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.