Stout Kits

[mickhew]

All I can say is, don't write Coopers Stout off, it is as good as people say. Maybe you did cook it, if it fermented to quickly, then this can make it go wrong. I use 50-50 glucose and spraymalt for mine though.

[scottmoss]

Hi,

I've been drinking my Milestone Black Pearl and its very good! Highly recommend this. I don't recall it having an explosive fermentation and mine did stick at 1020 after 8 days so I gave it a slight stir everyday and got it down to 1012-1014 if I remember correctly.

[Ditch]

Not sure what caused my Coopers Stout to be subpar, could be so many things

Bloody hell, mate; Ye can say that again!

Now; I've never bottled a beer in my life, to be honest. Just not to my tastes. But, running through what ye got up to there? Few possibilities spring to mind.

That Brew Enhancer can't be dismissed out of hand. I don't notice ye mentioning Spray Malt. Did ye not use any?

Too much water? Speaks for itself. Could be a contributing factor. Over doing it wouldn't help. Personally, I never make up to a full five gallons. I'm a bit slap dash and don't really care or take much notice. But, I think I try to come in around a shade below the maximum Ltr. mark, on a Youngs FV.

Oxi, again, I've never been near it. Couldn't say. On reflection though, it almost sounds as if ye've gone all out to include most things known ~ or suspected ~ to man to cause a thin beer! Shouldn't be too surprised at the result then

One last thing - in case ye want to add this to ye repertoire of brew ruination; I'm finding that serving the stuff at temperatures befitting the Antarctic Ocean is another cracking good way of producing thinness in the mouth. I don't like freezing cold stout myself. But, I have little choice just now. And my own stuffs been noticeably below standard during that deep freeze we just suffered. So much so that, for next year, I hope to build a temperature controlled keg cupboard. It's horrible, chilled. Like most of the bloody Guinness in pubs.

So, in short; What ever ye do to make a stout, it's wasted if ye drink it throat searingly cold.

[thedeckking]

At the risk of sounding like an idiot , is a "ditch's stout" a coopers stout kit made up with medium spraymalt

[trucker5774]

At the risk of sounding like an idiot , is a "ditch's stout" a coopers stout kit made up with medium spraymalt

Yes it is

[thedeckking]

At the risk of sounding like an idiot , is a "ditch's stout" a coopers stout kit made up with medium spraymalt

Yes it is

Thought so but just wanted to check. It's going to be my next brew-not bad for someone who only drank lager 12 months ago

[trucker5774]

I still enjoy the occasional lager ....usually homebrewed, so it has a slight ale hint about it though! Once you get the taste for real ale you are not likely to go back to bland lager. I am up for a stout in Ditch's style in the next brew or two.

[At. Ailbhe's Brewery]

I must admit I was very dubious about Ditch's stout when I tasted it first, two weeks in the bottle. I found it bland and there was a bubble of a head on it.

I left it for about 20 days in warm conditioning and moved it out to the shed a couple of days ago. Cracked one open last night.

The head has come on a ton, and it really does taste like a stout now. A lot like Murphy's/Beamish, much less tart than Guinness. The head I was particularly happy with, very creamy, and I can only hope that it'll get better.

A couple more weeks in the cold and I'll have another look, see how she's progressing. I wasn't too enthused about this a few weeks ago but I am certainly warming to it now.

[jason123]

I've just ordered an Irish Velvet Stout kit, can't remember the brand right now. I think after reading this I'll make it my next brew to get on with. I think I ordered a bag of DSM to put with it but if I need to add sugar does anyone have any idea what it would taste like with a Muscovado sugar instead
I've added Muscovado before to various Ale kits and never been disappointed

Cheers

[barl_fire]

Just put a Ditch stout on, FV's sat in the garage inside a box with some towels in the bottom. Anyhoo I've lit the touch paper and I wanna see this bugger blow, countdown is progressing

[At. Ailbhe's Brewery]

. Anyhoo I've lit the touch paper and I wanna see this bugger blow, countdown is progressing

Barl? Barl? Barl.... BARL!? Are you there Barl, SPEAK TO ME!!!?

[barl_fire]

. Anyhoo I've lit the touch paper and I wanna see this bugger blow, countdown is progressing

Barl? Barl? Barl.... BARL!? Are you there Barl, SPEAK TO ME!!!?

Still here

Just in from work and had a sneaky peak and got that faint whiff of alcohol/CO2 you get from the FV just before things really kick off, suspect it'll be bubbling away by 6.30 this evening when it's 24 hours in

[At. Ailbhe's Brewery]

. Anyhoo I've lit the touch paper and I wanna see this bugger blow, countdown is progressing

Barl? Barl? Barl.... BARL!? Are you there Barl, SPEAK TO ME!!!?

Still here

Just in from work and had a sneaky peak and got that faint whiff of alcohol/CO2 you get from the FV just before things really kick off, suspect it'll be bubbling away by 6.30 this evening when it's 24 hours in

Good man, thought we'd lost you.

The look of Cooper's Stout before it erupts is lovely. All peaceful and slightly fizzy, like the start of a hot date that you know is going to end up in fireworks, with clothes being hurled William Nilliam around the room, with wanton abandon!

[barl_fire]

Good man, thought we'd lost you.

The look of Cooper's Stout before it erupts is lovely. All peaceful and slightly fizzy, like the start of a hot date that you know is going to end up in fireworks, with clothes being hurled William Nilliam around the room, with wanton abandon!

Ha! It's always good to give the neighbours something to gossip about The postman's already asked me what are the strange glugging noises coming from my garage

By it's a slow burner this though. 36 hours in and there's a thin layer of nice fresh foam forming on top which says to me that it's gonna blow at around the 48 hour mark

[At. Ailbhe's Brewery]

To be honest, whilst my fermentation was lively, it wasn't volcanic. It hit the lid of my 5 gal FV alright, and I had the lid loosened in expectation of it, but no overspill. I had it in a heated tub of water anyway, so no harm if it did, it wasn't going anywhere.

It's a good pint. It's a great pint. In 2 or 3 weeks time I can't wait to see how she is.