American Old Guard Stout

Drew Beechum

Here is Drew’s spin on the faded legacy of the American stout—these days primarily kept alive by our old-guard craft breweries.

ALL-GRAIN

Batch size: 5.5

OG: 1.064 gallons (21 liters)

FG: 1.016

Brewhouse IBUS: 47

efficiency: 70%

ABV: 6.5%

MALT/GRAIN BILL

10 lb (4.5 kg) two-row pale

2 lb (907 g) Munich

1 lb (454 g) Crystal 60L

12 oz (340 g) Weyermann Carafa II 8 oz (227 g) roasted barley

HOPS SCHEDULE

1 oz (28 g) Chinook [13% AA] at 60 minutes 1 oz (28 g) Centennial [10% AA] at 10 minutes 1 oz (28 g) Cascade [7% AA] at flame-out

YEAST

White Labs WLP001 California Ale

DIRECTIONS

Mill the grains and mash at 154°F (68°C) for 60 minutes, aiming for a mash ph of 5.5. Raise to 168°F (76°C) for 10 minutes and mash out. Vorlauf until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge the grains and top up as necessary to obtain about 7 gallons (26.5 liters) of wort—or more, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 60 minutes, following the hops schedule. After the boil, chill the wort to about 67°F (19°C), aerate well, and pitch the yeast. Ferment at 67°F (19°C). Once fermentation is complete, cold-crash, package, and carbonate.

EXTRACT VERSION

In place of the pale and Munich malts, substitute 9 lb (4 kg) of pale liquid malt extract (LME) and 2 lb (907 g) of amber LME. Bring 7 gallons (26.5 liters) of water to about 162°F (72°C) and hold. Using a mesh grain bag, steep the remaining grains for 15 minutes, then remove the bag and allow it to drain into the wort. Add the LME while stirring and stir until completely dissolved. Boil for 60 minutes, following the hops schedule. After the boil, chill, aerate, and ferment following the directions above.