2 Can BruPaks Black Moor Stout

[JoeWebDesigner]

So my first attempt at brewing a stout was a roaring success.
I used the Wilko Chocomeister Stout kit, and after research added extra sugar and extra spray malt etc and ended up with a much stronger than advertised beer that was utter delicious, but not very sparkling.

Nonetheless I loved it and so did my eldest son. I wanted to order another kit and make a second batch, however Wilko have sold out, so I managed to get in touch with a local company that are just closing their business and bought from him a more advanced kit.

This one is a BRUPAKS Pride of Yorkshire Black Moor Stout from their micro brewery Series.
It contains 2 Cans weighing 3kg unlike the 1.8 kg single can kit first time around.

It also contains a bag of hops and a bag of yeast.
I will be using the same basic method as I did last time (See my other thread for details)
The exact same Bucket and Barrel etc ( the Last beer is almost gone already - who know that 40 pints would only last a few weeks....)

I would like to know if anyone could advise how to get a better head on this beer than last time? It tasted divine, but just lacked a head and wasn't very sparkling.


This is the new Kit...

And this time 1 Kilo of Dark Malt Extract:

 

[JoeWebDesigner]

The Initial Gravity this time read as 50
Bear in mind that the Hydrometer is sitting in a fairly thick later of foam.

Wort:

 

[Day-Day]

Use a priming sugar calculator when you bottle, I find that 5oz in 5 gallons is generally to much for preference, they tend to get over carbonated on me. Next time you can add some carapils or something to help head retention.

 

[RM-MN]

Some of my stouts never develop a good head but one of the things that can help is to give the stout plenty of time in the fermenter and again in the keg at cellaring or room temp as more maturity will improve the heading on the beer. Also be very careful to rinse your equipment and glassware well because any soap or detergent residue will absolutely kill any heading.

 

[JoeWebDesigner]

Does the co2 that sits in the bucket from the fermentation cause the beer to be more or less sparkling?
I just wondered as ive discovered that my lid is not air tight...

 

[dwhite60]

As it is a completely different kit you may find it has better head.

Keep us posted on its progress!

 

[dwhite60]

Interesting how kits aren't more popular here in the states. I haven't made one in over twenty years. I do all grain all the time now. I have a Cooper's Real Ale kit on the way though to see if things have changed. I expect they have.

Brits go through a bunch of them. Can't believe it's only because they don't know what good beer is. Americans can be extremely self righteous and opinionated about beer.

 

[JoeWebDesigner]

Use a priming sugar calculator when you bottle, I find that 5oz in 5 gallons is generally to much for preference, they tend to get over carbonated on me. Next time you can add some carapils or something to help head retention.

I had 2 gauze bags one full of hops, the other had these smaller whiteish things in them.
I just followed the directions and put them each in a can of boiling hot water for 15 minutes and then added them both to the wort.

The directions called them hops/grains but the second bag with the white stuff in, whatever it was looked way to big to be grains.
You would really struggle to swallow them as pills.

 

[JoeWebDesigner]

Some of my stouts never develop a good head but one of the things that can help is to give the stout plenty of time in the fermenter and again in the keg at cellaring or room temp as more maturity will improve the heading on the beer. Also be very careful to rinse your equipment and glassware well because any soap or detergent residue will absolutely kill any heading.

How long would you suggest leaving them in the fermenter for, before transferring them to the keg?

Also if I add a bit more malt extract after 1 or 2 weeks in the fermenter would that cause an issue or just kick start the fermentation process again?
(Last time I added another 350 grams of fermentation sugar after about a week or a week and a half)

 

[RM-MN]

I like to leave most of my beers in the fermenter for 3 to 4 weeks and I think that would apply to your stout too. It gives time for more yeast to settle out so I don't get as much sediment in bottles and that should apply to kegs too. it wont hurt the stout to stay in the fermenter longer as long as you keep the airlock filled.

When you add more fermentables it will restart the fermentation, stir up any settled sediment, and need time to complete fermentation and settle the trub again. The trub will settle faster the second time because a lot of the yeast will have flocculated already. Try to not open the fermenter any more or any longer than absolutely necessary when adding the extract.

 

[JoeWebDesigner]

I like to leave most of my beers in the fermenter for 3 to 4 weeks and I think that would apply to your stout too. It gives time for more yeast to settle out so I don't get as much sediment in bottles and that should apply to kegs too. it wont hurt the stout to stay in the fermenter longer as long as you keep the airlock filled.

When you add more fermentables it will restart the fermentation, stir up any settled sediment, and need time to complete fermentation and settle the trub again. The trub will settle faster the second time because a lot of the yeast will have flocculated already. Try to not open the fermenter any more or any longer than absolutely necessary when adding the extract.

Thank you, my issue is that I only have a cheapo Wilko fermentation bucket that I cut a hole in the top for the rubber bung with the airlock /bubble counter, but I cut the hole way to big by mistake and had to use gorilla tape to close it around the rubber bung and hold the bung in place.

But it has never been airtight, I can smell the beer, but the bubble counter has never bubbled.
Whereas the Fermentation Barrel/Plastic Keg is air tight, so I don't know if im better off transferring it all in to there after another week?

 

[RM-MN]

At this point just remove the bung and tape over the hole. If you add fermentables like the extract you mentioned watch the lid of the bucket and if it starts to swell due to pressure, use a pin or needle to poke a hole through the tape. The only problem you might have would be a bacteria infection and the bacteria will not get through that tiny hole since there will be CO2 coming out of it. Beer will have a lot of CO2 dissolved in it and will release it slowly for weeks.

