Hazelwood Brewday

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Today I’m brewing another batch of stout. At the moment I’m 40 minutes into the mash (70mins total mash time) and this is the colour of the wort. I’m about to add the dark crystal malt. Choc malt and roast barley go in 10 mins before the end. SG right now is 1047, I would normally expect 1046 so I’m pretty much on track.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

At 60 mins the choc and roast barley go in, the colour of the wort is obviously darker now due to the dark crystal added 20 mins ago. SG at 1053 is still 1 point above target.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

End of the mash and the wort is now the stout colour we love. SG finished on the nose at 1060. Now the sparge.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Well the tap is right there next to me
Still sparging…

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Sparge done, pre-boil gravity is 1048 so again is exactly on point. I skimmed the hot-break to reduce the waste in the bottom of the boiler and just added the bittering hops. Time to sit back for 50 minutes - but always with one eye on the boiler!

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Boil done. Chilling down now and then will leave to rest for a while so all the break material can settle out.

 

[Clint]

Looking very slick H! What prep ,if any,do the late addition dark malts get before adding to the mash? And...what does this method bring as opposed to slinging the lot in at the start,as I have always done?
That stout looks fine! One more night shift...

 

[Leon103]

Looking very slick H! What prep ,if any,do the late addition dark malts get before adding to the mash? And...what does this method bring as opposed to slinging the lot in at the start,as I have always done?
That stout looks fine! One more night shift...

Less roasty flavours, I believe. I believe a lot of people put them in at mash out- I think I will try that next.

 

[Clint]

Sounds like something I will also try. After demolishing my healthy supply of HB,even though I'm not out of stock on between 80 and 100 I'm entering the Hazelwood Brewery panic phase...

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Looking very slick H! What prep ,if any,do the late addition dark malts get before adding to the mash? And...what does this method bring as opposed to slinging the lot in at the start,as I have always done?
That stout looks fine! One more night shift...

I mill the grain as usual but nothing more in preparation. I’ve started adding dark crystal toward the middle of the mash and dark roast malt toward the end. The idea is to get the colour and flavour but not the harsh bitterness you get from stewing - think of stewed coffee as an example. The result is a smoother roast rather than a harsh or bitter roast.

 

[Clint]

Which I might add,looking at my journal,happens every year about this time!
Irs due to the brewing decrease in the hotter months coupled with the consumption increase caused by the warmer weather.

 

[Clint]

I mill the grain as usual but nothing more in preparation. I’ve started adding dark crystal toward the middle of the mash and dark roast malt toward the end. The idea is to get the colour and flavour but not the harsh bitterness you get from stewing - think of stewed coffee as an example. The result is a smoother roast rather than a harsh or bitter roast.

I'm sure I've read somewhere about soaking the darker malts over night then using the strained liquor..

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I'm sure I've read somewhere about soaking the darker malts over night then using the strained liquor..

Yes, steeping the grains is another approach - maybe like cold pressed coffee?

 

[samale]

H do you use a stout tap for pouring. I remember a while back you did a comparison. Or am I making that up

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

H do you use a stout tap for pouring. I remember a while back you did a comparison. Or am I making that up

I did, and yes I use a stout spout. It does make the head a little more creamy at lower carbonation.

 

[moto748]

Can I ask, that stout you are picturing, Hazelwood, is it the recipe I did too, with quite a lot of chocolate malt and naked malted oats? Cos the reason why I ask, mine doesn't look anything like that! The head (less pronounced than yours), is positively brown, not whitish like yours. tastes quite chocolatey, and different to other stouts I've brewed, I did like it, though.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Can I ask, that stout you are picturing, Hazelwood, is it the recipe I did too, with quite a lot of chocolate malt and naked malted oats? Cos the reason why I ask, mine doesn't look anything like that! The head (less pronounced than yours), is positively brown, not whitish like yours. tastes quite chocolatey, and different to other stouts I've brewed, I did like it, though.

Yes it is, the head is a tan/brown colour but looks a little lighter in this picture. The stout is fairly smooth and creamy with a good chocolate flavour. It’s not a dry stout.

 

[jayk34]

Boil done. Chilling down now and then will leave to rest for a while so all the break material can settle out.

View attachment 54912

Do you transfer using the tap and leave everything in the dead space below the tap ?

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Do you transfer using the tap and leave everything in the dead space below the tap ?

I do transfer using the tap and at the end tip the boiler a little to transfer any clear wort below the level of the tap.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Just started the mash for another batch of Summer Breeze. 20 minutes in and the gravity is 1050.

Changes in this version have been made to the water profile, grain bill, and yeast:

• The water profile is more balanced with higher alkalinity because my pH was off last time. pH last time was 5.0, this time it’s 5.25 so I expect my efficiency to be better.
• I’ve increased the proportion of Pilsner malt to Vienna and swapped out flaked oats for flaked barley to improve turbidity, and;
• The yeast for this batch is a combo of Verdant and BRY-97 having found this combo to work well in hoppy ales.