2009-02-01-12:58:43

Pecan Stout



I brewed what I hope will turn out to be a stout this morning. I used lots of shelled pecan halves, some spices, baker's chocolate, and brown sugar. I'm hoping the pecans will come through over all the other stuff. But I was willing to risk it to get the original gravity up. I got it to 1.066. With any luck, this will be the "biggest" beer I've ever brewed.

I used White Labs Irish Ale yeast (WPL004), which has an attenuation 69-74%. So, it may have less alcohol than my Habanero Chipotle Belgian. But it should have a good body if the yeast works well enough.

I also managed to bring the wort down to 70 deg F this time by modifying my cooling process to add a cold water bath as well as the immersion wort chiller. With just the immersion, I can only get it down to 80 F or so. Getting it down to 70 F meant I could pitch the yeast right after transferring it to the fermenter, which should help get a good start because the wort is better aerated if transferred at room temp. -----