Trick or Treat

I first made this beer because I love stouts, but they aren’t always the most approachable style to friends and family. By taking advantage of some of the “softer” dark malts, I’ve made a recipe that is more welcoming to all beer drinkers. It’s always fun to have something on tap that drinks like a dessert no matter what season we’re in. Whether you’re chasing homebrew medals or you just want to make a fun beer to share with friends, this one checks the boxes. This chocolate peanut butter milk stout has an aroma of sweet chocolate married with peanut buttery goodness. The flavor is a very light roastiness, with sweet chocolate and a lingering peanut butter that is balanced out with milk-sugar sweetness. Named Trick or Treat, it showcases what dark malts can do and is a nod to the candy that everyone loves. It’s consistently scored well in competition, including many 1st place scores in the Spice/Herb/Vegetable category, including:

• 1st Place – 2022 MALT Turkey Shoot (Maryland) 
• 1st Place – 2023 Operation Fermentation (Texas) 
• 1st Place – 2024 Ocean State Homebrew Competition (Rhode Island) 

Trick or Treat

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.064  FG = 1.022
IBU = 34  SRM = 29  ABV = 5.5%

Ingredients
8 lbs. (3.6 kg) 2-row pale malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) flaked oats 
12 oz. (340 g) pale chocolate malt
12 oz. (340 g) chocolate wheat malt
8 oz. (226 g) caramel wheat malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) lactose (10 min.)
9.5 AAU Fuggle hops (60 min.) (2.5 oz./71 g at 3.8% alpha acids) 
1 Whirlfloc tablet (10 min)
3 fl. oz. (90 mL) Brewer’s Best Natural Peanut Butter Flavoring (at packaging) 
SafAle S-04 yeast
¾ cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by step
On brew day, prepare your water by adding 1.2 g gypsum, 0.7 g calcium chloride, and 0.7 g Epsom salt to 5 gal-lons (19 L) of distilled water. Mash the grains at 152 °F (67 °C) for one hour and mash out at 165 °F (74 °C) for 10 minutes. 

Prepare your sparge water by adding 0.6 g gypsum, 0.3 g calcium chloride, and 0.3 g Epsom salt to 2.4 gallons (9 L) of distilled water and heating it up to 170 °F (77 °C). Sparge your grains and collect 6.2 gallons (23.5 L) of wort.

Bring wort to a boil and add hops at the start of the 60-minute boil. Add lactose and Whirlfloc during the last 10 minutes of the boil. 

Chill wort to 65 °F (18 °C) and pitch yeast. Ferment at this temperature and then condition for a total of 14 days. Transfer your beer into a keg, add in 3 fl. oz. (90 mL) of Brewer’s Best Natural Peanut Butter Flavoring and force carbonate, or transfer your beer into a bottling bucket and add in the peanut butter flavoring prior to priming and bottle conditioning.