Brew 11 Extra Stout

I wanted to brew a good winter beer, and decided on a stout. I juiced it up with a bit of Agave syrup with a target gravity of 1.090. It came out with a bit too much volume, but considering that, the gravity was pretty good at 1.082. I discovered that my mash keg has a hard time maintaining higher temperatures. I will insulate it some more and try one more brew and if the problem continues I will replace it with a cooler.

Strategy: Dough in at 168, observe drop to 153,

rest 30 min.

Heat Decoction and mash out at 160

3:13 PM 11/8/2008 strike temp=168

3:33 PM 11/8/2008 Temp dropped too quickly, reheating water.

3:50 PM 11/8/2008 Temp = 164

3:52 PM 11/8/2008 Dough in - Mash temp = 152

4:05 PM 11/8/2008 Temp Check = 150

4:25 PM 11/8/2008 Temp Check = 151

4:30 PM 11/8/2008 Started Decoction - 1.5-2 gal

4:45 PM 11/8/2008 Decoction boiling

4:55 PM 11/8/2008 Stopped Decoction Boil, return to mash

5:34 PM 11/8/2008 Sparge Water = 180, starting sparge

5:54 PM 11/8/2008 4 gallons in boil kettle, started heat

6:11 PM 11/8/2008 Runoff complete, 9 gallons of wort!

6:13 PM 11/8/2008 Boil Started

6:22 PM 11/8/2008 Added Centennial and Galena hops

7:02 PM 11/8/2008 Added 15 min hops

7:15 PM 11/8/2008 Added 3 min hops

7:19 PM 11/8/2008 started chill

8:03 PM 11/8/2008 Og = 1.082, volume = 6.5 gallons

Update - The recipe had too little roasted barley, and too much agave. It packed quite a punch, and after 3 months was finally conditioned and tasted ok though.

13 lbs American 2-row
.5 lbs Crystal 60
.75 lbs Roasted Barley
1 lbs Chocolate malt
.5 lbs Dextrine Malt
.5 lbs Munich Malt
0.5 lbs Dry Light
1.5 lbs Honey
1.0 oz Centennial (8.70%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
1.0 oz Galena (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
0.5 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 5.0 min
0.5 oz Willamette (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 5.0 min
0.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
0.0 oz Willamette (5.0%) - added dry to secondary fermenter

Tasting Rogue Shakespeare Stout

The second beer from Rogue I have tasted, this beer comes with a complete ingredient list on the side:

Harrington, Klages Crystal and Chocolate Malt
Rolled Oats and Roasted barley
Cascade Hops

Tasting: Chilled to ~50 degrees (f) from a pint glass.

Appearance: 3/3 Opaque, thick as mud, but in a good way.
Head: 3/3 Rich cappuccino head that lasts.
Aroma: 3/3 Chocolaty, roasted malt with cascade hops .
Flavor: 3/3 On the tounge, the flavor starts with deeply roasted malt, then the hops come on strongly with a dark toffee/dark chocolate flavor that lingers.
Mouth feel: 3/3 Almost velvety, this beer is suprisingly light on the pallette, moderate carbonation, the beer leaves the mouth and remains roasted and smokey in the throat.
Overall: 3/3 Great Stout, an excellent contrast to Guiness and more mainstream stouts while not has heavy as some others. Still easy to drink and quite enjoyable.
Buzz: 2/3 Good buzz after 1 glass, 6% ABV.

Tasting: Cooper's Best Extra Stout

This came in my beer of the month club, it was the standout of the bunch. An interesting note is that it came in a 12.7 oz bottle that filled up my glass. Another beer I had recently came in a 11.3 oz bottle. I noticed it because the glass wasn't close to full after pouring.

Tasting: Chilled to ~55 degrees (f) from a pint glass.

Appearance: 3/3 Thick black, opaque.
Head: 3/3 nice head of fine bubbles the color of espresso foam.
Aroma: 3/3 , Rich, malty smell with hints of coffee and chocolate.
Flavor: 3/3 Mildly sweet, malty offset by a burnt bitterness, very good and balanced.
Mouth feel: 3/3 Rich and full on the palette, smooth with a tangy, smoky aftertaste.
Overall: 3/3 This beer is wonderful. Balanced, rich and smooth.
Buzz: 3/3 Medium buzz after 1 glass.