Murphy's Irish Brother John's Stout

Source: John Holder, Paranet Inc.
Recipe added: 02/07/97
Email: jholder@frii.com
URL: http:.//www.frii.com/~jholder

This tastes very much like Murphy's Irish Stout. Be patient - the results are worth it.

Specifics

Recipe type: Partial Mash
Batch Size: 5 gallons
Starting Gravity: 1050
Finishing Gravity: 1010
Time in Boil: 1.5 hours
Primary Fermentation: 10 days
Secondary Fermentation: 4-8 weeks

Ingredients:

6.6 lbs Dark LME
3 lbs. Dark DME
1/2 lb. Crushed Black Patent Malt
1/2 lb. Crushed Roasted Barley (unmalted)
1/2 lb. Crushed Chocolate Malt
2-6 oz. of Fuggles or Goldings (25-50 IBU worth, I like 35)
Wyeast #1084 Irish Ale yeast

Procedure:

Put the crushed malts in 160F water in the oven on low for 1 to 1.5 hours. The temperature in the oven should be right at 150F. Near the end of this time, heat 2 quarts sparge water to 170F. Pour the mixture from the oven into your boiling vessel through a strainer, and then pour the sparge water through the strainer as well. (I know, why use this method on grains that don't have enzymes? My answer: It gives excellent extraction of the sugars.) Usually, I pour the hot liquor out of the boiling vessel into another, and then run it through the grain in the strainer one more time. I want all of that wonderful roastiness! Then, proceed to boil for 1 to 1.5 hours, adding your hops near the beginning of the boil. Irish Stout should have little to no hop aroma, so add only a small amout as aroma hops near the end of the boil if you desire (0.5 oz.). I generally age for two weeks in the primary and one to two months in the secondary, although I have bottle excellent stouts right out of a three week-old primary. Stouts hit their prime much later than lighter beers, usually at three months for a 1040 stout and lasting around one to one and a half years (Right, like it will be around that long!). Higher gravity stouts mature later and have longer primes. This basic recipe serves me well, and as I desire I can come closer to Guinness by using no chocolate, or for oatmeal fans add 1/4 to 1/2 lb. steel cut oats to the mash, or throw in some swiss process cocoa to the boil, or brewer's licorice for a more Dog-Spit-like taste. (Note: Dog Spit Stout is an award-winning stout available at O'Ryan's brewpub in Las Cruces, NM., just in case this reference made no sense.) I have made this recipe as written, I have also substituted non-traditional ingredients with excellent results, namely using Cascade and Kolch yeast. Sometime, add 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses to the boil. Irish stout is a wonderful thing, surpassed only by your own.

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