Brewing a Kitchen Sink Beer: Part 2
- Chris Lee
- Aug 12, 2016
- 2 min read
Here we are back again to visit part two of my hail-mary experiment in creating a Kitchen Sink Beer. If you haven't read my previous post, check it out first before reading this entry so you have a general idea of whats going on.
Let's catch up on what you may have missed since my first post. The beer was bottled on May 21 and has gracefully aged away in my beer closet ever since. I tried the first bottle around 4 weeks after the bottling date. Today, I finish the last bottle from the batch and thus write this blog entry. Here we go.
Tasting Notes
Aroma: Dark chocolate, subtle mocha, subtle sweet caramel, hint of earthy/dirt, wet wood,
Body: Fine and dense bubbles, cappuccino colour. Body is jet black and opaque.
Palette: Very creamy body, acrid dry coffee, bits of woody/bark notes, hint of dark berries, hint of campfire ash. Semi sweet, dark fruit hidden somewhere in there. Chocolately coffee finish that is fairly dry and lingering
In the spirit of sticking with a true Kitchen Sink recipe, I decided to get a little adventurous with my priming options. I ignored my bag of dextrose and went on a hunt for what was lying around the kitchen. I searched my cupboards high and low for a suitable priming sugar candidate. What I landed on was some leftover Canadian Maple Syrup. I had just enough remaining in the bottom of a bottle from my last trip home to make this happen. I aimed for a lower carbonation of around 2.0 volumes of C02 to allow for more body to show through. The maple syrup didn't contribute any flavour that I can really discern (maybe the woody earthy taste? Probably not).
If I were to brew this recipe again, I would change the following:
I would add some maple syrup into the secondary. I like the idea that Maple Syrup can contribute some unique attributes to a stout and the thought of a potent maple flavour in this beer makes my mouth water.
Change the mash temperature. I think the body is not quite as thick as I had envisioned and the 150˚ mash temperature simply doesn't cut it. This beer would be better suited mashed at something like 154˚ - 156˚.
I think that the "campfire" flavour that I picked up on is actually due to the age and amount of black malt. I think that the problem with using everything under the kitchen sink to make a beer is that its not going to make a perfect beer. Something is going to be flawed, and for me, I think its the elusive campfire flavour. Lesson learned. Half of the black patent and maybe some fresh malts I believe would yield a smoother beer.
Support your local brewery!
Chris
