4th brew- Wilkos dark velvet stout

[Thumper]

Gonna get this on today, equipment is sterilising as we speak.

I've got myself two tins of black treacle and already have a load of various brown sugars, so I'm thinking I'll brew it short to 20l with two 545g tins of treacle and c.500g of dark brown sugar. I'm not sure if that amount of treacle will give it too much of a liquorice flavour, though. I know it's a fairly common hack, so if anyone has any advice they can give before I get this on I'd appreciate it :) left it a bit late, I know.

 

[terrym]

Gonna get this on today, equipment is sterilising as we speak.

I've got myself two tins of black treacle and already have a load of various brown sugars, so I'm thinking I'll brew it short to 20l with two tins of treacle and c.500g of dark brown sugar. I'm not sure if that amount of treacle will give it too much of a liquorice flavour, though. I know it's a fairly common hack, so if anyone has any advice they can give before I get this on I'd appreciate it :) left it a bit late, I know.

My advice is, do not use all that black treacle quantity or it will probably completely dominate your stout, perhaps even spoil it! It is a very strong unique taste, try a spoonful and see what I mean.
Look through the Coopers stout kit and Wilko stout kit reviews and see what others have used for black treacle quantities and what people think of using it
http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=61597
I use dark muscavado sugar in my stouts, since this has some of the flavour of black treacle, and I only use up to 120g and that's enough for me.
And I also suggest you use some additional malt rather than all sugar based adjuncts, especially since the Wilko kit can is only 1.5kg.
If its any help I use one 1.7kg Coopers stout kit can, 500g dark DME, 500g golden syrup, 120g dark muscavado sugar, and four shots of coffee (not instant) and brew to 19litres

 

[Thumper]

Thanks for your advice Terry, and that list is very handy. I've eaten black treacle before, hence my concern! It's too late to go out and get more malt now, unfortunately, but I think I'll cut back on the treacle :)

 

[terrym]

You could consider brewing even shorter say, 15 litres, with kit can, 500g 'sugar', plus black treacle to suit your palate. That way you keep the malt quantity up.

 

[Pavros]

I made this kit about 3 years ago. I brewed it short to 20 litres and added 1 small tin of Lyle's black treacle which I think was 454g. This was far too much for my taste as the treacle overpowered everything else. It was awful for about 9 months but then started to mellow. I drank the last bottle after 2 years and it was pretty good by then!

 

[BeerCat]

Remember treacle is burnt sugar. It tastes horrible in large amounts. I used 1/2 a tin once and threw it away. Undrinkable. Have also done the same with molasses. If you really want to add something you could make some dark candi sugar.

 

[chub1]

as all above,hook back on that treacle:thumb:

 

[Thumper]

Right, thanks all. Went with the one tin of treacle, brewed it short to 20l. Added around 500g of dark soft sugar and then tested the gravity. It was at 28c so it would be reading lower, but it was reading just 1026 (1030 with a properly calibrated hydrometer, mine is out by 4), so I threw in about 250g of of light brown sugar too. That got it up to 1030 (1034). Then the damn thing wouldn't cool below 25c, so I lost patience and pitched at that temp. It'll cool down soon enough.

Anyway, I've been getting really into my porters over the last couple of months, so I'm excited to see how this turns out!

 

[Godsdog]

Right, thanks all. Went with the one tin of treacle, brewed it short to 20l. Added around 500g of dark soft sugar and then tested the gravity. It was at 28c so it would be reading lower, but it was reading just 1026 (1030 with a properly calibrated hydrometer, mine is out by 4), so I threw in about 250g of of light brown sugar too. That got it up to 1030 (1034). Then the damn thing wouldn't cool below 25c, so I lost patience and pitched at that temp. It'll cool down soon enough.

Anyway, I've been getting really into my porters over the last couple of months, so I'm excited to see how this turns out!

Still far too much with just one tin of treacle from experience, you may like its overpowering after taste though

 

[sdt7618]

My last coopers stout, 12 months ago is now nice, but has taken 12 month to get rid of the burnt taste. 1 whole tin , never again.

 

[Thumper]

I'm rapidly beginning to feel I've made a mistake here :lol: I was under the impression a tin of black treacle was a fairly common addition to a stout kit, Lord knows where I got that idea.

