Recipe: McGregor Stout

A great, easy-drinking stout perfect for all-day drinking with friends while watching the boxing

Hi Homebrewers,

A few weeks back I had all of the boys around for the big Mayweather vs McGregor boxing match. We watched the pay-per-view fight, pouring beers and ciders from my trusty side-by-side beer fridge. We had a bunch of awesome food including truffled mac’n’cheese, collard greens with shredded slow-cooked ham hock as well as 18-hour cooked chipotle and stout (this stout in fact) beef ribs and peach, habanero and IPA hot wings. I brewed three recipes for the fight; a Mayweather American IPA,  a Blackberry and Vanilla (black and white) Referee Apple Cider and this, the McGregor Stout.

Mayweather vs McGregor Pay-per-view

I was going for a dry Irish stout, but it didn’t end up attenuating as highly as I’d had liked. No matter, this stout is still a well balanced, perceptible bitter number with a nice smooth roasted coffee and chocolate flavour.

Side note: Even though Mayweather didn’t last the distance, at just 3.8% abv, you’ll be able to go all day with this one.

Beer Profile

Batch volume: 22 L
Pre-boil volume: 31 L
Pre-boil gravity: 1.030
OG: 1.042
FG: 1.014
ABV: 3.8%
Bitterness: 40 IBUs
Colour: 32 SRM
Efficiency: 80%

Ingredients

Grains % of Fermentables
2.3 kg Maris Otter Pale Malt (3.75°L) 58.2%
1.2 kg Flaked Barley 30.4%
300 g Carafa III (535°L) 7.6%
150 g Chocolate Malt (350°L) 3.8%
Kettle Hops IBUs
44 g East Kent Goldings [5 AA] – 60 mins 30.4
10 g Magnum [11.7 AA] – 60 mins 9.7
Yeast
1 Packet Safale – S-04
Other Ingredients
1/2 tablet Irish Moss – 10 mins
Target Water Profile
Ion Target (ppm or mg/L)
Calcium 65
Magnesium 5
Sodium 5
Chloride 75
Sulphate 80
Bicarbonates 5

Method

Mash the grains at 66ºC for one hour. Fly or batch sparge at 77ºC until you have reached the pre-boil gravity. Bring the collected wort to a boil and wait for the hot break to form. Boil for 90 minutes adding the kettle hops after 30 minutes. After the 90 minute boil either cool quickly using a chilling device or hot can into a no-chill cube and let it cool naturally. Aerate and pitch yeast. Ferment at 20ºC.

If you want to dry hop, try adding around 14 g or Fuggles or EKG a few days into fermentation. After the FG stabilises, clarify your beer if you so choose (see here on how to do it) and rack into a keg or bottle.

Carbonation and Storage

Carbonate to between 1.5 – 2 volumes and if bottling store for at least 30 days prior to drinking.

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