 

[JoeWebDesigner]

At this point just remove the bung and tape over the hole. If you add fermentables like the extract you mentioned watch the lid of the bucket and if it starts to swell due to pressure, use a pin or needle to poke a hole through the tape. The only problem you might have would be a bacteria infection and the bacteria will not get through that tiny hole since there will be CO2 coming out of it. Beer will have a lot of CO2 dissolved in it and will release it slowly for weeks.

I have added the remaining 200 grams of malt extract to the beer and then taped over the hole as you said.

 

[JoeWebDesigner]

I like to leave most of my beers in the fermenter for 3 to 4 weeks and I think that would apply to your stout too. It gives time for more yeast to settle out so I don't get as much sediment in bottles and that should apply to kegs too. it wont hurt the stout to stay in the fermenter longer as long as you keep the airlock filled.

When you add more fermentables it will restart the fermentation, stir up any settled sediment, and need time to complete fermentation and settle the trub again. The trub will settle faster the second time because a lot of the yeast will have flocculated already. Try to not open the fermenter any more or any longer than absolutely necessary when adding the extract.

I am yet to measure the FG, I plan to leave the beer in the bucket for another 2 weeks, (it is under my desk so out of direct sunlight).
I added the remaining 200 grams of Dark Malt Extract about 4 or 5 days ago, would you recommend testing the FG now, or just leaving it another 2 weeks and then testing it again, before I put it in the keg?

 

[RM-MN]

I'd just leave it alone. Taking a hydrometer sample now requires removing some of the beer, either by opening the bucket or by draining it from a spigot if your bucket has one. When you do either you must allow air in and air can carry bacteria that you don't want. Even if you got no bacteria you do introduce oxygen and that is also detrimental to your beer. Unless your hydrometer sample is much above the expected FG, I would recommend taking one sample before kegging. When bottling you have the chance of exploding bottles if fermentation is not complete. Kegs allow you to bleed off excess pressure without the explosion.

 

[VikeMan]

Interesting how kits aren't more popular here in the states. I haven't made one in over twenty years. I do all grain all the time now. I have a Cooper's Real Ale kit on the way though to see if things have changed. I expect they have.

Brits go through a bunch of them. Can't believe it's only because they don't know what good beer is. Americans can be extremely self righteous and opinionated about beer.

Well, here are some reasons why kits are not (or may not be) as desirable:
- They usually cost more than individual ingredients
- If all the ingredients are packaged and stored together, the storage conditions will be less than ideal for some of the ingredients.
- On average, ingredients in kits are older than ingredients you would buy individually, unless the kits are just flying off the shelves. I've seen too many collecting dust in LHBSs.
- You're brewing someone else's recipe.

 

[JoeWebDesigner]

Well, here are some reasons why kits are not (or may not be) as desirable:
- They usually cost more than individual ingredients
- You're brewing someone else's recipe.

Kits are perfect for someone like me, who would never be able to experience brewing my own beer without one.
I wouldn't even attempt to do it all from scratch at this stage, im only on my second ever kit, I couldn't care less
about it being someone else recipe...

The idea of having to do all the work myself that is done by the person who produces the kit, would have put me
off even trying and would be far less desirable. So I guess they are just a different target market.

 

[JoeWebDesigner]

I'd just leave it alone. Taking a hydrometer sample now requires removing some of the beer, either by opening the bucket or by draining it from a spigot if your bucket has one. When you do either you must allow air in and air can carry bacteria that you don't want. Even if you got no bacteria you do introduce oxygen and that is also detrimental to your beer. Unless your hydrometer sample is much above the expected FG, I would recommend taking one sample before kegging. When bottling you have the chance of exploding bottles if fermentation is not complete. Kegs allow you to bleed off excess pressure without the explosion.

ok thanks, I will wait to measure the FG until im ready to put it in the keg in a couple of weeks time...

 

[JoeWebDesigner]

So my Final Gravity reading today is 16:

how do I work out my alcohol content from an initial gravity of 50 and a final gravity of 16?

 

[VikeMan]

So my Final Gravity reading today is 16:


View attachment 679682


how do I work out my alcohol content from an initial gravity of 50 and a final gravity of 16?

More like 1.017. You can calculate ABV here...
https://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/

 

[JoeWebDesigner]

according to the follow calculation:

1. Subtract the Original Gravity from the Final Gravity.
2. Multiply this number by 131.25.
3. The resulting number is your alcohol percent, or ABV%

that makes it only around 4.6% but it tastes and should be quite a bit higher than that...?

 

[VikeMan]

according to the follow calculation:

1. Subtract the Original Gravity from the Final Gravity.
2. Multiply this number by 131.25.
3. The resulting number is your alcohol percent, or ABV%

that makes it only around 4.6% but it tastes and should be quite a bit higher than that...?

It's even lower than that.
OG: 1.050
FG: 1.017
ABV: 4.3%

 

[JoeWebDesigner]

The kit was a 4.3% kit but I was told that by adding a kilo of dark malt extract that it would end up over 6% ?
is it possible it hasnt finished yet?

again it doesnt have any head...???

 

[JoeWebDesigner]

Nightmare, I left the keg tap open when syphoning from the bucket to the keg and lost several pints on the floor before I noticed....

I have added 100 grams of brewing sugar to the keg and am hoping that it will make the beer properly carbonated in a couple of weeks time.
Did I leave for too long in the bucket (1 Month) which isn't air tight, or did I not leave it long enough?

Can this batch be rescued? should I get a gas canister thingy to go in that plastic thing at the top of the keg?