Need some help Categorising my latest Brew

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by philgill, Jan 9, 2013.

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  1. philgill

    philgill Initiate (0) Feb 15, 2012 Ireland

    Have a Homebrewing competition (my first) coming up in a couple of weeks. Rather than brew a beer according to a specifically recognised BJCP style I did my usual thing which is go completely off sheet and brewed a beer which doesn't really fit in with any that I can think off.
    Would like to get the opinion of the educated masses here regarding the recipe.

    so here it is

    Partial Mash / Extract

    350g Maris Otter
    300g Torrified wheat
    200g Dark Crystal
    200g Unmalted Barley
    500g Chocolate Malt
    Mashed for 45 mins @65 degrees

    3KG - Medium DME

    170g Treacle @10 mins
    150g Organic Cocoa @10 mins
    100g Lactose @10 mins

    30g Liberty 60mins
    30g EKG 10 mins
    SG 1065

    22 litres in the Fermenter
    Fermented with S-33 @22 degrees - took off very quickly.

    Once activity has slowed down I will add in some vanilla beans soaked in rum.

    Will bottle with s-58 yeast to add some extra character

    thoughts? which BHCP style would you categorise it as?
     
  2. geocool

    geocool Savant (1,233) Jun 21, 2006 Massachusetts

    What does it taste like? Maybe go with 21B. Christmas/Winter Specialty Spiced Beer, or just 23. Specialty Beer.
     
  3. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Your recipe reads like it is a Sweet Stout to me but with an OG = 1.065 it is a bit too high per the BJCP style guidelines for a Sweet Stout.

    Cheers!

    P.S. If the vanilla bean flavor is high, maybe a Spiced Beer would be more appropriate?
     
  4. philgill

    philgill Initiate (0) Feb 15, 2012 Ireland

    my light bulb idea while assessing what ingredients I had available was to make a Belgian style stout. The nearest I can see on the guidelines would be a Belgian Specialty Ale
     
  5. FeDUBBELFIST

    FeDUBBELFIST Pooh-Bah (1,765) Oct 31, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Give it a taste, then give it a style.
     
  6. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Do you have prior experience brewing with S-33? I have seen it reported that this yeast strain is really an English yeast strain vs. a Belgian strain: “Sources other than the manufacturer say S-33 is Edme yeast”.

    If you are really looking to brew a Belgian style Stout then I would highly recommend that you ferment with Wyeast 3787 and ferment warm (e.g., 72°F) to encourage the formation of ‘Belgiany’ flavors (esters and phenols).

    Cheers!

    P.S. Adding more yeast at bottling (“bottle with s-58 yeast to add some extra character”) will have negligible effect on the beer flavor. The amount of fermentation that occurs in the bottle is miniscule.
     
  7. ShawDeuce22

    ShawDeuce22 Crusader (457) Mar 17, 2009 Massachusetts

    How much are the entry fees? If you can afford entering your beer into 2 or 3 (or more) styles then let the "experts" tell you what it is.
     
  8. nedvalton

    nedvalton Initiate (0) Dec 29, 2012 Alabama

    only issue with putting it under category 23 specialty is they request a base style. so it still leaves the issue of figuring that out
     
  9. barfdiggs

    barfdiggs Initiate (0) Mar 22, 2011 California

    I concur, looks like a milk stout to me.

    FWIW All my sweet stouts brewed for competitions have an O.G. of ~1.078 (Usually finish high, ~1.030-1.040).
     
  10. philgill

    philgill Initiate (0) Feb 15, 2012 Ireland

    1.030-040 is a massively sweet drink - how did it fare out in competitions?
     
  11. philgill

    philgill Initiate (0) Feb 15, 2012 Ireland

    Ha,
    I like this idea
     
  12. barfdiggs

    barfdiggs Initiate (0) Mar 22, 2011 California

    Dextrins aren't sweet, and lactose isn't really very sweet (more milky; taste it), so the beers aren't super sweet, just thick. Also, they have around 20-25% roasted grain to keep them in balance.

    The first 1 or 2 I made kept getting comments from judges that it should be thicker with better head retention, so I just kept mashing higher and higher and adding more lactose. The milk stouts have very done well in competitions.
     
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