 

[terrym]

If you can get to a Holland and Barretts shop tomorrow buy a 1lb jar of their liquid malt extract and pour that into your brew as soon as you can. That should sort out the low OG. If you leave it long enough the yeasties will soon munch their way through the extra malt.
That said I have to agree with others that you may find you have overdone the black treacle. So we all await your comments after you have opened the first one in the New Year. :whistle:

 

[Thumper]

I've had another read through your link and there's quite a few people using a 454g tin of treacle, so at least I didn't make it up! I had a sip out of the trial jar and it's definitely treacle, but not at all unpleasant. I'm tempted to just tell myself that marmite and treacle have more in common than just the colour, but I'm painfully aware that it's still sweet at the moment and may change quite drastically once the yeast go to work :lol:

Temp is now down to about 23c and gravity is about 1037. So still lower than I wanted; I may try your trick :)

 

[Godsdog]

I've had another read through your link and there's quite a few people using a 454g tin of treacle, so at least I didn't make it up! I had a sip out of the trial jar and it's definitely treacle, but not at all unpleasant. I'm tempted to just tell myself that marmite and treacle have more in common than just the colour, but I'm painfully aware that it's still sweet at the moment and may change quite drastically once the yeast go to work :lol:

Temp is now down to about 23c and gravity is about 1037. So still lower than I wanted; I may try your trick :)

on top of overdoing the black treacle,wilkos velvet stout is a pisspoor kit imo and youd be better off buying the coopers one can kit stout for a far superior brew for a couple of quid more,experience will learn you this over the years and its not to say ALL Wilko one can kits are crap,they aint:thumb:but do need a tweak or two:thumb:

 

[terrym]

youd be better off buying the coopers one can kit stout for a far superior brew for a couple of quid more,

I prefer the Irish to the Original. However it can be a bit more expensive and is not always available whereas the Original seems to be stocked by most outlets. That said both produce a really good pint, and must be up there with the best kits you can buy.

 

[Thumper]

Wilkos had neither, and I wanted one I could tweak. I quite fancy trying a coopers stout, but should be getting some BIAB equipment for Xmas so probably won't need to.

 

[ilikebeer]

On a similar subject, I did the Wilko velvet stout kit with half a tin of cocoa powder. It tastes quite good, a bit of a chocolate flavour, not too much. I'd quite like to do another batch, but the only thing is that there are white bits floating in it! They don't smell or taste bad, and seem harmless, but obviously it would be better without them. Any ideas please? Could this be to do with the cocoa?

 

[chub1]

On a similar subject, I did the Wilko velvet stout kit with half a tin of cocoa powder. It tastes quite good, a bit of a chocolate flavour, not too much. I'd quite like to do another batch, but the only thing is that there are white bits floating in it! They don't smell or taste bad, and seem harmless, but obviously it would be better without them. Any ideas please? Could this be to do with the cocoa?

Never used cocoa but possibly fat solids seperated from it!!!!

 

[Thumper]

So I bought two 454g jars of malt extract from H&B today. I dissolved them in some hot water, took a hydrometer reading, and added it in. Sterilised a spoon with some antibacterial kitchen spray, gave it a good rinse under hot water, and stirred the malt in well. The krausen was already pretty decent, and me stirring bubbled it up practically to the rim of the FV.

The gravity was at 1004, taking into account my dodgy hydrometer. 2 days after pitching! That yeast is a beast!

Adding the malt brought it back up to 1020, adding 16 points to the gravity. So that's a total OG of 1046. So assuming the yeast gets this back down to 1004, that's an ABV of 6%, which is about what I wanted.

Had a sip out of the trial jar, and I have to say it's very nice! You can taste the treacle but it's not at all overpowering. Its not very bitter or overly roasty, to be honest, so I might end up with something more like a mild. Not that I'm complaining! This is looking like it could turn out really nicely!

 

[chub1]

Wilkos had neither, and I wanted one I could tweak. I quite fancy trying a coopers stout, but should be getting some BIAB equipment for Xmas so probably won't need to.

Once you do biab you won't return to kits:nono: