Wilko chocmeister stout

[Roger Wilko]

i have brewed quite a few kits now usually an ipa or stout and the wilko chocmeister has been the best kit so far. Don’t get me wrong the chocolate flavour is pretty non existent but what a nice stout. I brewed it short to 19 Ltrs with 1 kg brew enhancer. I recommend you folks give it a bash. I’ve just started another batch as it didn’t last long

 

[terrym]

Good to hear

@Chippy_Tea
There is no proper review of this kit, why not move this into the A-Z review section and use this as the start point?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Done. :thumba:

 

[Roger Wilko]

Wow thanks guys

 

[Gulpitdarn]

Hi Roger,
I've just made a Chocomeister only recently and it has been a success! My drinking date is another week yet but I've already consumed a sneaky pint. My notes below:
************************************88
B#8 Wilko Chocmeister - Monday 4th Feb19.
Mon 4Feb19
------------
Started a Wilko Chocmeister Kit with 2 x 500g Light Dry Malt Extract, 15 litres Tesco spring Water. Starting Specific Gravity was 1.055. I used the yeast from the kit.
Mon 18Feb19
-----------
Bottled using 2 x Wilko Carbonation drops and some bottles 1 x Coopers drops.
FG 1.022 Alcohol = 4.4%
Had a taste and seems very nice indeed. I'm confident that this will be a very good beer.
26 Full Bottles.
Mon 4Mar19
------------
Beer Moved to shed to condition and clear.
Mon 18Mar19
------------
Should be Ready to Drink
Results:
Mon 25Feb19 had my first bottle, (Way too Early!) tastes very nice but could tell that it needs a couple of weeks to condition and mature. Once again, NO foamy head!
***************************************

 

[Gulpitdarn]

Further to my post above... I know what you mean by a non existent taste of chocolate, but after brewing the Wilko Velvet Stout, which is also a very nice brew I think it is then that the chocolateness comes over. Anyone you give a bottle to will not know the difference, it doe's have that convincingness that chocolate is added.

I wished I had opened my second bottle of choccy now... currently drinking the Wilko Winter Warmer, another nice Wilko brew, It comes across as quite fruity, my choice this evening because I have started a Wilko Cabernet Sauvignon and with tasting everything, as one doe's, the winter warmer was best.

 

[Roger Wilko]

I was pleasantly surprised from reading reviews of their other kits I wasn’t expecting much. I think my brew came out about 5%. My second batch that I started sunday was again brewed to 19 ltrs, 1kg of brew enhancer and 350 g of dark muskavardo sugar and along with the kit yeast I added 10g of wilko Nottingham yeast.

 

[Roger Wilko]

Hi Roger,
I've just made a Chocomeister only recently and it has been a success! My drinking date is another week yet but I've already consumed a sneaky pint. My notes below:
************************************88
B#8 Wilko Chocmeister - Monday 4th Feb19.
Mon 4Feb19
------------
Started a Wilko Chocmeister Kit with 2 x 500g Light Dry Malt Extract, 15 litres Tesco spring Water. Starting Specific Gravity was 1.055. I used the yeast from the kit.
Mon 18Feb19
-----------
Bottled using 2 x Wilko Carbonation drops and some bottles 1 x Coopers drops.
FG 1.022 Alcohol = 4.4%
Had a taste and seems very nice indeed. I'm confident that this will be a very good beer.
26 Full Bottles.
Mon 4Mar19
------------
Beer Moved to shed to condition and clear.
Mon 18Mar19
------------
Should be Ready to Drink
Results:
Mon 25Feb19 had my first bottle, (Way too Early!) tastes very nice but could tell that it needs a couple of weeks to condition and mature. Once again, NO foamy head!
***************************************View attachment 18249

Liking those bottle labels

 

[Roger Wilko]

I was pleasantly surprised from reading reviews of their other kits I wasn’t expecting much. I think my brew came out about 5%. My second batch that I started sunday was again brewed to 19 ltrs, 1kg of brew enhancer and 350 g of dark muskavardo sugar and along with the kit yeast I added 10g of wilko Nottingham yeast.

