I know this could be a very stupid question, but...

[enigmatic]

To avoid all doubt when following this recipe:

38 Carlingford Stout

Started 10.3.03 Bottled 22.3.03

1 can Black Rock Miners' Stout
1 can Morgan's unhopped dark malt extract
150g rolled oats
150g crystal malt
25g Fuggles hop pellets
1 sachet Munton's Gold yeast

OG 1035 (suspect this is wrong) FG 1016 ALC/VOL NK

BREWING NOTES Brewed to celebrate my move into a new house in Carlingford Street. This was the first brew made in the new place, and coincidentally bottled on the first anniversary of settlement.

Yeast starter made 8.3.03. Grains added to about 2 litres of cold water and slowly brought almost to boiling. Strained and added to fermenter. Mark malt extract and half the hops added to water and simmered for 10 minutes. Added the rest of the hops then the lot went into the fermenter. Concentrate dissolved and added to the fermenter.

TASTING NOTES 20.4.03. Delightful. Flowery hop taste and smooth. Lightly carbonated and sooooo tasty. Oliver: “The best stout I've ever made.”
6.3.05: My mate Cameron said: “A step up from Cooper's Stout.” High praise indeed!
15.3.05: Pours with a solid, tight head that things out to a good spread over the surface of this dark, dark stout. Caramel and earthy flavors and a slight fruity nose. Nice bitterness, especially on the finish at the back of the tongue. Has lost most of the fruitiness it had when it was young. azure


When I do this step "Grains added to about 2 litres of cold water and slowly brought almost to boiling. Strained and added to fermenter."

Am I adding the remains of the grains to the fermenter or the strained liquid?

[James L]

liquid.... add the liquid to the fermenter... and discard the spent grain...

also, if you can... try to keep the 2L of water that you are heating at about 68C... higher temps with grains can lead to off flavours and such

[enigmatic]

Thanks. I was pretty sure it was the liquid but I wanted to be 100% certain and not assume.

I'm not sure about the exact temp of the water. The recipe wasn't that specific so would have gone a bit higher than 68C.

One other point worth asking before I do the entire recipe - the shop sold me crushed crystal malt grains. Does this make a difference?

[warra48]

They did you a favour by selling you crushed grains. They definitely need to be crushed to enable you to dissolve the sugars and other goodies in the grain, and then to drain/rinse them out.
As to your original recipe, your OG will most certainly have been well over 1035, more like 1050. Looks like a nice recipe.

[Trough Lolly]

That was NOT a stupid question - and was well answered. You can add the grains to the water when it's cold and gently heat to around 70C, stirring as you go.

Enjoy what should be a very fine beer....that's a good looking stout recipe. Use the freshest of ingredients and you'll be very happy. Keep the fermentation to 20C or below if you can.

Cheers,
TL