16D Foreign Extra Stout
Empire's End
ABV7.4% OG1.075 FG1.019Grain bill
| Maris Otter Pale Ale | 6.6 kg | 83.3% |
| Flaked Barley | 0.58 kg | 7.3% |
| Roast Barley | 0.35 kg | 4.4% |
| Gladfield Eclipse Wheat | 0.2 kg | 2.5% |
| Gladfield Light Chocolate | 0.2 kg | 2.5% |
Adjuncts
| Whirlfloc | 1 g @ 10 min |
| Yeast Nutrient | 4 g @ 10 min |
Hop schedule
| Hop | 60 min | 20 min | 5 min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Brewer | 80g | · | · |
| Fuggles | · | 20g | · |
| East Kent Goldings | · | · | 15g |
Yeast
| LalBrew Nottingham | 2 packets |
Water additions
| Calcium Chloride | 3.5 g |
| Sodium Bicarbonate | 2.5 g |
| Magnesium Sulfate | 0.5 g |
| Calcium Sulfate | 0.5 g |
Tasting notes
2025-06-18
Fermentation profile
Gravity
Temperature
About This Beer
A 16D Foreign Extra Stout brewed for the Valley Brewers BJCP learning and challenge series, the first of the club’s style sessions. The style sits in a productive middle ground: big, roasty and full-bodied without the sweetness or syrupiness of an Imperial.
Brewed on King’s Birthday, 2 June 2025, which made for a very pleasant morning in the garage.
Maris Otter as the backbone, roast barley for the characteristic dry bite, flaked barley for body and head retention, and small additions of Eclipse Wheat and Light Chocolate for colour and complexity. The hop schedule is classic English throughout: Northern Brewer for bittering efficiency, Fuggles mid-boil, East Kent Goldings late.
Brew day
With nearly 8 kg of grain and 20 L of mash water the tun was full, though not problematically so. Wort colour was excellent during recirculation, and at the boil it tasted sweet and roasty, which is the right early signal for a stout.
Water treatment targeted the darker grain bill: calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate as the primary additions, with small amounts of magnesium sulfate and calcium sulfate.
Fermentation
Primary in the FermZilla at 17.5°C for three days, then raised to 21°C for three more, followed by a cleanup rest at 22°C. Clean curve throughout.
Set up pressure-capable but only allowed to reach around 10 psi at 22°C, giving roughly a third of the carbonation naturally with enough headroom that yeast activity was not suppressed. Seven days of rest and cleanup before a gradual cool-down.
The result
Kegged on day 16, 18 June. Closed transfer to the corny with a couple of litres set aside for bottle conditioning.
Sampled fresh at packaging and already showing balanced roast: present without being harsh, which is the right starting point for the style.
The long cleanup rest at 22°C felt right for a higher-gravity stout and is worth keeping for similar dark ales. Holding the pressure moderate throughout also seemed sensible, giving the yeast headroom to finish properly rather than force-carbonating in the vessel.