Finally this has come good it’s taken an absolute age to get rid of the twang. Lovely mouth feel and very earthy. The muskavardo sugar is very strong though, ok if you like it

 

[Rhys Cleary]

What do people think to a Chocolate Orange stout ??

Chocmeister kit
500g DME
500g Golden syrup
4 shots of coffee
Brew sugar to bring at up to 1050?? Or 100g muscavado ?
Orange Peel of 3 oranges ( size of a fist )

Brewed to 23L

Was tempted by mint instead of orange but I prefer fruit :)

 

[Roger Wilko]

I used muscavado in my last brew and I’m not sure if I liked it. I just couldn’t decide and not sure it would go with orange. Personally I would leave it out and brew it short to 19 ltrs

 

[Drunkula]

@Rhys Cleary what are you planning on doing with the orange peel? I ruined my chocolate orange stout by thinking "That's not orangey enough, I'll add peel to the fermenter!" and what was a very nice, slightly orangey stout turned into a horrific washing up liquid tasting filth. It would not age away, either. It kills me that it was so nice before I effed it up.

 

[terrym]

I used half a jar of home-made seville orange marmalade in my last beer 2 mins before the end of the boil (it also added about 150g sugar). Peel and any big bits filtered out before going into the FV after cooling. The early conditioning taster says its OK. Might add more next time for slightly more orange.
Also a few weeks back I had a few of Wadworths Burnt Orange seasonal IPA and enjoyed them all
https://www.wadworth.co.uk/beer-and-ales/seasonal-beers/burnt-orange-ipa/
This purports to have the addition of dried orange peel so it obviously works in some beers. Maybe you just don't have to overdo it.

 

[Rhys Cleary]

Evening. I’m not doing this as a grain brew. The base is a chocomeister Kit from wilko. So my only option is adding to the fermenter or flavouring some water and adding that. The kit requires 3.5l of boiled water so I could boil the orange in that and then just add the other dry ingredients. ?

 

[Drunkula]

Terry has reminded me - I did a christmas beer with a geordie kit and did a little boil with peel, cinnamon, marmalade, all-spice and loads of other **** and it went down a storm, one guy was obsessed with it. You've got to take the sugar into account. I did this after it had fermented to try and keep in all the oils. Just poured the goo into the fermenter and left it a while. One beer I boiled up a load of raisins and sultanas and put those in and they all swolled up full size again, they did. That was pretty nice, too.

 

[Roger Wilko]

Yes I visited a local craft brewer last month and on the tour I’m sure she said they add stuff like orange peel and fruit only during conditioning stage or it can make rancid beer

 

[Rhys Cleary]

do you think complete the brew and then while racking it prior to bottling ad the peel then ?

 

[user 23602]

I've made the Velvet Stout from Wilkos which was my very first home brew and it was rather decent. Would there be anyway to boost the chocolate flavours in the Chocmeister?

 

[terrym]

I've made the Velvet Stout from Wilkos which was my very first home brew and it was rather decent. Would there be anyway to boost the chocolate flavours in the Chocmeister?

I used a 190g chocolate malt steep in my last Coopers stout which worked.

 

[MonkeyBrewer]

I knocked this kit up a few weeks back as per the instructions (to 23ltr) and used circa 900g of brewing sugar and circa 100g of dark brown sugar. Didn’t take an opening SG but it stopped bubbling after four or five days and that was about a week ago.

Just taken a SG reading and it’s saying about 1.020. Does this seem odd? The kit instructions (which are generic across all of the artisan beer making kits) says it should be ending about 1.008?

Tastes okay, but very young, so no issues there. Has been warm in house but no more than 25 degrees (living by coast in North East keeps temps down during heatwave)

Any thoughts appreciated.

Cheers