Author: Phil Rusher

Originally a term used to describe the strength of a beer, these days Stout refers to a set of styles, in fact the most recent iteration of the BJCP Guidelines lists 7 sub-types of Stout. While each of these are distinct in their own various ways, they all have a couple notable things in common, namely a very dark color from the relatively heavy use of roasted grains, which also contributes characteristics such as chocolate and coffee. It’s for these reasons Stout, at least in the beer world, has become synonymous with dark.

In typical arrogant fashion, Stone Brewing is credited as the first to seriously rethink the commonly accepted ideas of what makes a Stout a Stout. After a 2010 prank where Stone’s Greg Koch teased the idea of releasing a pale beer with Stout characteristics, then-brewmaster Mitch Steele decided to give it shot. He reasoned that by starting with a grist on moderately kilned base malt and swapping out the darker grains for adjuncts known to impart similar characteristics, one could produce a beer that mimics a Stout in all ways but color.

An seemingly short-lived trend, there’s something about the idea of making a Golden Stout that I find quite intriguing. Piecing together a grain bill that provides the expected malt character, balancing the roasted flavors contributed by adjuncts, and relying on a certain process variables to ensure proper body and mouthfeel. I was definitely excited to try my hand at this oxymoronic non-style of beer.

| Making Great Deceiver Golden Stout |

I approached designing this recipe from the perspective of keeping things as simple as possible while making sure to deliver what I felt would be the appropriate flavors for a Stout in a beer that was golden in color. I went with Pale and Munich-style malts for rich toasty notes, Pilsner malt to boost the strength without imparting color, and a charge of home-toasted flaked oats to add a silky mouthfeel.

Great Deceiver Golden Stout

Recipe Details Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV 5.2 gal 60 min 43.2 IBUs 7.5 SRM 1.063 1.018 5.9 % Actuals 1.063 1.014 6.5 % Fermentables Name Amount % Lamonta American-style Pale Malt (Mecca Grade) 4.375 lbs 31.82 Pelton Pilsner-style Malt (Mecca Grade) 4.375 lbs 31.82 Metolius Munich-style Malt (Mecca Grade) 3 lbs 21.82 Flaked Oats, Toasted 2 lbs 14.54 Hops Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha % Loral 35 g 60 min Boil Pellet 10.2 Miscs Name Amount Time Use Type Cacao Nibs 3.00 oz 6 days Secondary Flavor Coffee Beans 2.00 oz 6 days Secondary Flavor Yeast Name Lab Attenuation Temperature Urkel (L28) Imperial Yeast 73% 52°F - 58°F Notes Water Profile: Ca 50 | Mg 7 | Na 21 | SO4 55 | Cl 70 Download Download this recipe's BeerXML file

PROCESS

The night before brewing, I prepared the flaked oats by toasting them in my oven at 350°F/177°C for 30 minutes before moving them to an airtight container.

After collecting the strike water and adjusting it to my desired profile on brew day, I weighed out and milled the grain.

With the water appropriately heated, I stirred in the milled barley malt before adding the toasted flaked oats.

With the mash fully incorporated, I checked to make sure it was at my target temperature.

During the mash rest, I weighed out the single first wort hop addition.

When the 60 minute mash was complete, I removed the grain basket, added the hops, then brought the wort to a boil.

Following the 60 minute boil, I chilled the wort to my desired fermentation temperature of 65°F/18°C, took a hydrometer measurement showing it was at 1.063 OG, then racked it to a sanitized vessel before pitching a pouch of Imperial Yeast L28 Urkel.

With fermentation activity slowing down 4 days later, I prepared the adjuncts intended to impart the Stout-like flavors. First, I toasted the raw cacao nibs in my oven at 175°F/79°C for 5 minutes then raised the temperature to 250°F/121°C for an additional 10 minutes.

Next, I added the toasted nibs and whole coffee beans to a stainless mesh filter that was then gently placed in the beer.

I let the cacao nibs and coffee marinate in the beer for 6 days, at which point I took a hydrometer measurement indicating FG had been reached.

At this point, I racked the beer to a sanitized kegged that was placed in my keezer and burst carbonated at 50 PSI overnight before I reduced the gas to serving pressure. After a few days of conditioning, the beer was ready to serve.

| IMPRESSIONS |

Over the last few years, I’ve tried a handful of commercial Golden Stout examples, the good ones being characterized primarily by balanced flavors of chocolate and coffee such that it gave the impression of a regular Stout. As a first attempt, I was pretty pleased with how Great Deceiver Golden Stout turned out, though I felt the coffee was a tad too pronounced. However, this faded a bit as the beer warmed in the glass, balancing out the dark chocolate and toasty malt notes, which was all held up by an exceptionally fluffy mouthfeel.

While it’s hard for me to say with any degree of certainty that I would have mistaken this for a Stout, when I served samples of Great Deceiver to tasters in opaque cups and asked them to guess the style, nearly all felt it was a Coffee Stout. To me, this suggests that pulling back a bit on the amount of coffee used might result in a more balanced Golden Stout.

On the whole, I am pleased with how this Golden Stout came out and enjoyed sipping on it, though for future batches, I’ll likely reduce the amount of coffee used and toss a small charge of Amber or Brown Malt into the grist to enhance the toasty flavors. Regardless, Great Deceiver Golden Stout did seem to deceive some tasters, and for that, I consider this batch a success.

If you have thoughts about this recipe or experience making something similar, please feel free to share in the comments section below!

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