All Access Subscribers can download the Beersmith and BeerXML version of this recipe. Subscribe today.
From Kristen England, grand master BJCP judge and head brewer at Bent Brewstillery in Roseville, Minnesota, comes this recipe inspired by Jamaica’s Dragon and other tropical stouts. “Dark, not too roasty, with a definite sweet edge, but not sugary,” England says. “Also, a big point of fact is that these are tropical stouts because they are made in the tropics, not because of tropical flavors.”
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.075
FG: 1.018
IBUs: 28
ABV: 7.5%
MALT/GRAIN BILL
5.5 lb (2.5 kg) six-row pale
2.8 lb (1.3 kg) pilsner
1.5 lb (680 g) white wheat malt
1.35 lb (612 g) cane sugar
13 oz (368 g) dark crystal (120L–155L)
11 oz (312 g) Porterine or blackstrap molasses
6.5 oz (184 g) chocolate malt
6.5 oz (184 g) roasted barley
HOPS SCHEDULE
1 ml isomerized hop extract [60% AA] at 75 minutes (or any bittering hops to get 25–30 IBUs)
YEAST
Fermentis SafLager W-34/70 or equivalent strain
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and mash at 153°F (67°C) for about 45 minutes (or, alternatively, only until it passes an iodine test for starch conversion). Sparge and top up as necessary to get about 6.7 gallons of wort—or more, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 75 minutes, adding the hop extract (or bittering hops) at the start. After the boil, chill the wort to about 68°F (20°C), aerate, and pitch the yeast. (Do not overpitch.) Ferment at 70°F (21°C) for about 5 days, or until fermentation is complete. Cold crash and condition for 2 weeks. Package and carbonate to about 2.6 volumes.
BREWER’S NOTES
These beers are best enjoyed “hot” (i.e., at room temperature). Package and drink right from the bottle; they just taste better that way.