
Craft Beer & Brewing Course
Fun and Flavorful Pastry Stouts with Great Notion
Join Lara Hargrave, lead brewer at Great Notion in Portland, Oregon, as she takes us on a journey through the brewery’s method of producing whimsical, indulgent, childhood-nostalgia-inducing sweet stouts.
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In this 39-minute video course, lead brewer Lara Hargrave walks us through each step of Great Notion’s production of dessert-driven stouts—beers such as Double Stack, their imperial breakfast stout with coffee and maple syrup. Along the way, she discusses:
- recipe development, from grist to adjuncts
- selecting dark malts that support and balance flavor adjuncts without clashing
- how to ensure a smooth lauter
- long boils, dark sugars, and malt extracts for flavor and body
- using slaked lime to balance acidic ingredients
- managing fermentation in a hostile environment for yeast
- using an adjunct tank for ingredients such as coconut and peanuts
- tips on working with coffee, nuts, marshmallow, coconut, and more
- the careful use of flavor extracts
- experimenting with different flavor adjuncts
- adding flavor adjuncts to barrel-aged stouts
- oily ingredients, volatile aromas, and other pitfalls
And more.
Course contents
5 chapters, 21 lessons, 39m of video
Chapter 1
Introduction
Chapter 2
Mashing and Brewing Pastry Stouts
- Developing the Malt Bill and Mashing6:32
- Long Boils and Flavorful Sugars1:47
- Managing Bitterness, Balance, and Acidity1:27
Chapter 3
The Cold Side and Flavor Adjuncts
- Promoting Healthy Fermentation in a Hostile Environment7:25
- Adding Flavor Adjuncts to Pastry Stouts6:18
- Selecting and Working with Flavor Adjuncts3:55
- Flavor Extracts, Spices, and Toasting Nuts2:32
- Fruit Purees in Stouts0:27
- Watching Acidity with Adjuncts0:43
Chapter 4
Experimentation
- Experimenting with Different Flavors1:01
- Adding Flavor Adjuncts to Barrel-Aged Stouts0:50
- Tasting, Blending, and Flavoring Barrel-Aged Stouts0:46
- Oils, Volatile Aromas, and Other Pitfalls2:26
- Finishing, Carbonating, and Packaging1:21
Chapter 5
Parting Thoughts, Further Reading, Listening & Recipes
- Thank You, and Keep Beer Fun!0:22
- Recipe: Great Notion Pastry Stout Base
- Randy Mosher on Pastry Stouts as Liquid Nostalgia
- Breakout Brewer Profile on Great Notion (2017)
- Podcast Episode 40: Great Notion’s Andy Miller: The Only Brewing Technique Constant is Change (2018)
- Podcast Episode 250: Breakside’s Ben Edmunds, Great Notion’s James Dugan, and Von Ebert’s Sam Pecoraro Dissect Trendy Beers and Innovation