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Homebrewing: Espresso Stoutby Ryan Jacobs Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 Putting it all togetherAfter we have cleaned the carboy, we add the rest of the water (3 gallons) to it. At 55 minutes into the boil, we add the second hop addition to the boil which will cook for five minutes more before we remove it from the heat. Then, try to cool the hot wort down for fifteen minutes by putting the kettle in a large body of water such as a sink or bathtub and surrounding it with cold water. While this is cooling down, we will begin brewing espresso. For this recipe, we will brew 16 shots, or 16 oz of espresso. Add this to the wort. I should mention the importance of the brewing of the espresso. I used a Starbucks Barista Home Espresso machine to make espresso. I firmly believe that attempting to use espresso prepared by a steam driven machine will not give you good results. Some recipes for so-called 'espresso' stouts call for adding cracked coffee into the boil, or even into the carboy during fermentation. These beers usually end up having a taste of over-extracted coffee. Brewing espresso properly, however, preserves the integrity of the espresso flavor even after weeks in the bottle. Please, do not skimp on your espresso.
Next, we will funnel the wort into the carboy to mix with the cold water. After this, we will take a hydrometer reading by pouring a sample of the wort into a hydrometer 'jar'. We will take a reading to determine the Original Gravity of the beer. Our reading shows a reading of 1.060, or a potential alcohol percent of roughly 8%.
The next step is to 'pitch' the yeast, and rock the carboy back and forth for a minute or two gently. This mixes the yeast throughout the beer and helps to oxygenate the beer which is helpful to the fermentation process.
The Waiting (Hardest Part)The next step is to put the carboy in a cool, dark place and wait while the fermentation happens. During this time, you can observe the bubbling action of your airlock as the CO2 escapes. Once this bubbling action is stopped, fermentation is generally complete. Normally this takes between one and two weeks. At this point, it is safe to begin the second fermentation. This is done by boiling a quart of water and then adding 5oz. Dry Malt Extract or priming sugar. This should boil for at least 20 minutes so as to make sure it is sanitized. After it has cooled, it is poured into the beer. Next comes bottling. |
