This oatmeal stout is fermented with extremely clean yeast providing a true expression of the malt and hops characteristics.
The malt extract is a blend of pale malt with some caramel 60, Munich, and black malt. It creates a dark wort with a smooth taste and at the high rate of addition in this beer, the caramel, honey, bread, coffee, chocolate, and toasty flavors boldly fill the palate.
The addition of oatmeal flour gives a rich, smooth mouthfeel and full body to the beer.
The Minnesota grown Mighty Axe Sterling hops infuse a delicately spicy, citrusy aroma with a floral and herbal nuance. The high oil content allows the hops flavor to last through the finish without over-riding the malt and oatmeal character of this wonderful porter.
Extract brewing can be simple and rewarding! Note that while the equipment costs far less than the equivalent all-grain systems, the cost to let someone else create your extract over extracting the sugars from grains yourself is more expensive by about 20-50%. The cost per 20oz (one bottle) of beer for this brew comes to just over $2.12.
For a fermentation airlock, run a section of the 3/8" ID Siphon Hose from the grommet on the lid to the bottom of one of the gallon jugs filled with sanitizer solution in tap water, and place the gallon jug and the fermentation bucket at the same height.
The recommended inoculation rate of this yeast is 2 grams per 5 gallons, or approximately 1/2 tsp. The yeast packet comes with 11 grams. The maximum pitch rate is 4g/5gal.
Primary fermentation ambient temperature can be anywhere in the yeast's fermentation temperature range, so fermenting warmer at around 75f will speed up the fermentation process, but the beer should not get warmer than 76f. If the fermenting liquid gets warmer than 76f, place the beer is a cooler (and still dark) area such as a basement or cooled fermentation chamber.
To bottle your beer, precondition each sanitized bottle with 2 Northern Brewer Fizz Drops. Attach a 5-8 foot section of the 3/8" ID Siphon Hose to the Fermenter's Favorites Bottling Spigot and the other end of the hose to the Fermenter's Favorites® Spring Tip Bottle Filler. Slowly open the spigot until it is fully open. Place the spring tip filler into the bottle and press the tip in on the bottom of the bottle. Fill the bottle until the liquid reaches the top. Remove the filler and the bottle will be filled to the optimal height.
Secondary fermentation in bottles takes between 14 and 21 days. 17.5 is usually a safe number of days to allow carbonation to build.
Do not be lead astray by the math provided by this recipe. Final gravity is likely to be much lower, and the ABV of this beer is likely to be higher due to the extremely high alcohol tolerance of this yeast.
Don't forget to sanitize everything including the outside rims of the brew equipment and even the outside of the yeast packet.
