French Toast Crunch Milk Stout - Seeking Feedback

[corycorycory09]

With the return of "French Toast Crunch" cereal, I am going to try my hand at brewing a French toast crunch milk stout.

What would you change about this?

Mash:
7 lbs - 2 Row
1 lb - Roasted Barley
.75 lb - Crystal 60L
.75 lb - Munich
.625 lb - Flaked Barley
.5 lb - Flaked Oats
1 lb - ground French toast crunch

Added at boil (last 10 minutes):
.75 lb - Milk Sugar (Lactose)

Hops:
.35 oz - Magnum (60 minutes)
1 oz - East Kent Goldings (10 minutes)

Dry 'Hop' (2 weeks):
.5 lb - ground French toast crunch directly into primary

Primer:
1/2 Maple Syrup and 1/2 Table Sugar.

Yeast:
Either WLP009 or US-05... Input would be appreciated on this. I'm thinking WLP009 because it leaves a 'bready' taste which sounds ideal for a toast themed brew.

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

Cinnamon Toast Crunch is *vastly* superior to French Toast Crunch.

I would skip the french toast crunch in primary, I almost don't wanna see what kind of mess that would cause. You could probably use all maple syrup to prime with and you'll get that much more maple flavor. Unsure on your opinions on adding a shade of cinnamon and nutmeg to the boil... though I never eat french toast crunch because its gross compared to the superior race cinnamon toast crunch so I cannot say for sure if you would even need any cinnamon or nutmeg.

I would take a peek at the ingredient list on the FTC and see if theres any preservatives, I don't know if they would survive the boil and all that jazz but that could mess with your yeast and eventual bottling (unless you are kegging then it almost doesn't matter so long as it ferments). The main flavor components of french toast being maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, and caramelized sugar (from the whole toasting part) I personally would just use these ingredients in a beer without using the cereal itself, though I think it would still work (ignoring the sticky mess and the preservatives).

 

[te-wa]

7 lbs - 2 Row
1 lb - Roasted Barley
.75 lb - Crystal 60L
.75 lb - Munich
.625 lb - Flaked Barley
.5 lb - Flaked Oats

change this to:
9lbs maris otter
1 lb biscuit
8 oz crystal 120
8 oz flaked oats
4oz roasted barley
2.5 oz pale chocolate

.5oz saaz @ 60
.5oz chinook @ 10

last 10 mins of boil, add 2 lb pure maple syrup

if you want the vastly superior cinnamon toast crunch, add 1 cinnamon stick, 2 split vanilla beans, and a 1/2teaspoon nutmeg in 4oz of vodka to the desired packaging

 

[corycorycory09]

Cinnamon Toast Crunch is *vastly* superior to French Toast Crunch.

I would skip the french toast crunch in primary, I almost don't wanna see what kind of mess that would cause. You could probably use all maple syrup to prime with and you'll get that much more maple flavor. Unsure on your opinions on adding a shade of cinnamon and nutmeg to the boil... though I never eat french toast crunch because its gross compared to the superior race cinnamon toast crunch so I cannot say for sure if you would even need any cinnamon or nutmeg.

I would take a peek at the ingredient list on the FTC and see if theres any preservatives, I don't know if they would survive the boil and all that jazz but that could mess with your yeast and eventual bottling (unless you are kegging then it almost doesn't matter so long as it ferments). The main flavor components of french toast being maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, and caramelized sugar (from the whole toasting part) I personally would just use these ingredients in a beer without using the cereal itself, though I think it would still work (ignoring the sticky mess and the preservatives).

While I do agree that cinnamon toast crunch is better than french toast crunch, I've seen CTC recipes before and I want to try something new.

7 lbs - 2 Row
1 lb - Roasted Barley
.75 lb - Crystal 60L
.75 lb - Munich
.625 lb - Flaked Barley
.5 lb - Flaked Oats

change this to:
9lbs maris otter
1 lb biscuit
8 oz crystal 120
8 oz flaked oats
4oz roasted barley
2.5 oz pale chocolate

.5oz saaz @ 60
.5oz chinook @ 10

last 10 mins of boil, add 2 lb pure maple syrup

if you want the vastly superior cinnamon toast crunch, add 1 cinnamon stick, 2 split vanilla beans, and a 1/2teaspoon nutmeg in 4oz of vodka to the desired packaging

This is only the second recipe I've made myself. Can you provide some explanation as to why you chose the grains you did over the ones I picked?

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

This is only the second recipe I've made myself. Can you provide some explanation as to why you chose the grains you did over the ones I picked?

I would agree with the revised bill so I'll try my hand at his reasoning.

