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

[mat69]

Cool thanks I will use the coopers I bow down to your authority.

all hail king ditch

[Ditch]

I remember the Irish stout getting the bannanna taste as I got to the last few pints, just like the original stout did, so it must be a kegging early and sitting on the yeast thing thats triggering it.

Problem I have here, Geez, is the sheer bloody volume of production / rate of consumption going on with me.

See, I can say with certainty, off the top of my head, that my stuff ..... well; Shifts! It's out of the FV at earliest and I'm good as poring from the bottom of the keg as it's transferring in the top!

But, this is where I yet fall down, look. I used to keep a self devouring record of what condition each FV and BK was in. Washed. Bleached. Beer in. But, I'd erase " Keg 3: Wash and Bleach ", once I'd done that to it. Then it would say, " Keg 3. Beer In 27, Nov. " See? No kept record of how long the stuff just put into K3 had been in a FV. In short? Piss poor and next to useless records!

I need some ink, for my printer. Can't get it round here. No 'Bay account. No Pay Pal. Bit knackered. And far too distracted to bother, right now. That's what it needs though. For me to knock up some detailed, paper records so I can keep note of more stuff.

See, it's noticeably colder, in my store room, now. Character of the beer's changing. Yet I'm not recording all this. Rather lost my touch with RTF and I'm happier with paper, see? Now all I have is this memory of copping the 'nanna from a pint about a month ago.

Hardly the scientific approach, is it?

[Kev888]

In the past I had a clipboard hung on a nail containing hand-written, photocopied forms to record everything. I use a computer now and it is better for organising and finding stuff, but its not near the beer and I actually found the clipboard easier/nicer to take notes on - just like a real scientist too

Cheers
kev

[Ditch]

Must get myself another clip board, Kev. Useful things. I also like to store any such records in A4 ring binders. It's just a quirk of mine


Meanwhile, a post out on the main board here has just given me an idea. I have some fresh kits due in and shall have them on and going in a day or two.

People tend to ask / talk a lot about the famous " Spew ". When my gear Blows.

Well, I've shown ye photographs of the full glory. Only, doing that was inspired by the True Beauty of hunkering down there, watching it in action. It's almost Sci-Fi to behold!

Give me a few days or so then, and I'll bring ye actual footage of that glorious, pulsating, lid lifting Spew.

I just don't think this thread can be complete Without the real deal being visibly demonstrated.

Seeing the action will speak far louder than words. Wait and see!

[shazza]

get over to "fezzles" -hello I'm new-(21-11-2010)-for some radical rethinks about stout!

[Curlie]

Couple of questions before I do a Ditch's Stout tonight.

1. Not sure what type of water I have, so using Tesco's Still, 17p for 2 litres, so I guess I don't need the half a campden tablet?
2. Do you bother with hydrometer readings?
3. Is it ok for the aquarium heater to touch the sides of my "plastic" FV?
4. Have a builder's trug to put the FV in to catch the spew, so would I be better to lob water into it and put the heater in the water in the trug?

Hope these are reasonable question,
Curlie

[Kev888]

Ditch is the master on anything related to his stout (and beyond), but my general advice is:

1. the campden tablet is mostly used to remove chlorine or modern alternatives from tap water - unless the bottled water has it added (unlikely) then you don't need to remove it.
2. Its just a way of monitoring things really. With kit brews there is less to go wrong so unless you have doubts about adding the right qty of ingredients its main value is in establishing when fermentation has stopped (gravity remains stable) and in most cases if you did it right and kept it at the right temperature thats apparent by the lack of Co2 being produced. So you don't 'need' to use one but as you get into brewing then it can help to show how things are doing or if they're going wrong.
3. I believe so - they're designed (or should be) not to damage fish which nose about them so the plastic should be okay too. That said, I don't use one myself so please someone say if not.
4. that is exactly what some people do, and it works. Its less direct control than putting it in the FV and in a cold room the water in the trug can evaporate faster (condensation elsewhere in the environment and need to top up) but many heaters have crevices which are difficult to clean and so this way there's virtually no risk of contamination of the beer.

Cheers
kev

[Ditch]

Curlie; I've just got home, mate. Kev's looked after ye fine though. So, I trust ye've seen fit to go ahead and get it on? Hope so.

Just to 'confirm' that; Yes. Sling the bloody Hydrometer. At least for this particular job. No where above, I believe, do I state a need to use one of those things to recreate that which I'm driving at in this entire thread.

Fish tank heater / stat? I sling mine into the FV. When I pull them out? Quick rinse under the sink tap, to wash the beer off. Then I dump them into a bucket of bleach solution, where I dump all my other bits. Quick rinse, under the tap, and they're good to go next time round.

Realise; The whole electronic, heating part is encased in, and separate from the glass tube. Just use common sense. Gingerly touch the glass as ye take the thing out of ye beer. Red hot? Don't run cold water over it for a minute. Though, I think I'm yet to find one red hot anyway.

Concerning " The Spew " ? It's truly a wonder to behold. Yes. But; It's usually a more 'gradual' thing. Tends to take place over maybe three days. Actual liquid volume 'lost' wouldn't amount to a pint.

