Kilgore's Stout: Please read with caution. Photo's Attached.

[BillyKilgorePilgrim]

G'day and I bid anyone who reads this lonesome thread a wonderful morning, afternoon, and evening.

I have posted once before, with excellent advice I sought for an extract dry stout I brewed semi-un-successfully. To which I brewed more afterwards. This thread is in regards to my most recent recipe. I received the recipe idea from my father who is coincidentally my middleman for kits, ingredients, and equipment. However, I have some questions and some photographs. Please, be advised. They are graphic for any veteran brewer who may view this post.

I've attached just about most of the documentation I recorded via camera throughout the process. I could not siphon my beer into any bottles. So, I phoned my pub nearby and asked for some thin coffee filters, they obliged me. Walked over in my brewers apron and grabbed them as I sipped on a pint before leaving. Burned right through those filters with my first 3 bottles. Could not filter anything out. I most definitely made a bum mistake during this. I believe it was mainly not siphoning correctly. But, look through the photographs (if you can click on them that is.) and let me know what you think I can do differently next time (which will be in a week most likely). Please provide feedback, thorough, laymen's terms preferably, my brewing chemistry is nearly non existent.

Also: As the name implied, it's supposed to be a stout. More precisely, and Irish Stout. However, I added natural coco powder (chocolate baking powder) to my wort as I mixed in my malts. Probably a chocolate stout then?

More importantly, my test bottle (yielded 8 out of 12) poured a very murky brown colour. The mouthfeel? Buttery? Oily? But it smelt like the beer I wanted. It had a decent amount of head. I'm leaving the rest in the closet for a couple more days before I store them in the fridge. Anyway, as I stated earlier. Please provide feedback.
Whatever you can ask, advise, correct, or any other verbage you have for this poor pitiful amateur brewer... please be honest. I appreciate anything.

View attachment 812997

 

[IslandLizard]

How long has this beer fermented?
What yeast did you use?

 

[BrewZer]

Right up front, I'd say bottling thru coffee filters + cooling with bagged ice = likely oxidation and potential contamination.

Maybe post the recipe and we can pick that apart offer suggestions on that, too.

 

[BillyKilgorePilgrim]

How long has this beer fermented?
What yeast did you use?

That's the interesting part. It "fermented" for 4 days? My airlock stopped bubbling after 48 hours. I used Bru Yeast-Small Batch English Ale Dry Yeast.

 

[BillyKilgorePilgrim]

Right up front, I'd say bottling thru coffee filters + cooling with bagged ice = likely oxidation and potential contamination.

Maybe post the recipe and we can pick that apart offer suggestions on that, too.

Dry Irish stout: Northern Brewer recipe

1) Steeping Grain's (unspecified)
2) 1lb golden light dry malt extract
3) 10.5 grams cluster hops
4) English ale dry yeast
! Additional items:
A) Fresh Thyme organic coffee
B) natural baking Coco

Also - Fizz Drops carbonation tabs.

 

[IslandLizard]

That's the interesting part. It "fermented" for 4 days? My airlock stopped bubbling after 48 hours. I used Bru Yeast-Small Batch English Ale Dry Yeast.

At higher temps a batch may ferment in 2-4 days. But it's generally advised to control ferm temps toward the lower end of a yeast's temp range for better flavor.
Although activity may have subsided after 48 hours, the yeast is not done working yet. There's lot to be gained by leaving it be for another week or two (or even longer) to condition out, making it taste better, and allow it to clear. When it's completely done, the beer should be (at least fairly) clear sitting on top of a 1/2" to 1" thick yeast/trub cake.

I'm not familiar with that brand of yeast, could be similar to Muntons Dry Ale or Safale S-04. They need at least a week, and better 2 weeks to completely finish out. Also depends on fermentation temps, of course.

Once the beer is clear, racking the clear beer into another container, adding the right amount of dissolved priming sugar, before you bottle is general practice. But for small batches you could carefully rack the clear beer off the top into your bottles, leaving the trub behind. Then add dissolved priming sugar to the individual bottles before capping.

cooling with bagged ice = [...] potential contamination.

Cooling the brew pot with cold water first, and then with ice to get it to pitching temps is fine. Adding ice directly to the wort to chill it could indeed potentially cause infections, depending on how clean or sterile the bag or the ice is.
Plus it will dilute your wort if not contained in a bag.

 

[BrewZer]

Cooling the brew pot with cold water first, and then with ice to get it to pitching temps is fine. Adding ice directly to the wort to chill it could indeed potentially cause infections, depending on how clean or sterile the bag or the ice is.
Plus it will dilute your wort if not contained in a bag.

My bad -- that's what I meant, don't put ice in the wort. Ice baths are fine, and I glossed right over the little photo of the ice bath.

 

[BrewZer]

Dry Irish stout: Northern Brewer recipe

1) Steeping Grain's (unspecified)
2) 1lb golden light dry malt extract
3) 10.5 grams cluster hops
4) English ale dry yeast
! Additional items:
A) Fresh Thyme organic coffee
B) natural baking Coco

Also - Fizz Drops carbonation tabs.

So you bottled after 4 days? It's hard (the waiting is the hardest part), but the longer you let it sit, the more particulates will drop out of suspension. Your glass with all the head in it seems to be holding coffee grounds and cocao. Also, flavors meld better and the yeasties will scrub some noxious odors and flavors out of the beer.

I usually let my fermenter sit for 3 weeks before bottling.

 

[BillyKilgorePilgrim]

So you bottled after 4 days? It's hard (the waiting is the hardest part), but the longer you let it sit, the more particulates will drop out of suspension. Your glass with all the head in it seems to be holding coffee grounds and cocao. Also, flavors meld better and the yeasties will scrub some noxious odors and flavors out of the beer.

