BLOGS

I had intended to make a batch of spicy winter stout for the holidays as I have the past few years. There were too many other things to do, however, and the holidays passed without a new brew getting made. Actually, I still had a few bottles of last year's dark, hoppy creation and that sufficed for holiday gatherings. People who say beer doesn't age well haven't tried a well-made two-year-old stout. Aged beers are the newest thing in the micro-brew world. They're worth the few extra dollars you have to pay for a 25-ounce bottle.

I did finally get around to ordering ingredients for a new brew last week. Sunday evening, I started brewing while taking runs from the kitchen into the living room to catch highlights of the Golden Globes awards. Bad idea. While I was riveted to the screen watching a montage of images from great Martin Scorsese films, my pot of bubbling wort bubbled all over the stove.

This has happened more times than I care to remember. I know how important it is to not walk away from the brewpot after you've added the primary ingredients. Ah well, a big mess to clean, but no damage done.

This year's stout — flavored with both chocolate and espresso — is targeted toward Fat Tuesday and Valentine's Day, when a party may be in order. It should be ready to drink by then. Initial fermentation takes about a week. After that, it can be bottle any time. The beer is quite drinkable after another week in the bottle, although longer is always better. That's the wonderful thing about making beer versus making wine. You get to drink it in a couple of weeks rather than waiting a couple of years.

I very loosely followed brewing recipes for Guiness Stout and Grant's Imperial Stout. The ingredient list is mine, the timing and ratios are from the recipes, available from a beer cookbook I have to produce clones of dozens of famous brews.

I steeped a pound of crushed crystal barley malt and a half pound of chocolate malt for 15 minutes in two gallons of 150 degree water. When that came out, I added six pounds dried dark barley malt extract, an ounce of Mexican spiced chocolate, an ounce of Spanish hazelnut chocolate and two ounces of ground espresso roast coffee. This is when you slowly bring the brew up to a boil and try not to let it boil over.

Hops were layered in four different applications, using Chinook and Centennial hop pellets and Cascade dried buds and flowers at various times during the brewing period, about 90 minutes all together. The 2.5 gallon wort was then allowed to cool a bit before pouring into a 5-gallon carboy. I added another two gallons of cold water. When the wort had cooled to about 80 degrees, I added a packet of Safeale yeast. I used a blow hose that went to bucket of water for the escaping carbon dioxide created by the fermentation process. The idea is too let the CO2 out without letting contaminating outside air in.

By the time I returned home from work Monday, the brew was bubbling happily as sugar converted alcohol. Such a nice sound.

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