Toucan Stout feedback and advice please.

My first two can beer. Toucan Stout.

I couldn't make up my mind which recipe on the web was best so rather than ask for advice up front on the forums ang getting confused even further I went for it with.......

1 can Coopers Dark Ale + 1 can Coopers Original Stout + 500g L Spraymalt + 250g demerara sugar + 300g Dex. Made up to 20l but will top up to 23l when the krausen subsides. 1070 OG @ 20l
The Light Spraymalt was an afterthought! I intended to go 500g - 750g dex and 500g brown sugar but i was a bit worried about it being a bit watery and too strong.

2x kit yeasts pitched at 27C.

What do you reckon the above concoction will be like? I was after a medium strong black beer with a thick rather than watery texture. Am I on the right track?

Also I have heard about adding coffee (moka pot) and/or a tea bag of oak chips soaked in bourbon (I have some Jim Beam oak barrel chips.....the ones for bbq). What do you think of these ideas for the stout?

Cheers in advamce for any feedback.
Bragwr

Bragwr said:

What do you think of these ideas for the stout?

Cheers in advamce for any feedback.
Bragwr

Click to expand...

I have done this Cerberus Imperial Stout should be bottling at the weekend, in time to be ready for Xmas.

Reading this I would suspect you may come in to a similar final gravity since he had some maltodextrin. If you want to add some body you could add some lactose or maltodextrin but anytime you add a sugar expect it to be highly fermentable and will dry/thin out the beer.

I'm confused again lol.
Will the 500g of Light Spraymalt add mouthfeel to the beer? I thought that it would improve the body a little, as opposed to including only the brewing sugar and brown sugar as I originally intended.

Sorry if these are noob questions.....it's a steep learning curve.

Any advice on the coffee or soaked oak chips?

By the way, thanks brewpirate for the link to that two can brew thread.

Sugar is a key part in making an IPA a double IPA but increasing the ABV but having minimal impact to the body. Spraymalt (believe this is what we call Dry Malt) will contribute body and abv but anytime sugar is added to fermentation it could throw off the balance. Being a stout you want it at a higher finishing gravity and more body so I would avoid a pure sugar source and go all malt if possible. Of course I could be wrong since I have never used these products :) but generally what I have found is that sugar should be be used to bump the abv and thin/dry out a beer.

Ive never added coffee or bourbon, came close last time I made my coconut porter. Once your beer is finished fermentation you can access the situation and pull a sample then experiment with adding strong coffee. For the bourbon and chips this is what I would do

Nuke Aging - I am not responsible for you hurting yourself.
1) take a mason jar and add vodka or bourbon till 1/2 to 3/4 full.
2) put in the microwave for 15 sec bursts till you see bubbles. Be safe and don't go fast.
3) take the jar out and throw in your chips till about 1/4 full and seal the jar
4) let it sit on the counter and you should hear the top lock within an hour or so
5) after 3-4 days open and taste, if you want more flavor repeat steps 2-4.

What you are doing is with the temp opening up the pores of the wood and then creating a vacuum forcing the liquid into those pores for maximum flavor extraction.

Thanks for the info brewpirate, that Nuke Ageing sounds interesting. Would you just pour the bourbon oak infusion into the beer and mix it; and not bother with an oak chip 'tea bag'?

Update
Toucan still in the primary and topped up to 23 litres.
Day 11. Still bubbling but only every 12-15 minutes or so.
Nuke Aged oak chips done. Had a play with 2 jars using slightly different methods. It really does seem to work well. The jam jar has vaccumed and the volume of the liquid in the jar is lower (slightly) so it seems to be going into the oak pretty quickly. The remaining liquid has also deepened in colour.....and this is only after a few hours. 4 days should see well infused oak chips and an interesting liquid flavouring.
Next decisions to be made.......rack to secondary over loose oak chips or make an oak chip 'teabag' and weigh it down'?
15 days in secondary.........then......
carb drops or bulk prime? How much carb drops for each 500ml bottle of stout? What is the best method for bulk priming? How much and what type of sugar is best for bulk priming a stout?

Decisions, decisions! Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

That process should allow you to make an oak extract that you can add to the beer for flavor. You can rack over chips but that extract will have a ton of flavor and you can control how much oaking you want in the final product.

When it comes to priming I would batch using the following calculator http://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator with dextrose or table sugar. When it comes to batch prime I boil up the sugar with the smallest amount of water for 5 min to make sure its bug free. Cool it down and then add to the bottom of my bottling bucket. I transfer the beer from the FV on top of the sugar allowing the hose to lay at the bottom and mix the sugar into the beer. You won't oxygenate the beer this way and then bottle away!

Thank you brewpirate. You have been a BIG help for me with this brew so far!

Update:

Gravity 1011-1012. Tasted good. Not too thick and not too thin, about right for my taste. leaves a slight taint on the side of the glass (while settling after swilling round in the glass) good body and mouth feel for a raw beer. A slight bitterness at the end which, from what I've read on various posts should mellow out with a couple of months in the bottle. Tested 100ml of beer with the bourbon extract to same concentration as planned for the batch size. This tastes good! The extract itself tasted so good I could easily drink it all over ice and forget putting it into the beer! Anyway, I then placed all the oak chips in a muslin 'teabag' then racked the beer to the secondary over the Nuke Aged extract and Oak chip 'teabag'.

The only mystery now is how long to leave it on the oak so that the oak taste comes through but does not overpower the other flavors in the Stout. My initial idea is to leave it for 15 days on the oak before bottling. Any advice on this would be great.

I think that I will batch prime and bottle to glass with this one. Another 2 firsts for me having only bottle primed and used PET bottles in the past.

Another thing that crossed my mind was whether anyone filters beer prior to bottling. I don't know if anyone filters their beer before bottling. Is there any point to filter beer?

Thanks
Bragwr

I dont filter, more exposure more problems. A cold crash and some gelatin or whatever finning products you want to us is prefered. I would stick with 15 days on the chips and make up any flavor deficient with the extract you made. Sounds like you are on the path to a great beer!

Update
Bottled yesterday.

Thanks brewpirate for the link to the bulk priming calculator.

Tastes great. Subtle oakey whiskey taste is there for sure. A nice new coffee type taste is developing in there as well and the bitterness at the end has also mellowed out a little bit already.

It is an enjoyable enough stout straight out of the secondary so a successful carbonation and a couple of months in the bottle will hopefully make it a very nice tipple indeed. So far so good!

Update

This is my "Beer of the Year"! I am a Newbie to brewing having only been brewing for a year or so. This was my first attempt at a Toucan and to say that I am pleased with it is a major understatement! I love this stuff!! A very tasty stout and at 7.8%-8.0% it is a nice winter warmer with the bourbon and oakey tastes. Not watery but not chewy either. It is as black as night with a head retention that is better than any beer that I have attempted so far....a thick creamy brown head that leaves its mark all the way from the top to bottom of the glass.
The only change I would make for next time is maybe a little less priming sugar as it has a little bit of fizz straight after the initial pour. Leaving the glass to stand a few minutes and giving it a gentle swirl seems to lessen the fizz and makes it perfect for my taste.
I am yet to try one of the 2 experimental bottles with 10ml and 15ml added extra JB. Should be interesting!

Good job, glad it came out well and sounds like a mighty fine beverage