Jan 30, 2015

"Not Your Mother's" Peanut Butter Milk Stout

I decided to brew up the milk stout recipe for the last batch in the homebrew kettle. Ah, the last batch. The balance of malt and hops along with the memories, gave off a bittersweet feeling. The reason for our parting, we are upgrading brewing systems, as we progress towards opening Frank &Andy. So no worries F&A fans (all 2 or 3 of you). As we progress as brewers, so too must our beers, and that's why this go around on the Milk Stout recipe I added Peanut Butter. The overwhelming popularity, but inability to find the Peanut Butter Porter, created in me the desire to experiment with this ingredient. OG measured 1.071 @ 68 degF, which was a little light, and the peanut butter turned the wort to a hazy brown rather than the jet black stout I was accustomed to. First whiff, I definitely picked up a roasty nut aroma, but upon first taste, I got more roasted peanut than sweet creamy peanut butter. The Doc even said, "Tasted more like graham crackers than peanuts."  I guess this ingredient will be a little more elusive to tackle than I initially expected. Oh well, I wish I could have sent the 'Ol Brewpot out on a good note, but missteps are sometimes the nature of experimentation and the beauty of progress.