First Brew - Coopers Stout

[Ditch]

Weird. I just don't know what to make of it. Thing is, these days so many people are making Coopers / " Ditch's " Stout and reporting back. But, there's almost as many little variables that barely any of them are actually replicating exactly what and how I do. Hardly surprisingly then I suppose, looking at it that way, not everyone gets the full on Blow.

Perhaps we could say; " If it doesn't lift the lid and spew down the side of the FV? It's Not a " Ditch's Stout " ?

I mean, look; I have two FV's of my stuff, Blowing like Gill, in the room behind this door

[Cleggy]

This went into bottles last night after 24 hrs in the bottling bucket.

FG was about 1.013.

I was a little unsure about the priming amount.

I'm sure I'd seen 80g for 20L mentioned, but the coopers kit mentioned 8g / L which would have been 160g.

After much faffing and searching on here I decided to split the difference.

I must admit I really enjoyed the bottling process, the drainer tree and attached rinser mate it pretty straightforward and a real good feeling sitting back and looking at 40 bottles of your own potion!.

The brew tasted pretty good already, a gorgeous dense black colour with a decent head too (big change in 24hrs after adding priming sugar!).

Fingers crossed I don't get any bombs.

[cbucket]

I have some Ditch's Stout that has been conditioned for 3 months in my shed. It is bloody Gorgeous. I'll send a picture next time I open one.

[Ditch]

Bastard! Why don't ye send me an invitation!

[Cleggy]

I can see i'm gonna struggle these next few weeks!

[Cleggy]

I opened a bottle of this on Tuesday, a week after it had been in cold conditioning, after a week in the warm.

Now this was straight out of the cold, taste was good, very drinkable, nice level of carbonation (not too much), i think with it being cold there wasn't much of a head though.

So for experimental purposes only i brought one into the warm for a couple of hours on Wednesday night and tried another much better head this time although it didn't last to the bottom of the glass.

I'm not too bothered as it was a very tasty and very drinkable, but should the head improve with age?

All in all though chuffed with my first effort!

[Ditch]

should the head improve with age?

Hard for me to say, Cleggy, as I never bottle. But, I'm pleased ye noticed how not drinking it chilled cold improves the it. This just isn't a pint to be savoured from a fridge.

[kay-jay]

hi all,

ditch....check this out, its not ditch's stout, but a stout nontheless! perhaps there is something inherent in the type of drink a stout is which makes it prone to the 'spew'
clicky
interesting....

[Ditch]

Excellent find, Kay Jay!

So, maybe it is just something inherent in a 'Stout' ? Some way in which the malts used react with the yeast? I wouldn't know. I'm really just a humble kit maker. I know nothing about the physics of all this.

Put Coopers into a narrow necked vessel like that though? That's exactly what I'd expect ye to get

[kay-jay]

i was telling me dad how good coopers stout is, and he said yeah but does it have a head?

so i told him it had three like cerberus, and showed him this!


and this


clings to the glass as it is drunk too,


its a wonderful brew, so many thanks to all who reccomended it!

KJ