Think I might be hooked...

[Stout Brewing]

So, on Sunday I finally cracked a bottle of my first all grain, own recipe beer (a Chocolate Milkshake Stout, at least that’s what I’m calling it)…and was bloody pleased!

Before that I had done one Brooklyn Brew Shop kit, which came out average at best, so on Sunday’s tasting I have to admit I was pleasantly shocked.

Here’s a few pics…

I mashed in a pan with a grain bill of Maris Otter, Chocolate Malt, Crystal and a load of oats. Then used a big bloody sieve to sparge trying not to get too much wort on the kitchen floor. (note the tea towel)

Just a bit of East Kent Golding went into the boil and I had to wrap some oven gloves, using a bulldog clip, around the pan to get it up to a rolling boil temp. I finished it with a good dose of lactose as I'm a sucker for a sweet stout.

This went into a 1 gallon demijohn along with some Mangrove Jacks Strong Ale Yeast for 3 weeks, whilst I made a tincture using 100ml vodka, a vanilla bean and a load of cocoa nibs. After the vodka had had time to infuse (10 days shaking every now and again) I passed it and then froze the concoction to separate the fats. It tasted amazing.

Bottling day all went pretty smoothly as it was such a small batch. The tincture was stirred through and then I bottled it with 3-4g of sugar in each bottle and let carb up for 2 weeks before popping in the fridge.

A week later, I got impatient so wanted to try the first one!

The satisfying hiss as I opened the bottle brought a smile to my face as did the steady head that formed. Good, dark colour was nice too.

The aroma was rich, chocolatey with little touches of vanilla.

And the taste left me genuinely quite surprised, in a good way. Sweet but not overly. The chocolate and vanilla have seemed to combined with the malts to give hints of the additional flavours without it feeling like a 'flavoured beer'.

I forgot to take an OG (oops) so no idea on strength, but feels like a healthy Christmas beer level.

Overall, I'm really pleased and just wanted to share the start of what I think may become a fantastic hobby! I have also learnt looooooads from reading this forum so a thank you to all the contributors.

 

[An Ankoù]

First AG, huh? Nothing like starting at the beginning and honing your technique before trying the exotic ones. Well done. Glad it turned out well.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

If it's as good as it looks I bet it's very nice!

 

[matt76]

That looks good, I want to drink it

Good work fella, best of luck with the next one

 

[Stout Brewing]

First AG, huh? Nothing like starting at the beginning and honing your technique before trying the exotic ones. Well done. Glad it turned out well.

Haha I sense some sarcasm Thank you mate!

 

[Stout Brewing]

If it's as good as it looks I bet it's very nice!

That looks good, I want to drink it

Good work fella, best of luck with the next one

Thanks mate! Just trying to work out what to tweak to improve etc!

 

[skulltat280]

Looks lovely, I'm brewing my 1st stout in the coming days. Hopefully it looks as good

 

[Stout Brewing]

Looks lovely, I'm brewing my 1st stout in the coming days. Hopefully it looks as good

Good luck! Look forward to hearing how it goes

 

[dwhite60]

It's a good feeling. Enjoy it. Congratulations.

Pretty impressed you came up with that recipe new to the game.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[Stout Brewing]

It's a good feeling. Enjoy it. Congratulations.

Pretty impressed you came up with that recipe new to the game.

All the Best,
D. White

Thank you D White! Such a good experience enjoying your own beer for the first time.

And trust me, this forum helped a lot!

 

[Duxuk]

Looks lovely! Maybe my AG #151 should be my stout No.1? Don't be afraid to cover the pan with a lid whilst bringing it to the boil. Most malts, like Maris Otter have no problems with boiling lid on, throughout. You may need to ask an expert about dark malts in this regard.

 

[Mrhandsome]

Sounds almost exactly like my Christmas stout. I used rum instead of vodka in my tincture and also added some coffee. It'll be two weeks in the bottle tomorrow.

 

[Rob Kerr]

I've been brewing about 6 months and the reason I haven't tried a stout yet is that all the recipes I've read suggest bottling conditioning of at least 6 months. So, you might be a little on the early side, but if it's delicious it's delicious. You might want to put a few bottles aside and try some of it when it's aged (and then tell us about it). Cheers!

 

[dad_of_jon]

Thank you D White! Such a good experience enjoying your own beer for the first time.

And trust me, this forum helped a lot!

absolutely, when I started brewing I read and read and read first and this forum was instrumental in making sure my first beer was more than drinkable, otherwise I might have thrown in the towel, so KUDOS to the homebrewforum.co.uk and its members

 

[dwhite60]

I've been brewing about 6 months and the reason I haven't tried a stout yet is that all the recipes I've read suggest bottling conditioning of at least 6 months. So, you might be a little on the early side, but if it's delicious it's delicious. You might want to put a few bottles aside and try some of it when it's aged (and then tell us about it). Cheers!

Stout is good after three to four weeks in the bottle. They get better with age though especially the higher abv.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[Mrhandsome]

Just opened my stout today. 6 weeks in secondary, two weeks in the bottle. It is bloody marvellous. If it gets better with age then all the better, if not.... Well it probably won't last that long anyway!

 

[Stout Brewing]

Looks lovely! Maybe my AG #151 should be my stout No.1? Don't be afraid to cover the pan with a lid whilst bringing it to the boil. Most malts, like Maris Otter have no problems with boiling lid on, throughout. You may need to ask an expert about dark malts in this regard.

Thanks @Duxuk will have a look into that. Thinking of treating myself to some better equipment soon anyway.

GO FOR IT!

 

[Stout Brewing]

Sounds almost exactly like my Christmas stout. I used rum instead of vodka in my tincture and also added some coffee. It'll be two weeks in the bottle tomorrow.

Hey @Mrhandsome would love to know how this went? Was trying to decide between vodka and a spiced rum

 

[Mrhandsome]

Hey @Mrhandsome would love to know how this went? Was trying to decide between vodka and a spiced rum

Not a vodka man myself, which is why I chose rum. Also I thought the flavour would go well with the chocolate and coffee.

It was very nice, but I'm afraid I'd had a few before I tried it so my memory is a bit hazy regarding tasting notes. If I remember correctly the coffee was more at the forefront so I'd add more rum next time... Or maybe less coffee (nah!). In any case, it was a good beer and I'm going to make it again soon.