Done

To the left you can see my stout pictured and ready to drink. Or, partially drank, really. I jumped the gun at first, opening this beer a few days before it was ready: there was no carbonation at all and that was a bit disappointing.

Now, there’s a faint carbonation, like a young man’s peach fuzz, barely there and then gone but it last and it is just enough to help clear the palate from the stronger chocolate flavors in this. The mouthfeel isn’t quite as rich as a commercial stout but I think it’s a bit denser than a porter. Somewhere in the middle isn’t a bad place to put it, I guess. I’ll mark this post both stout and porter, since I can’t really decide. Who knows, maybe someone will see what I’ve done and know for sure!

Other than that, it’s a pretty quaffable pint. A bit sweeter than most stouts it’s something I can see going with something hearty like a cheeseburger or something a bit tart like an orange.

I hope the carbonation doesn’t build up too much more: a little bit and that’ll be about right. Any further and that might make the beer feel a little too light.

Recipe is as follows:

Brew Date 12.26.11
Steeping grains
7 oz toasted oats
.5 lb Chocolate
.5 lb black barley
.5 lb C80

Fermentables
7 lb LME

Hops
1oz Hallertauer @ 60

Yeast:
Reused octoberfest yeast, originally from Hopworks

Original Gravity
1.054

Terminal G
1.02

Final G
1.026

Bottled 1.4.12, ABV about 4.39%