IrishStout

[jrsmith1406]

So I bottled my first batch of beer this past Sunday. It is an Irish stout recipe from the local brew store. The final ABV came to 3.8% I tasted some before bottling and it just tasted like beer flavored water. There was so thickness or body like a guiness. did i do something wrong? will the bulk prming carbonate the bottles and give it body?

 

[freisste]

Were you trying to recreate Guinness? That's actually a pretty tall order.

First off, your beer will almost always taste a little thin before carbonation. This goes for almost any style.

Unfortunately, I doubt you will get the mouthfeel and creaminess you want (what you like about a Guinness, for example). The "secret" to Guinness is that it is served with a special tap and nitrogen, not carbonated with CO2 and poured out of a bottle.

I made a Guinness clone as my second brew. Everybody kinda laughs and says the same thing: tastes exactly like the real thing, but you would NEVER mistake mine for the real deal.

So to answer your questions:

Did you do something wrong? Absolutely not. Will priming carbonate the bottles and give more body? Certainly...just not like Guinness (I personally doubt it, anyway).

 

[grizzly2378]

I just cracked the first bottle of Irish stout yesterday from a batch I brewed just after New Year's. I also poured a Guinness out of a can and sampled them side by side for comparison. I knew damn well they wouldn't be identical, and they weren't, but mine was still really good. Even out of the can, Guinness has that creamy mouthfeel (thanks to that patented ball thing they put in the can) and it also has that bit of a twang near the finish. My stout had neither of those, but otherwise tasted like a stout, which is all I was going for. If you really wanted to replicate Guinness you probably could if you tried hard enough, but otherwise if you're stout tastes good, call that a win and enjoy!


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[IvanTheTerribrew]

^ exactly. Guinness is served with a nitro faucet and pushed with a nitro CO2 blend which gives it's creaminess and body.

Patience is really needed for homebrewing. Just give your beer time. It will likely taste great as long as you give it ample time to carbonate and age a little. Dark beers usually need more time to hit a good balance of flavors.


- ISM NRP

 

[Descender]

Add glycerine and over prime