KISS stout

In the conclusion of the Stout chapter of "Designing Great Beers", Daniels states:

The basic stout is so easy that the recipe can be written in less than twenty words: 90% pale ale malt, 10% roast barley, 1.042 gravity, 45IBU at the start of the boil.
This recipe, brewed with almost any water, mashed at almost any temperature, and fermented with almost any yeast, should give you an enjoyable product. You could screw it up by mashing at 120F and fermenting with a weizen yeast, but I'm willing to bet that anyone who has brewed more than a couple of beers would avoid such mistakes.

 

I'd sub in 5% brown and chocolate malt. (total) and then use a <medium attenuating yeast (such as Windsor)

 

Probably the simplest involved opening up a can of extract in 1989. Just add sugar and whatever infection agents were hanging out around the kitty litter box. I had a lot to learn about brewing back then. In modern times, I have been unable to keep my stouts simple. Here's my most recent:

(4.67 gallons into the fermenter; 1.050)
5#s Golden Promise
2.5#s US 2-row
1# Black roasted barley
1# flaked barley
8 oz English crystal (40L)
8 oz TF Pale Chocolate malt
1.25 oz Challenger at 60 mi
1.5 oz Challenger at 5 min
Irish Ale yeast

In stouts, I really like the layered roasted malts with some crystal. For me, a simple grist misses the point here. Not really sure what the flaked barley contributes here, other than gives me a bit of a perch to stand on when I call it a dry stout.

 

KISFES (Foreign Extra Stout) recipe:

85% Marris Otter
5% Roast Barley
5% Flaked Barley
5% Treacle
Mash ~152F
OG ~1.065
British/European bittering hops to ~50 IBU
British Ale Yeast
Ferment ~70F
Moderate carb

wait

Drink!

 

As I recall Guiness is fairly KISS. Pale malt, flaked barley, roasted barley. Hops for bittering. Irish Ale yeast.

 

and fish bladders...don't forget the fish bladders

 

Well many Dry Irish Stouts use Roasted Barley as the only specialty grain, so...

7 lbs Pale Malt
1 lbs Roasted Barley
2 oz EKG (5% AA) @ 60 min
Irish Ale Yeast

For a 5 Gal batch it should get you 1.044 OG, 1.010 FG, 4.4% ABV, 45 IBU, 38 SRM

I just chucked it together, so no idea if it tastes good (but can't see why not)

 

An export stout, but no reason not to reduce quantities

MO - 78%
Brown Malt 14%
Black Patent 8%

Well hopped with challenger only

yeast, your choice english. I think I used fullers for that one. use s04 if you want some extra tartness

A lot of Rons historic recipes for porters/stouts are just Pale, Brown and Black malts, with lots of hops. But there's quite a variety of stouts you can make by altering the % of each and changing up yeasts


Might not be what you are looking for of course

 

Incidentally I really like challenger or first gold in stouts, that marmalade flavour from them goes really well. Bramling cross is another really good flavour hop for stouts imo

 

Detroit Stout?