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Christmas Dry Stout

I made this beer at my wife's request. I had brewed a succesful
version of the 'Mega Stout' recipe in Cat's Meow, and she wanted me
to try to make a Christmas brew, so I made a Christmas Stout.
Strangely, at the last minute I decided to go all-grain (for the
first time, no less). This recipe is an attempt at an all-grain,
dry-irish-stout version of the 'Christmas in Ireland' recipe in CM3.
I took hints from several other recipes in CM3 and Charlie Papazian's
Books. This recipe is in the primary fermenter at the time of
submission. I think I may have overdone it with the 1/2 pound of
Fuggles.

Brewer: Chris Overbeek Email: coverbeek@comshare.com
URL: http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/6264
Beer: Christmas Dry Stout Style: Spiced Irish Stout
Type: All grain Size: 6.0 gallons
Color:
201 HCU
Bitterness: 93 IBU
OG: 1.050 FG: 1.012
Alcohol: 4.8% v/v (3.8% w/w)
Water: I made no adjustments, just used 12.5 quarts of tap water for the
mash, approximately 5 more gallons for the sparge, giving about
6 total gallons for the boil. I did top off the fermenter with more
water to get up to the 6 gallon quantity I desired for this batch.
I think that may have lowered my gravity a tad.
Grain: 7 lb. American 2-row
2 lb. Wheat malt
1 lb. British crystal 70-80L
1 lb. American chocolate
.5 lb. American black patent
1 lb. Roasted barley
Mash: 58% efficiency
50/65/70 (122/150/158) step mash.
I didn't understand how to do infusion mashing (duh) so I used the
stove to raise temperatures. I think this adversely affected my
efficiency. I held the temps as follows:
50C (122F) 30 min.
65C (150F) 10 min.
70C (158F) 20 min.
Actually my 50C step was closer to 53C, so my protein rest
was probably worthless.
Boil: 90 minutes SG 1.050 6.0 gallons
1 lb. Honey
To get the 'Christmas' in Christmas Stout, I simmered the
following stuff in the 1lb Honey before adding the whole bit to
the wort after the boil.
6 tsp (sticks) cinnamon
4 oz. Fresh grated ginger
2 tsp. Allspice
1 tsp. Cloves
2 Grated orange rinds (about 1/2 cup zest)

Hops: 8 oz. Fuggles (3.5% AA, 90 min.)
1 oz. Kent Goldings (6.2% AA, 10 min.)
Yeast: I used Wyeast 1084 directly from the smack-pack.
Activity w/in 36 hours.
Log: Brew Date: Nov. 2, 1997
Pitch Temp: 72F
Fermentation Temp: 64-66F
Carbonation: I Plan to use ~1 cup light plain DME for carbonation.
Tasting: Hopefully this beer will not be absolutely gross. It will be pretty
darn bitter, but hopefully the spices and maltiness will balance the
high IBU level. I wanted a good dry stout, with some Christmas
spirit. We'll see if I created a 6 gallon monster in a few weeks! :)

Well, it has been more than a year since I submitted this recipe, and
I have to admit, I overdid the hops a bit. This beer was a big hit
with everyone who tried it, but the bitterness is too much. Perhaps
cutting the Fuggles in half, and even dropping a bit off the Goldings
wouldn't hurt. The hop profile just overwhelmed the spice flavors
enough to hurt the beer in my opinion. I still am drinking this beer
and I do like it, but it could have been better...

Recipe posted 12/29/98.