S’mores Recipe

[Rhamp17]

So here is my best shot at a s’mores stout.

10 lbs Maris Otter
1 lb flaked oats
8 oz roasted barley
10 oz chocolate malt
4 oz black patent
1 lb crystal 120
8 oz crystal 80
.5 lb rice hulls

Mashing at 155 for 60 minutes.

1 oz magnum @ 60 min

US-04 at somewhere between 64-68
Would like some feedback on what temperature y’all think is best for his yeast.

-I have 2 boxes of honey maid graham crackers in the mash
-1 lb brown sugar at beginning of the boil
-5 ounces of Hershey’s unsweetened chocolate powder at beginning of the boil
- 2 vanilla Beans soaked in vodka into primary fermenter week 2
- 1lb lactose @ 10 min

Water additions
- .18g pickling lime
- .25g baking soda
- .33g calcium chloride
- .20g gypsum

Any suggestions or advice are greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!

 

[NoIguanaForZ]

Anywhere from 64-68 should be fine as long as you have good temperature control.

Do not, for the love of your god or analog of choice, let S-04 ferment "warm." Unless you actively enjoy driving by refineries in states that don't enforce public health regulations. Frankly, my first impulse is suggest a different yeast, but if you're set on that one, maybe ferment towards the lower end.

With the graham crackers, make sure they're fresh; if they're pushing their expiration date, the oils in them will start to go rancid and it will come through clearly in your finished beer.

I've heard meadowfoam honey gives a "toasted marshmallow" flavor. Briess Extra Special Roast Malt claims to also. Might be worth looking into one or both.

Oh, and my experience with cocoa powder in a smores-inspired beer was pretty mediocre; I recommend cocoa nibs or extract. Something with a minimum of residual, extractable lipids.

Finally...why the black patent on top of everything else? And have you considered something like a 3/1 combination of brown and honey malts to enhance the graham cracker flavor?