Basic Stout

Description:

There are scads of other additives that can lobbed into a stout without damaging it. Almost anything works when making stout, but matching your own taste preference is a matter of experimentation. Be prepared though to give up drinking commercial bottled stouts, because frankly, nothing can match the taste of homemade.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 pounds dark malt extract
• 1/2-1 pound roasted barley
• 1/2-1 pound black patent malt
• 3-4 ounces bittering hops (e.g., Bullion)
• small amount aromatic hops (optional)
• ale yeast

Procedure:

To these skeleton ingredients I add other adjuncts, or remove things if the wind blows from the south. A nice beer is made by using only dark malt and black patent malt. A good strong bittering hops is key; Bullion is lovely, as are Nugget or Chinook.

There are no appreciable differences between making stouts and other ales, save the larger quantities of grain. Beware of 9-pound batches as these can blow the lids off fermenters.