravity: 1.129
Final Gravity: 1.043
Alcohol by Vol: 11.5%
Color SRM: 69.6
Bitterness IBU: 69.9
Recipe Type: all-grain
Yield: 3.0 Gallons

Procedure:

Source: Posted with permission of Matt S.