Brew day is coming soon!!!
I always look for inspiration when I go to brew my next beer. I really love walking outside and seeing what’s out there that can give me new brewing ideas. I really love photography, or maybe I will be out on a hike, or just in the supermarket.
It’s weird seeing something like a cloudy pink sky or monkey on roller skates, and thinking how that can convert into a beer recipe. But it’s not possible to make a beer that tastes like how a sky looks, but I can make the beer cloudy and see how I can maybe get that same color of pink with fruit. Or for a money on roller skates, maybe a banana stout and make the yeast choice funny. It’s not that I need to actually create what the image shows, it just needs to get me in a direction and have the imagination fire up. I never really considered myself creative in that I really stink at painting, sculpting, drawing, etc. But I feel like with brewing, I have been given the gift of being able to be creative still. I can see things out in the world and try to express them using the ingredients.
Planning another brew day. I found this while walking in the store when I was about to pay for my groceries. I love this candy bar. Well, loved it when I was a kid. Don't really eat much chocolate anymore. But it doesn't matter. This gave me an idea for an amazing stout recipe. It’s a white chocolate bar with pieces of cookie and vanilla. It tastes sort of Oreos in a way, but better.
Here’s a general picture of what I am putting together:
Imperial Cookies and Cream Stout
Grain - Marris Otter, Chocolate Malt, Roasted Malt
8 oz Lactose - Gives it a milky taste and texture
Pure Vanilla Bean - Add some cookie taste
1 bar of White Chocolate or white chocolate nibs
Yeast - Irish Ale 1084
2 oz Fuggle Hops
I would love to add some coffee, but not sure it will fit in if I want to get the Milk and Cookies taste. It’s going to be made around 10% ABV as I want a nice rich and strong stout base. While I want the Cookies and Cream present, I want to stay away from having a sweet stout or pure pastry stout. I will have 5 gallons of this and if it tastes like pure sugar, I’ll probably lose half my teeth! My idea is for it to be a sturdy milk stout my grownup self likes, and then bring myself down memory lane with a taste of one of my favorite childhood treats.
Wish me luck! If you enjoyed the post, please follow and/or upvote. Stay tuned to see how it works out!