
Craft Beer & Brewing Course
Brewing Flavorful Stouts Big and Small with Maplewood
Maplewood founder Adam Cieslak and brewers Roger Cuzelis and Adam Smith get under the hood of stouts ranging from session-strength to big and barrel-aged, discussing the mechanics of layering in flavor while keeping them balanced and drinkable.
5 chapters · 23 lessons · 1h 39m
Sign in to check your access · or buy this course for $29.99
Your instructor

Adam Cieslak, Roger Cuzelis & Adam Smith
Brewing Team, Maplewood
Chicago’s Maplewood Brewery & Distillery has earned a strong reputation among its peers for all its beers, including IPAs and lagers, but perhaps especially for its award-winning stout program. Whether it’s the mid-strength core beer Fat Pug, a milk stout of 5.9 percent ABV, or a higher-gravity entry in the Cuppa series—adjuncted and/or barrel-aged—Maplewood has a knack for building in loads of flavor without losing balance.
Course contents
5 chapters, 23 lessons, 1h 39m of video
Chapter 1
Welcome
- Introduction2:59
- About Maplewood: Telling Stories Through Beer
- Why Do We Like Stouts?2:20
Chapter 2
Building Flavorful Small & Mid-Strength Stouts
- Selecting Grains for Different Stouts10:44
- Learning Lab: Exploring Dark Malts
- Dialing in Water and Mash pH for Drinkability11:10
- John Palmer on Brewing Water
- Mash Temps and Boil Times8:32
- The Stout Brewer’s Control Panel
Chapter 3
Building Higher-Gravity Stouts
- Considerations for Higher-Gravity Stouts7:29
- Achieving that Higher Gravity9:41
- Gearhead: Monster Mashes & Tuns of Fun
- Mashing, Fermentability, and Flavors9:38
- More Perspectives: Bulking Up on Body with Brad Clark of Private Press
Chapter 4
Barrel-Aging & Flavor Adjuncts
- Planning for Barrel-Aging17:44
- Considerations for Flavor Adjuncts and Extraction16:17
Chapter 5
Conclusion, Recipes & Further Reading/Listening
- Thank You, That’s a Wrap!2:02
- Beer Review: Maplewood Barrel Aged Cuppa Vanilla Rye (100/100)
- CB&B Podcast Episode 193: Adam Cieslak of Maplewood Puts a Gentle Spin on Classic Styles
- Recipe: Maplewood Fat Puggish
- Recipe: Maplewood Cuppa
- Bonus Recipe: Maplewood Son of Juice IPA
- Session Stouts: Big Flavor in Small Packages
What students say
Good and general course, giving a good impression about Maplewood´s approach to these styles. A bit more on carbonation and packaging after maturing period in the barrels would have been interesting too. Great and I enjoyed it a lot.
Helpful information on how to get the most out of your stouts.
Loved this, never realised there was so much to Stouts.