7 lbs - 2 Row
1 lb - Roasted Barley
.75 lb - Crystal 60L
.75 lb - Munich
.625 lb - Flaked Barley
.5 lb - Flaked Oats

change this to:
9lbs maris otter - MO will give a better bready toasty sweetness, much much more character than your standard 2-Row. There's nothing wrong with 2-Row on the face of it, but the MO will definitely lend some extra bready/toasty/sweetness.
1 lb biscuit - Almost the same reasons for the switch to Marris Otter as the base malt. Biscuit is fantastic, I love throwing biscuit in everything. When I chew a couple grains of biscuit malt it reminds me of a nicely toasted english muffin. It gives a good bready toast, and at 1lb it will really emphasize the bread tones.
8 oz crystal 120 - I would say that 60L would work just fine, but I think I agree with the 120L for what your intended results are. I tend to find the 20L-80L crystal malts will be much more fresh to dry fruity sweetness, 120L bends much more towards the toffee/caramel/burnt sugar which would be more in-line with biting into a moist delicious fluffy piece of french toast.
8 oz flaked oats - Flaked oats/barley to me is almost the same, flaked oats you can get out of your cupboard and use some quaker instant oats and you have flaked oats (SWMBO will yell at me "where did all the oatmeal go?"). Grabbing some Quaked instant oats out of your cupboard is like 1/10th the cost to buy 1lb of flaked barley/oats from the LHBS.
4oz roasted barley - Lowering your roasted barley from 1lb to .25lb will still give you the nutty roastiness, but you wont get the in your face astringent roasty coffee dark chocolate burnt toast. Unless I'm doing a Dry Irish Stout in the vein of a Guiness clone, I never use more than 8oz of roasted barley, I may use other super dark malts but roasted barley can get super intense super quick.
2.5 oz pale chocolate - Pale chocolate is great, I love pale chocolate. You get the chocolate tones of a normal chocolate malt, but you get some fruity/toffee/caramels that are just awesome.

I would still put the lactose in, and to be honest lactose comes in 1lb packages so i'd just throw a full lb in. Part of me wants to say to skip the chinook addition, but either way it won't make a gigantic deal, with all the other stuff going on it probably won't hurt it (worst case you don't notice it at all).

I made the mistake of telling SWMBO about this, who *LOVES* FTC, and I always tell her how CT Crunch is a vastly superior cereal, now she is telling me I have to make this recipe...

 

[mrdail87]

I think I'd actually disagree with most of the revised ingredients list. The reason being, it seems to rely too heavily on the bready flavors. If the recipe were actually themed after French toast I'd agree, but the cereal itself didn't taste all that bready. Not to a great degree at least.

I'd also vote against crystal 120, it can give a nice toffee flavor, but also dark fruit flavors.

I do think you could cut back on the roasted barley though. Or swap for chocolate or pale chocolate as described above. 1 lb of roasted barley might give too much coffee flavor, which would mask a lot of the other flavors going on here.

My only other changes would be too to prime with 100% maple, as you won't need much to begin with. And not sure I'd "dry hop" with the ground FTC. Seems like it would be really difficult to keep it out of the final beer.

 

[Shuasha]

Is this your inspiration?

 

[corycorycory09]

What do you think about the addition of the "deep amber" candi sugar on this page?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/20-lb-sugar-jar-yeast-nutrient-114837/

Deep amber with full red colors. Raisins and plums are the dominant flavors with a hint of toast and coffee. Some rummy and mildly woody flavors. Strong complex caramels are present. It is a sophisticated sweetness with a robust, full characteristic.​

 

[te-wa]

good to hear opinions so far. this is sounding better and better. now if i can wrap my head (wallet) around spending $25 for 2 lbs of real maple syrup, i'll give it a go.

maybe the chinook would be a little spicy.. but think the spice additions would be boosted by it?
and if i nixed the c120 in place of c80, would you add a bit of black patent for color?

(yes, keep the lactose, i forgot to add that in my original commentary)

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

subbed, and I'd like to hear the results from those that brew this. thanks

 

[TheZymurgist]

These guys use a hopback:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ft-brewer-buys-up-all-count-chocula/17601399/

 

[Colbizle]

OP, you should take a gander at these recipes. Then formulate your own recipe keeping these ratios in mind. I'm all for experimentation, but your original recipe is going to be a disaster with all due respect.

http://byo.com/hops/item/1155-milk-stout-it-does-a-body-good

FWIW, You could probably achieve the french toast crunch flavor without using actual cereal. French toast flavor is really just bread, milk, cinnamon and vanilla. There's nothing in FTC that is special short of preservatives and artificial flavorings.

If it were me, I'd use a bunch of carabrown, then I would add in some cinnamon (by mixing some warm water first) and vanilla to taste, at bottling. I'd also target a lighter style such as a brown ale rather than a milk stout. The roasted dark malts and deep coffee flavors found in a stout style is going to completely mask your desired french toast flavor.

I like the idea of a french toast brown ale, rather than a french toast milk stout.

Just my 3 cents, but hey! Who's stopping you? :cross:

 

[Colbizle]

Here's an idea:

French Toast Brown Ale
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal

Estimated OG: 1.057 SG
Estimated Color: 18.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 33.6 IBUs

Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
7 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 71.8 %
1 lbs 4.0 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 2 12.8 %
1 lbs Briess Carabrown Malt (73.0 SRM) Grain 3 10.3 %
8.0 oz Victory Malt (biscuit) (Briess) (28.0 SR Grain 4 5.1 %
2.0 oz Chocolate Malt (For color adjustment not flavor) Grain 1.3%
1.00 oz East Kent Goldings (EKG) [5.00 %] - Boil Hop 5 20.6 IBUs
0.50 oz East Kent Goldings (EKG) [5.00 %] - Boil Hop 6 6.3 IBUs
0.50 oz Fuggle [4.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 7 4.6 IBUs
0.50 oz East Kent Goldings (EKG) [5.00 %] - Boil Hop 8 2.1 IBUs
0.50 oz Fuggle [4.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 9 0.0 IBUs

Mash at 154 for 60 minutes.

Yeast:
--------
wyeast 1968 ESB


Add Cinnamon and vanilla at bottling to taste.