Siphon Cassandra Oyster Stout
From Franklin Verdonck and Breandán Kearney of Siphon Brewing in Damme, West Flanders, this is an oyster stout of foreign-export strength. Its Belgian touches include a multistep mash, the additions of Special B malt and sugar, refermentation in the bottle, and priming to a higher carbonation level. The oysters don’t add saltiness but rather a minerality that improves body and mouthfeel. The result is a full-bodied, creamy stout with pronounced bitterness derived from both roasted barley and earthy, Belgian-grown Goldings hops.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters) FG: 1.025
Brewhouse efficiency: 72% IBUS: 52 OG: 1.077 ABV: 7%
MALT/GRAIN BILL
9.5 lb (4.3 kg) Belgian pale ale
1 lb (454 g) Munich
1 lb (454 g) Special B
13 oz (368 g) chocolate malt (450 SRM) 13 oz (368 g) roasted barley
7 oz (198 g) flaked barley
7 oz (198 g) flaked oats
HOPS & ADDITIONS SCHEDULE
2.75 oz (78 g) Goldings [6.8% AA] at 60 minutes 10.4 oz (295 g) sucrose/table sugar at 10 minutes 4 large oyster shells at 10 minutes
YEAST
Fermentis Safale US-05 American Ale; Safale F-2 for bottle conditioning
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and mash in at 144°F (62°C); rest there for 10 minutes. Raise the mash temperature to 162°F (72°C) and rest 45 minutes. Raise the temperature to 172°F (78°C) and hold for 5 minutes, then mash out. Vorlauf until your runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Lauter and sparge as necessary to get 6.8 gallons (26 liters) of wort—or more, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 90 minutes, following the hops and additions schedule; for better extraction and easier cleaning, put the oyster shells in a mesh hop bag. Chill the wort to about 68°F (20°C), aerate well, and pitch the yeast.
Ferment at 70°F (21°C) until the completion of primary fermentation (about 7–10 days). Crash to 35°F (2°C) and condition for 3 weeks. Prime with sugar and yeast in bottles, targeting a carbonation level of 3 volumes (6 g/l) of CO2. Re-ferment at 64°F (18°C) for 2 weeks, then store cool at temperatures below 50°F (10°C) for 2 more weeks to encourage sedimentation and further conditioning.