I usually let my fermenter sit for 3 weeks before bottling.

These are all great pieces of advice... I'll do the exact same recipe again. But I'm getting some new equipment for The next brew. Especially a bigger kettle. No boilover please? I should have definitely let it sit longer. Much obliged for the suggestions.

 

[hotbeer]

My beer is finished fermenting in 4 or less days too. However it's usually got so much crap suspended in it that it's pointless to try and bottle. So I wait another 10 days to as much as 6 weeks till the beer is clean with nothing suspended in it.

Most home brewers aren't going to have the immediate skill and even the equipment to properly filter their beer without risk of infection or oxidation.

Some I'm sure do, but they probably didn't do it well the first time or two.

Commercial brewers have a reason to want to get it bottled quick and sold. As a home brewer, I don't have any reason to bottle it quick.

 

[BillyKilgorePilgrim]

My beer is finished fermenting in 4 or less days too. However it's usually got so much crap suspended in it that it's pointless to try and bottle. So I wait another 10 days to as much as 6 weeks till the beer is clean with nothing suspended in it.

Most home brewers aren't going to have the immediate skill and even the equipment to properly filter their beer without risk of infection or oxidation.

Some I'm sure do, but they probably didn't do it well the first time or two.

Commercial brewers have a reason to want to get it bottled quick and sold. As a home brewer, I don't have any reason to bottle it quick.

So much honesty and realistic outlook here. It's always appreciated. Yes, I agree with you on that part. No quota's, no pressure to put out as much as possible. Just time and patience. Just another test gone astray. Onto the next one in a week or so thankfully. I'll be posting here still. Making sure everyone is aware of the progress and hoping that my craft improves as well.

 

[505-Brewer]

4 day fermentation? Assuming it actual reached terminal gravity id suspect you still have diacetyl “Buttery? Oily?” and possibly acetaldehyde which could come across as a green apple character.

 

[NSMikeD]

I hated siphoning to bottle (I hate bottling, but that is another story) so one small investment I made was to switch to a plastic bucket/jug fermentor and installed a spigot. Since you are using fizz drops to carbonate you can bottle directly from your fermentor without stirring up the trub as well as minimizing the beer's exposure to oxygen.

Glass jugs look nice for brewing. but I find them not practicable. As for plastic options, the classic plastic bucket with lid is functional but I am a huge fan of the wide mouth clear jugs. You can see what's going on inside without having to expose the beer to air, and if you decide to dry hop, it's much easier.

If you think plastic may be flimsy, a number of these are used for advanced techniques such as pressure fermenting and pressure transfers.

The also don't shatter when you accidentally drop them.

 

[BillyKilgorePilgrim]

I hated siphoning to bottle (I hate bottling, but that is another story) so one small investment I made was to switch to a plastic bucket/jug fermentor and installed a spigot. Since you are using fizz drops to carbonate you can bottle directly from your fermentor without stirring up the trub as well as minimizing the beer's exposure to oxygen.

Glass jugs look nice for brewing. but I find them not practicable. As for plastic options, the classic plastic bucket with lid is functional but I am a huge fan of the wide mouth clear jugs. You can see what's going on inside without having to expose the beer to air, and if you decide to dry hop, it's much easier.

If you think plastic may be flimsy, a number of these are used for advanced techniques such as pressure fermenting and pressure transfers.

The also don't shatter when you accidentally drop them.

I already added a wide mouth bubbler with a spigot and accessories to my list from northern Brewer. Along with some other things people mentioned here that made me consider some things. I have a small brain, so I have to look up brewing terminology half the time. I have actual textbooks, notes I've taken, brewing certifications, etc... None of this matters if I'm not applying them. But I'm trying. The feedback is more than appreciated.

 

[leedspointbrew]

My two cents is this : in listed ingredients, item #4 was English ale dry yeast. I don't know if you used Safale S-04, but I know that when I've attempted English-style beers, I've used it with great success in cold-ferment scenarios (outside, in my shed, in a foam keg cooler). After 2 weeks, the beers end up pretty crystal-clear. From website SafAle™ S-04 : "English ale brewer’s yeast selected for its fast fermentation profile. Produces balanced fruity and floral notes. Due to its flocculation power, tends to produce beers with higher clarity." The dry yeast specs say DOSAGE / TEMPERATURE50 to 80 g/hl at ideally 18-26°C (64.4-78.8°F). But I've found that it works just as well in the cold (42 -55°F), and the beer is just as clear.

 

[NSMikeD]

I already added a wide mouth bubbler with a spigot and accessories to my list from northern Brewer. Along with some other things people mentioned here that made me consider some things. I have a small brain, so I have to look up brewing terminology half the time. I have actual textbooks, notes I've taken, brewing certifications, etc... None of this matters if I'm not applying them. But I'm trying. The feedback is more than appreciated.

Almost every day I end up looking up some term or technique when I read a thread to understand what is being discussed. I think I retain about 20% of what I read, but at least I have awareness and know to revist the topic when needed. The nuances of brewing is vast and many aspect are debatable so the learning never stops. I can be overwhelming which is why, IMO, best to start with simple forgiving beers to get the basics down. I applaud your ambition to experiment with some creative ingredients, but I would suggest to stick with the ingredients and recipe steps of a the kits until you get to the point where you understand the how's and why's and thus only need only glance at them and then start playing around with off the sheet stuff.

Since you are using a Northern Brewer kit, check out their YouTube channel. They video may be old but they are pretty good and demonstrating the processes and being visual I find it easier to understand and remember. Nice to go over their basic brewing before starting a brew day or bottling day.


And remember the immortal words of Charlie Papazian, Relax, Don't Worry, and Have A HomeBrew. (RDWHAHB)