Day 2: Gingerbread Stout by Heiko Rath

[Scott H]

Gingerbread Stout by Heiko Rath

Notes from the brewer:
With the weather about to get cooler I was in the mood to try my hands at a Gingerbread Stout. The goal was to end up with a sweet stout, that had a full mouth feel and could provide a little warmth. After some research I settled on the following:

Recipe:
Malt:
Marris Otter 3L 11 lb
Victory Malt 28L 1.5 lb
Flaked Oats 2.5L 1.25 lb
English Dark Crystal 120L 1 lb
Chocolate Malt 415L 0.75 lb
Black Patent Malt 680L 3 oz

Hops:
US Northern Brewer Alpha 10.3%, Beta 5.1% 3oz 60 min

Misc:
Ginger root (chopped in food processor): 4 oz 15 min
Cinnamon ground: 2 tsp 15 min
Lactose: 1.25 lb 15 min
Vanilla beans (scraped): 2 15 min
Wildflower Honey: 2 lb 5 min

Yeast:
Safael US S-05 2 packages

Single infusion mash @156f for 60 minutes

Brew date: 9/22/2013
Kegged: 10/27/2013

OG 1.088
FG 1.032
ABV 7.38%

[Allen H]

So, initial impressions, I love how strong the ginger was but how it was not overpowering. The roasted malts kept it in check I would say, maybe even the lactose. I feel the vanilla was lost, personally but it did not detract from the beer. I poured it a little agressively and the head was insane lol but that was me, not you. The carbonation seemed perfect, IMO. Honestly, great job.

Edit: Looking at the recipe I see only BP that is pretty roasty lol but I get that character.

Also, on untappd?

[ricky]

Agreed on the ginger. I'm a sucker for ginger in general; I really like the strong flavor. I didn't get any head upon pour, but the carbonation was good. I might be making it up, but I swear I can taste a hint of the honey.

Solid brew!

[Renee]

This beer had just the right amount of ginger for me, although I didn't taste any vanilla either. Not the type of beer I could drink that often, but it made for a delicious after dinner drink tonight.

[antonia]

Great December/Advent beer! Definitely quite sweet, with warmth from the cinnamon and ginger (both of which I get a lot of in the aroma, but are balanced by the sweetness in the flavor). I get quite a bit of raisin in this too, not quite sure where that's coming from (the black patent malt + vanilla + lactose, maybe?).

Thanks Heiko!

[klinger]

Beautiful looking beer -- thick, rich head, very clear. Not as dark as some stouts that are as big as this (almost up there to imperial size). Shines very ruby red with a bright light behind it. Lots of spice in the nose & taste, but the sweetness of the lactose really makes the spices become more cookie like. Good chocolate character, too, so it comes across as a chocolate gingerbread dessert to me. Like others said, I get mostly ginger, not so much cinnamon or vanilla, but I don't know that they're needed except as hints in there. I didn't get any honey flavor. I imagine that the honey dried it out some, so wow, without some simple sugars this really would have been thick & rich.

Very enjoyable beer. This is dessert in a glass.

[spidermonk]

Holiday fun for sure. Really sweet and full of ginger. I personally wouldn't mind a little less lactose, but amazing how the ginger really shines through.

[Heiko R.]

Thanks for the feedback. If I were to try this recipe again I would probably modify it by cutting back a bit on the ginger, slightly less cinnamon and black patent malt to aim for a better balance.

If you want to try an awesome Gingerbread Stout see if you can get your hands on the version from Hardywood Park Craft Brewery out of Richmond. This Thanksgiving a couple of craft beer friends shared this (and many other amazing beers) with me. It is very nice; two thumbs up.

[Chris Creech]

Just sat down with this one. Beautiful pour, and I get a pretty instant aroma of some earthy spiciness. It's hard to place it, but I imagine it's a blend of the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger. It's an almost wood-like aroma.

This is definitely a good desert beer. I don't typically like sweet/milk stouts, as something about the lactose just turns me off, so I would like to see this one with less lactose, but I imagine you'd also have to dial back on some of the spices since you wouldn't have that sweetness. And I know that is just my personal preference. I'm not a big fan of the Duck Rabbit or Left Hand milk stouts eatier.

Nicely done on the spices though. I definitely get ginger, and the cinnamon comes at the back end and even when you breathe out a bit. The vanilla bean is subtle, but there. And I don't get any honey at all, but that's usually how honey works - just dries it out a touch, without much flavor.

[mavus]

I am not usually a fan of holiday spiced beers but the sweetness balanced this out well. I would go with less cinnamon but that may just be because I dislike cinnamon. Maybe a touch less lactose as well. I was pleasantly surprised after reading the recipe that I would enjoy this beer as much as I did.

[carboywonder]

Great looking beer. Nice three fingers of thick khaki head, great lacing all the way through. At first, the ginger seemed a bit overbearing, but as it warmed up a bit it became much more balanced and I began to pick up on the cinnamon. Nice full body. Good work.

[Scott H]

I could tell this one was going to be a treat just from the aroma coming from the glass. The amount of gingerbreadiness was darn near perfect... very assertive, it let you know it was there, but not over the top. Usually with a desert beer like this, if the extra flavors are too strong, the novelty wears off after the first few sips for me. With this beer though, I was still wanting more through the whole thing. Great Christmas-time beer, thanks Heiko!

[bryan]

I loved this beer. While the malt held everything in check, I could clearly smell every added ingredient with the vanilla and ginger doing most of the work. Really delightful.

The taste came off to me as light milk chocolate at first and the lactose was easy to pick up. Vanilla and honey from there.

Great carbonation, head retention and lacing.

Thanks so much for making (and sharing) this!