Recipe for Irish extra stout :
- Color : black
- Alcohol content : 5.6%.
- Bitterness : pronounced
- Brewing time : 5h
- Quantity : 20L
- Difficulty : Easy
Ingredients
- 3.6kg of Malt Maris Otter
- 1kg of Flocons d’orge
- 550g of Roasted Barley
- 40g of East Kent Goldings leaf hops
- 2 levure Nottingham yeast packets (or Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale)
- Total water volume : 34L (Preferably Sulfate > Chloride = 1.5)
Brew our Irish extra Stout recipe step by step
Step 1
In your brewing tank, heat 18.5 liters of water to 72°C and pour in the crushed grains. (+ the barley flakes supplied separately).
Stir well to soak up all the malt, and don’t hesitate to crush any lumps against the sides of the tank.
Stir until the temperature drops to 67°C and hold for 1 hour.
At the same time, heat 15.5 liters of water to 75°C.
Step 2
Once the hour of saccharification is over, move on to filtration and rinsing.
Step 3
Heat the wort and boil for 60 minutes.
Incorporate the hops as soon as the timer starts. In this style of stout, we’re not looking for hoppy aromas, but simply a relatively pronounced bitterness to accentuate the sensation of dryness on the finish. Here, we’re talking about 47 IBU.
Step 4
Cool the wort to 19°C and transfer to the fermenter, not forgetting the yeast.
Your initial density should be around 1.054.
Ferment at 19°C for 4 weeks. Then raise the temperature to 22°C for a final week.
Final density should be around 1.012.
Step 5
Add 4g/l of sugar at bottling. It is preferable not to have too much carbonation on this style of beer, to preserve the smoothness of the attack at the beginning of the mouth, and not to accentuate the already pronounced bitterness of the finish.
Over View
This typically Irish recipe is a far cry from our oatmeal stout published a few months ago. Here, we’re not necessarily looking for a big, soft, caramelized hug. With Irish extra stout, we want a slightly more aggressive character. The idea is to have a fairly round, full attack, hence the use of a high percentage of barley flakes. In opposition to this slightly biscuity roundness, we want to contrast it with a very dry, thirst-quenching finish, which will be provided in particular by the bitterness of the hops (and if you can, a sulphate-rich water profile). Beyond being thirst-quenching, this dry, bitter finish beautifully brings out the strong coffee flavors of the roasted barley. To keep the black grain in the foreground, we don’t want any hop or yeast aromas here.
Its low alcohol content and dry/distilled character make it ideal for a succession of pints and a fun St. Patrick’s Day celebration !