" Ditch's Stout " Master Class .....

[themadhippy]

well its alive,however finaly got to compare dryed to liquid extract and looks like i'll need to add another jar,will get that sorted tomorow

Ah the Porterhouse, now you're talkin

yea an oasis in a sea of guinless and harp

For a 'readily available' stout in a can? Widgeted Murphys is where it's at

To be honest if that was the only stout on offer id take a coffee

Prefer Gillespies Scottish Stout

Dont talk pish,everybody kens tennants sweetheart stout is were its at, i was weaned on it as a bairn

[Paddy Bubbles]

yep i likes a decent stout,not keen on guinlesss,but did go through a period of murphys addiction, and the stuff ffrom the porterhouse , that claimed to be the only pub in dublin not to sell guinnless was very nice

Ah the Porterhouse, now you're talking

The Porterhouse is my local!

They do three stouts, though my favourite is Wrasslers XXXX, a quite heavy and roasty stout. It's claimed (by the PH themselves) that it is an old recipe from a long defunct Cork-based brewery and that it was the favoured drink of Michael Collins. Probably bollox, but it does read rather well.

The PH also do an excellent American-style pale ale called "Hop Head". Not the most original of names, but a very tasty drop.

[Paddy Bubbles]

yea an oasis in a sea of guinless and harp

Nah, it must be a few years since you visited Dublin mate. You'll struggle to find a pub in Dublin that serves Harp. On tap, at least. The beer is probably a bit of a joke to be honest - the beery equivalent of Lada cars. They still make it in quantity though, I believe.

"Guinless", on the other hand........

[themadhippy]

chucked it in the barrel on thursday,it had got down to 1008'ish,tasted a bit thin and btter,decided to have a crafty sample today since tescos had run out of st peters (4 for £5),bloody hell it gets nice quickly ,dry and bitter,not as sweet as murphys but still a very morish pint,on that note time for a top up,cant see this barrel making the weekend

[Mo06]

Well, I am just drinking my 'Not quite a Ditch's Stout '.... (Cooper's Irish Stout kit + 1Kg Munton's Dark DME + 300g Cane Sugar, topped up to 20L.)

Been in the bottle 2 weeks.

Verdict ................ MALTY...

Not unpleasant, I feel it will improve with a month or two in the bottle...

If I can keep my hands off it...

[Ditch]

Can't see this barrel making the weekend

Reezultt!!!

That's what I like to hear!

[Ditch]

F**king power outages!!!!!

[neilmcca]

I got stuck into my stout over the past few days, and absolutley love it,
as i said earlier, i used a cup of Molasses cane sugar http://www.wholesomesweeteners.com/bran ... ngton.html
and it turned out great, this is my first attempt at a "Ditch" so i have nothing to compare it to

What took me aback, was how lively the fermentation was, i brewed 20 litres in a 30 litre bucket, and it looked at one point like the lid was gonna be forced off ! it didn't half make a mess of the air-lock !

made up a second batch, this time i've used a hand held blender to mix in the malt, that was something else that caught me unawares (and unprepared), everything clumping together !
still came out good though.

[Ditch]

air-lock !

made up a second batch, this time i've used a hand held blender to mix in the malt

And I So try to help .....

[neilmcca]

air-lock !

made up a second batch, this time i've used a hand held blender to mix in the malt

And I So try to help .....

The blender gonna f*** things up for me !?

[Ditch]

More for itself, Then you, mate. Anyone wants a kitchen 'power whisk'? I've got one here. Barely used.

Kitchen Whisk goes like fury ~ which is good. But, it barely gets beneath the surface of the liquid.

Result is that ye get a sh!t load of froth and throw back. While the heavy stuff just lays at the bottom. Undisturbed. Bit like a sub, holding still and keeping quiet as a destroyers props foam, high above.

In fact, my own electric whisk simply spat up a dreadful spewm of malty water ~ I guess I must've been dumping the DME onto the water, at that point? (WTF?!) It simply flooded the whisk


No, I can't believe that, somewhere in this thread, I haven't covered my use of an artex mixing paddle, attached to a power drill ....? And the Malts go in first. Then some water. Then ..... I unleash hell!

[neilmcca]

Well i went through a different process to the one u described on page 1 of this thread,
i emptied contents of the coopers kit into the FV, added approx' 5 litres of water, malt, mug of sugar then beat the crap of it with the blender, because there was only 4-5 inches of stout in the FV, the blender hit everything, there was nothing "undisturbed".
after i was satisfied there was no lumpy bits, i then filled to 20 litres,


this was about 3 days ago, and all looks good in the FV, fermenting great, although less violently, wheather thats because of the blender or something else, i don't know.

[Psycho Mouse]

Hi all,

Not been on here in a long time due to my studies and move to the USA.
Well I'm back now and this famous brew was on my to do list before I went, now I have the time to do it.
Following it to the letter first time, apart from the giant electro whisk, to see where I stand on it being completely flat as I do like a head on my beer, but I hate it fizzy.

It's brained up in as little as 30 hours, probably thanks to the heater I picked up and plonked into the brew.
Smells great too.

[Ditch]

All looks good in the FV, fermenting great, although less violently, wheather thats because of the blender or something else, i don't know.

Temperature ....?

[Ditch]

It's brained up in as little as 30 hours, probably thanks to the heater I picked up and plonked into the brew.
Smells great too.

Let us know how it goes and what ye think, mate

And, yeah; As I make four with, two without? I can assure ye that the heaters are what makes it so 'interesting'