I'm a bit at a loss here, see? I live alone, under rather rudimentary conditions ~ by many standards. Thus, I just don't bother about a bit of stuff running across the odd floor. I can well imagine the chaos though, if one has a wife, carpet, floor boards, what ever.

Best I can suggest ~ 'From The Arm Chair', that is. No personal experience ~ would be to just put the FV in a Black Bin Bag and ruck the bag down like a pair of strides round ones ankles. Nothing special or specific. Ye only after catching a few blobs of foam anyway. Use the same bag, over and over.

Just can't see the point in these people buying all these buckets. Sledge hammers to crack nuts, it seems to me

[Curlie]

Good man Ditch.

This will be my second ever brew and can't wait to get into it.

Curlie

[ihe001]

Ditch, I've been considering going down the no priming/co2 route and I have a question for you. When you pour off a few pints and the barrel looks like it's about to glug some air, what do you do to equalise the pressure? Do you just crack the lid open a little or would this make the beer start to go off quickly?

[Ditch]

ihe001; First thing to know is that I never treat closing my BK lids as a ritual of expressing my manliness. That sort of thing, in my opinion, leads to more than half these complaints about leaks and vaseline. People who try to screw that f**ker on till it all but shatters in the force of their wrenching grip.

I just screw my lids shut with my fingers stretched out and straight. Merest tweak to make the seal and she's good to go. OK? I've never had a problem. I don't use vaseline.

Result is that, as I begin a pour, I just watch the flow. If it's fairly bursting out and foamy? Fine. But, I keep one hand on the tap. Ye can easily see when it starts petering out. Bang the tap shut and release the cap. Finish pouring ye pint. Reseal the lid.

And, no; I only find my stuff improves with time in the keg, treated in the above manner. Only time I've ever found it dropping off is when I've left the last couple of pints to sit there for a few days since taking the last one out.

Now, obviously; If one's in a situation where by ye have half a dozen beers on the go and just have a pint or two of one or the other each night? May end up a different story? But, I tend to empty a keg in five days, on average. Works for me.

[aleian]

Just a couple of things to add to this one.

I've only done a couple of these so far, first one in September (about 20 degrees in the kitchen) and the second one's just finished fermenting (got down to 12 degrees or less for a while). Both fermented out (1.010, sorry for the hydrometer stuff Ditch but I'm not that experienced yet so I need to keep my eye on things for my own peace of mind) within 10 days, the new one tastes the same as the first one and was kegged after the same length of time in the fermenter. I've not tried it with the heater yet, only just bought one and it's been busy in a water bath in the cellar with a nice Belgian - (I forgot all about it for the last week and evaporation is a real problem in a cold environment, it was only about half submerged this evening when I checked on it, time for a quick top up!) What I reckon is that the yeast they supply is pretty good over a decent temperature range, I mean it's meant to be brewed in Australia but we can still brew it here so it's got to be fairly tolerant eh? I'm sure there are different tastes to be attributed to the temperature you brew at but, quite frankly, I'm a smoker not a wine taster if you know what I mean.

As far as carbonation goes, a lot of it depends on how fast you drink it. If you get through a barrel in a week or so the initial carbonation will see you through the first couple of days and then if you let air in through the cap the next few days probably won't see the beer spoil. If you only drink a pint a day then the brew will re-pressurise itself through fermenting the leftover more complex sugars to a certain extent - you might need to give it a blast of CO2 after a while but I find that given a steady rate of consumption I hardly ever need to re-pressurise a barrel of ale before the last gallon unless I've hammered it at some point. My local does some superb cask ales, three guests on all the time - the cellar man says that the stronger and darker the beer, the longer he can keep it - so you should get a good few days out of a Ditch's!

By the way, I've had a couple of brews down the local lately that have had a distinctive Ditch's taste to them - Five Towns Brewery "Six and One" and Croptons "imperial Stout" - you been selling the recipe Ditch?

[Ditch]

By the way, I've had a couple of brews down the local lately that have had a distinctive Ditch's taste to them - Five Towns Brewery "Six and One" and Croptons "imperial Stout" - you been selling the recipe Ditch?

Selling it? I've been giving it away, on this very forum, for a twelve month or more now, mate!

Somehow though, I just can't picture a skip full of emptied Coopers kit cans, round the back of a commercial brewery .....

Long as their gear tastes nice? All for the good, isn't it? And if, in a bar room conversation, anyone should happen to mention an interest in creating a similar taste range at home? Ye now know where they might start

[aleian]

Quick update on the fermentation temperature issue - I take it all back, it does taste different this time! It's been in the barrel for a few days now, moved it to the cellar yesterday and there's a definite banana element in there now, not strong but there nonetheless. It's still a delicious pint and the banana won't put me off but I'll be using the heater next time (not an ebay special, I hasten to add )

We live and learn eh?

[Ditch]

Aleian; Let us know is that banana twist is still noticeable in a few days, mate. Only, I've experienced it ~ happily, I quite like banana flavour! But, no ye mention it again, I'm quite sure it faded out after a few days. Just be nice to get another persons perspective recorded