Just a heads up - those Coopers Stout kits ferment like crazy. Just keep and eye on it for over flows!
Got it in the carboy last night. Finished up around 10:45. Got up to go to work at 4:40 and checked the carboy at 5:00. It was yeasting like crazy. Awesome to see it.
I screwed up on the Briess UDME boil. I found out what the hop boil is all about when using a carboy instead of a Mr. Beer LBK. You put the hop sack into the LBK when you set it for fermenting. You only boil the hops for 5 minutes with Mr. Beer's recipes. I kept the hop sack in the wort till I got it in the carboy with the measuring cup, I was using to transfer the wort from the pot to the carboy. I squeezed it pretty good to get the liquid out of it. Then poured the rest of the wort into the carboy via the pot thru the funnel. After I got about 14 liters of liquid into the carboy, I realized that I forgot to boil the UDME. So, I dissolved it into the cocoa slurry and about 2 liters of water. Then transferred it into the carboy.
I made a 1 hour job turn into a 3 hour ordeal. I did get the whole recipe into the carboy, but I made it hard on myself to get it cooled for yeast pitch. I use frozen 20 oz. water bottles for my Mr. Beer batches and had to use all 12 of them to cool this wort down to temp to pitch the yeast. It was a chore, but it got done.
What do you guys use to stir the contents of the carboy once they are filled with their liquid. I used my racking cane to stir it. I have my carboy in a large, plastic storage thing. Plenty tall enough to house my carboy plus airlock (blow off). I froze some milk jugs full of water and there is room enough in it for 3 milk jugs. Stuck one on top of the carboy and the temp, this morning, was 72 degrees. On the way down to 65 degrees. One milk jug every 12 or so hours. Oh, I wrapped the storage thing with two really thick blankets. I usually use a fairly large styrofoam cooler for my Mr. Beer LBK and chill it with 1/2 gallon juice jugs, filled with water and frozen.
Ok. I think I've rambled on long enough about last night'e experience.
New techniques=New CHALLENGES!