Brew Day: Foreign Extra Stout

Of all the stouts I have had in Bangalore's breweries, the Stout at Windmills Craftworks has impressed me the most. Its not a beer I order every now and then, but when I do it is one of the more consistent stouts.

It has a creamy tan head that settles well, drinks easy and isn’t overly roasty or burnt which makes you want to have more. The waiters there describe it as a roasty, coffee-ish tasting beer and some (very few) drinkers turn their noses at it and go for the pale ale or the IPA. Windmills' stout has a very slight sweetness and you could miss it completely during sips. All in all, they make one darn good stout.

The Mash Tun

I was working on a recipe for a Russian Imperial Stout and a regular stout but haven’t got to brewing either, at least till last Sunday. I had some grains and decided it was time to make that stout and keep it simple. I decided that it should have the typical roasted, burnt characteristic that all stouts have but I wanted some chocolate and coffee to come through, without any chocolate or coffee additions. I wanted a bit of sweetness and threw in some Crystal 80 and Crystal 120 as well. 

I also wanted a bit of gravity because I wanted to age it too for about 6 to 7 months. I had some jaggery from the Jaggery Pale Ale and threw it in too.

The spent grains. These would go great in a loaf of spent grain bread.

If all stouts have one thing in common other than the roasted malt aromas and the jet black colour, it’s the hop addition which is done primarily for bittering alone.

The BJCP Style Guidelines for Stouts have many different variations and this stout falls into the Foreign Extra Stout category.

Just before the boil. A lovely malt aroma filled the air and a deep breath brought in the roasted aromas.

Foreign Extra Stout (Tasting Notes here)

Specifics

Batch size (litres): 6 litres
Type: All Grain

IBU: 32

SRM: 41

OG: 1.072

Grains and Sugars

1.5 kg Pale Ale
65 grams Crystal 80
65 grams Crystal 120
65 grams Black Malt
65 grams Roasted Barley
65 grams Chocolate malt
100 grams shaved jaggery

Hops

4 grams Magnum @ 60 min.

Yeast

Fermentis S-04 Ale Yeast

Schedules

Mash at 66°C for 60 minutes

Sparged at 80°C for 15 minutes

Boiled for 60 minutes.