Revving up for the Kitchen Sink

So for the past couple weeks I have been getting ready to do a crazy experimental stout Im calling "Kitchen Sink." Iv found that finding just the right moment to brew it has been a little bit of a hassle. First my local homebrew store was out of some of the malted grains I needed, and then this past thursday night my apartment flooded.

But here I am, hoping to get it done and in a carboy fermenting before I go off for the holidays, and the first step is getting all the adjuncts and special ingredients together. I am not going to post the recipe at this time, but I will let you in on the adjuncts.

First off we have cacao. While originally I had purchased a 8oz box of nestle powder to dump into the boil, a chef friend of mine named Abe said he actually had a bunch of cacao nibs and beans that I could use. So I went over last night and picked these up.



Secondly, while the mash is going, I am going to be making caramelized sugar with this bad boy.

Im doing this based off what people say is a big part of the flavor of the Kuhnhenn Creme Brule Java Stout that I love so much. When that is done, Ill be dumping that late into the boil with the cacao.

I am also going to add a pound of flaked oats and a half pound of lactose sugar.and a vanilla bean from Papua New Guinea. You can see while Im calling it "Kitchen Sink". Stay tuned as I will report later in the week about the recipe and how the brew day went.