Lacking body

[Colonel Porter]

Folks,

I've brewed for years using a range of kits. I found the 'Boots' own lager gave the most consistent results and used it for years, however it always lacked body and wasn't really my drink. I've since tried Cooper's and Young's, but they've suffered the same trouble.

My latest brews included Barley wine which I was most impressed with -it had much more about it, but it became very bitter with standing.

I drink Scotch and Dog in the pubs and clubs and would like to replicate the body and smoothness of Dog with the sharp taste of Scotch.

I've seen a couple of posts where people have added black treacle to a standard stout kit and this seems as if it might fit the bill.

Can anyone recommend a kit and modifications to get a suitable result?

Thanks

 

[tubby_shaw]

A good modified kit is Coopers Stout made with Dark spraymalt :thumb:
Full of body and flavour :grin:
Just replace the sugar called for in the kit with 1.2 times the amount of dark spraymalt, so if the kit calls for 1kg of sugar add 1.2kg spraymalt, if the kit calls for 700g of sugar add 840g spraymalt etc

 

[RobWalker]

Yeah, if you're lacking body consistently then go for spray malt instead. You might just be developing a taste though, you could maybe try a golden ale or wherry for something with a nice body:-)

 

[shocker]

Welcome to the forum , first post and all :thumb:

please pardon my provincial ignorance , but "scotch and dog" ? :wha: :wha:

 

[aneray]

A good modified kit is Coopers Stout made with Dark spraymalt :thumb:

+1 to the above :thumb:

I made this one nearly a couple of years ago.

viewtopic.php?t=6446

I wish I had made more at the time, it was one of the best. Forum member Muddydisco deserves the credit for this one, he made it previously and helped a lot with my brew. The taste lingered for an age and even though it turned out at nearly 10% it went down very, very easily.

 

[micmacmoc]

I think "dog" is Newcastle Brown?

 

[shocker]

So , us cornw'll boys be proper stumped , do'ee tell us whosson wi' it dog !

 

[Colonel Porter]

Thanks everybody for your suggestions. The brew shop I use (not very many up here now) do Coopers and I'm due for another brew so I'll look into this.

Taking the dog for a walk was a local excuse for going to the pub to drink Newcastle Brown - even if you didn't have a dog! - hence the 'dog' reference.

My favourite Scotch is / was McEwans 80' but it's years since I found any in good shape - Port Patrick in the '90s!!

I've returned to using bottles again - I've had one barrel bottom blow out and another one crack! The safety valves seem to be very poor and not very sensitive to small changes in pressure. To reduce the sediment in my bottles I'm thinking of using a barrel with float for a first 'settle' then transfer the cleared brew to flip top bottles for maturation.

Is this a plan?

Has anyone tried it?

Advice on keeping the fizz?

Thanks again.

 

[shearclass]

The safety valves seem to be very poor

agreed :evil:

If you rack and fine your beer before bottling you should have minimal sediment in your bottles.

In order to get fizz, you will need to prime your bottles. I used to prime bottles individually, but i've recently decided that batch priming is easier. Newcastle brown ale is quite gassy, so if you are wanting to replicate that I'd use approx 6g sugar per litre.

 

[earthwormgaz]

I always thought it was called The Dog because of the hangover it gives you! It's right up there with Wife Beater for a thick 'ed!

 

[hong]

Folks,

I've brewed for years using a range of kits. I found the 'Boots' own lager gave the most consistent results and used it for years, however it always lacked body and wasn't really my drink. I've since tried Cooper's and Young's, but they've suffered the same trouble.

My latest brews included Barley wine which I was most impressed with -it had much more about it, but it became very bitter with standing.

I drink Scotch and Dog in the pubs and clubs and would like to replicate the body and smoothness of Dog with the sharp taste of Scotch.

I've seen a couple of posts where people have added black treacle to a standard stout kit and this seems as if it might fit the bill.

Can anyone recommend a kit and modifications to get a suitable result?

Thanks

I would 2nd Tubby shaws advice about the Coopers kits. Coopers stout is the dogs bollocks, it is drinkable in around 2 weeks, & experimenting with spray malts treacle etc. is a great way of finding your personnal taste. Are you from the north east?

 

[Runwell-Steve]

Taking the dog for a walk was a local excuse for going to the pub to drink Newcastle Brown - even if you didn't have a dog! - hence the 'dog' reference.

Ok, that one makes sense now.

My favourite Scotch is / was McEwans 80' but it's years since I found any in good shape - Port Patrick in the '90s!!

Ah, when you said Scotch I assumed you were referring to Whisky, i.e Bells or Grouse or somthing nicer.

Once I discovered 'Dog' was Newcastle Brown I was baffled as to why anyone would mix whisky with it. It seemed a strange combination to me.