Sweet Stout Questions

[ericmunley]

Hello all. I'm new to the world of home brewing. I've recently bought my equipment kit, Sweet Stout ingredient kit and bottling equipment...so I'm ready to go. I am planning on using this instructional tutorial from Northern Brewer. Here is my question.

Since I don't have a wort chiller, I was planning on doing a partial boil. Northern Brewer doesn't include quantities for the fermentables in their instructional. Should I use the entire 6 lb. jug of malt extract syrup and the entire 1 lb. of dextrose, or do I have to use less for the partial boil. This is the only thing holding up my first brew, and any answers are appreciated!

 

[xxdcmast]

Use everything that came with the kit. Do your partial boil and then top off with the remaining water to make 5 gallons. Are you sure that they gave you 1lb of dextrose and not 1lb of lactose? I got the same kit from them if its dextrose someone made a mistake.

 

[ericmunley]

My mistake, I meant lactose. So I should be using the entire portion of the syrup extract and lactose?

 

[Coastarine]

Use it all in the boil, chill, then dilute with water to your full volume.

 

[ericmunley]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback.

 

[snailsongs]

If you want, you could add 1/3rd of the extract at the beginning and the last 2/3rds with only 10 minutes left. This is a fairly common practice called a late addition. It will give you better hop utilization and reduce darkening of your beer due to maillard reactions and carmelization.

....Then again, with a sweet stout, the hop presence is minimal and just enough for a little balance, and the darkening does not really matter much, does it? I made that kit as my 3rd brew, and it's good but if you like your stouts chewy and viscous then you might consider adding a bit of dextrine or something,and carbonating it slightly less than your average beer.....For my tastes, I found the mouthfeel a little on the thin side, but otherwise an excellent beer. have fun