Stout started bubbling again!

[Robd]

Im on my 4th Coopers stout kit with added black treacle and absolutely love this beer. Its been in the fermenting bin for 2 weeks and as usual was ready for bottling. SG was 1.054 & FG is 1.015. Using the coopers formula this works out to 5.7% This time i decided to give it a Liquorice flavour so i melted down 300g of Pontefract cakes in 2 cups of water which gave me a lovely smelling thick syrup. Transfered the beer into another vessel and added my Liquorice syrup and then seeing as i hadnt the time to bottle it i sealed with a lid and put an air lock in the lid just to keep dust out. But now over night the air lock is bubbling again telling me its not finished? I should mention when i transfered to the second bin, as always i used a fine mesh bag on my syphon hose so sediment, yeast etc is minimal confusing me even more why its started again.

So has the liquorice some how started things off again? & should i hang fire before bottling or just go for it?

Thanks Rob.

 

[proost]

Im on my 4th Coopers stout kit with added black treacle and absolutely love this beer. Its been in the fermenting bin for 2 weeks and as usual was ready for bottling. SG was 1.054 & FG is 1.015. Using the coopers formula this works out to 5.7% This time i decided to give it a Liquorice flavour so i melted down 300g of Pontefract cakes in 2 cups of water which gave me a lovely smelling thick syrup. Transfered the beer into another vessel and added my Liquorice syrup and then seeing as i hadnt the time to bottle it i sealed with a lid and put an air lock in the lid just to keep dust out. But now over night the air lock is bubbling again telling me its not finished? I should mention when i transfered to the second bin, as always i used a fine mesh bag on my syphon hose so sediment, yeast etc is minimal confusing me even more why its started again.

So has the liquorice some how started things off again? & should i hang fire before bottling or just go for it?



Thanks Rob.

I would wait until the SG is down to about 1.010. Thats what I always do. Maybe when you added the liquorice it disturbed the sediment?
And I agree with you, this is my favourite kit and I've done it five times this year trying different flavours.

:-D

 

[Noah]

It's not the liquorice that's started it off but the contents of the Pontefract Cakes. Here's the list of ingredients from one large manufacturer who can't help sticking gelatine in everything they make;

Pontefract Cakes - Ingredients/Contents
treacle, glucose syrup, sugar, water, modified maize starch, caramelised sugar syrup, wheat flour, gelatine, liquorice extract, salt, flavourings, glazing agents

As you can see, there's a lot of sugar in several forms in there. The fine mesh bag won't filter out the live yeast, only the dead stuff which eventually sinks to the bottom. If it took out the live yeast you'd get flat beer as there wouldn't be any secondary fermentation.

I also found this; http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3733757.stm

In the article it states - Studies have shown that it (liquorice) can increase blood pressure or cause muscle weakness and chronic fatigue. Other problems include headaches or swelling.

Recent research suggested it can also lower testosterone levels in men, affecting their mood and sex drive. :sick:

 

[Robd]

Thanks for the replies guys. Think i will wait untill the weekend now to bottle.

Just wondering....seeing as ive added more sugar within the liquorice am i still ok to give each bottle 1/2 tea spoon of sugar?

 

[Dutch_Food_Geek]

Thanks for the replies guys. Think i will wait untill the weekend now to bottle.

Just wondering....seeing as ive added more sugar within the liquorice am i still ok to give each bottle 1/2 tea spoon of sugar?

Just wait till the fermentation stops again. Take gravity reading two days in a row and if it didn't go down in those days your ready to bottle. You simply added new sugar and the yeasties are munching happily away on that. Treat it as a normal new fermentation and let it finish. Then bottle normally with your normal amount of sugar and you should be fine.

Will be a great beer i think :drink:

 

[Robd]

And I agree with you, this is my favourite kit and I've done it five times this year trying different flavours.

:-D

So what flavours have you used and did they work? My last batch of coopers stout I added "Star Anis" after 4 or 5 days initial fermenting for that aniseed/licorice flavour which I love. Don't know if it's worked yet though until another couple of weeks when I crack one open :-p

 

[proost]

So what flavours have you used and did they work? My last batch of coopers stout I added "Star Anis" after 4 or 5 days initial fermenting for that aniseed/licorice flavour which I love. Don't know if it's worked yet though until another couple of weeks when I crack one open :-p

I've tried adding:

1. 450g Black Treacle (nice)

2. 450g Black Treacle + 40g Grated Fresh Ginger boiled with 500g Dark Spraymalt (didn't really taste the Ginger, wouldn't do again)

3. 1kg Extra Dark Malt, 300g Crushed Chocolate Malt, 100g Crushed Wheat Malt, 50g Green + Black 70% Dark Chocolate (slightly too chocolatey, but easy to drink. 6.1% and would do again, cutting down on the chocolate)

4. 450g Black Treacle, 1Kg Extra Dark Malt, 300g Crushed Chocolate Malt,
100g Crushed Wheat Malt, about 350g crushed Blackberries boiled for 15 mins. (this has been in a Keg for 9 days and tastes nice now. I plan on leaving this for christmas. Well thats the plan anyway)

I think the best one I have done I just kept it simple and didn't use any flavourings:
1 x Kit Tin
1Kg Beer Enhancer
500g Extra Dark Malt
450g Black Treacle
Brewed short to 20L

:drink: