Young's American Mocha Porter

[wfr42]

:-(
Poured my last bottle normally, reasonable head but lacking the lovely coffee chocolate notes. It's still a nice pint but the spread of flavours has not been consistent across my batch.

Really enjoyed the good bottles...may be a batch that benefits from early consumption, which I may test in between my ag adventures as the weather warms up.

 

[phildo79]

:-(
Poured my last bottle normally, reasonable head but lacking the lovely coffee chocolate notes. It's still a nice pint but the spread of flavours has not been consistent across my batch.

Really enjoyed the good bottles...may be a batch that benefits from early consumption, which I may test in between my ag adventures as the weather warms up.

Just popped one in the fridge for a quick blast. Don't want it too cold. Picked one from the middle of the batch. Why do you think it is that the flavours haven't been consistent? Because they really should be. I've experienced the same thing in the past. And with levels of carbonation as well.

 

[wfr42]

Mine have all been carbed well but some have definitely had some with more of the mocha kick that i have enjoyed so much.

Thought it was to do with serving temperature (warmer being "better"), but as mentioned I think a lot of it is due to pouring it with a big frothy head - straighten the glass early and or pour from height.

Will post here if I do another batch and will try the above and early in the batch if I do try it again, got about 100 pints at various stages of conditioning and going to be buying an ag starter kit soon for future brews so it is a maybe brew again for me.

 

[phildo79]

Poured and drinking as we speak. Definitely better than last weeks pour. Still has the bitterness but less so, which tells me I didn't fook things up in the initial process and that it just isn't ready yet. Or at least I hope so. There is something familiar about the taste.

I tried to make an alcoholic root beer a while back and it just didn't work out. I'm wondering if I messed up in the brewing process because the bitter flavour is the same in this kit. I put the off taste of the root beer to the amount of cloves I added but this has got me thinking. I'll leave it for another fortnight or so before trying again. I will be somewhat annoyed if this has been wrecked due to infection or neglagence.

 

[wfr42]

I'll post it here rather upset the masses, but I'm a bit underwhelmed with my coopers stout.

I brewed it to the full length with a kilo of dark dme. Lovely burnt caramel toffee taste and I can see why people brew it short and or tweak it, but with a kilo of dme it was £2.80 cheaper than the mocha porter kit which (even though a shorter brew) was a better pint IMHO. *ducks for cover*

 

[noddyman]

I'll post it here rather upset the masses, but I'm a bit underwhelmed with my coopers stout.

I brewed it to the full length with a kilo of dark dme. Lovely burnt caramel toffee taste and I can see why people brew it short and or tweak it, but with a kilo of dme it was �£2.80 cheaper than the mocha porter kit which (even though a shorter brew) was a better pint IMHO. *ducks for cover*

I have brewed Coopers Stout with treacle about 5 times over my 2 years as a home Brewer, and I can recommend it highly. The one I have bottled at the moment is the best I've ever done. Primed it with 50g of brewing sugar.
Enjoy.:thumb:

 

[Robin54]

I'll post it here rather upset the masses, but I'm a bit underwhelmed with my coopers stout.

I brewed it to the full length with a kilo of dark dme. Lovely burnt caramel toffee taste and I can see why people brew it short and or tweak it, but with a kilo of dme it was �£2.80 cheaper than the mocha porter kit which (even though a shorter brew) was a better pint IMHO. *ducks for cover*

You need to visit the forum more regularly and see what can be done...see the "Beer Exchange'
just needs a tweak + some EKG...works a:smile: treat

 

[phildo79]

Just an update on my AMP brew. Personally I didn't really start to enjoy it until it had rested for 4 months. Some of my friends thought it was spot on a good bit earlier but there was something about it that just didn't sit right with me. However, patience is a virtue and it came good in the end. A very nice tipple indeed.

Current brews:
Young's AMP
Experimental Peanut Butter Stout

Planned:
Rogue Hazelnut Nectar Clone

 

[Pope]

Just an update on my AMP brew. Personally I didn't really start to enjoy it until it had rested for 4 months. Some of my friends thought it was spot on a good bit earlier but there was something about it that just didn't sit right with me. However, patience is a virtue and it came good in the end. A very nice tipple indeed.

Current brews:
Young's AMP
Experimental Peanut Butter Stout

Planned:
Rogue Hazelnut Nectar Clone

You must have the patience of a saint, to wait 4 months!

 

[Prender]

Hi all, just brewed this yesterday for my second attempt at kit brewing so hoping for some advice please. Air lock is not bubbling or in any way active after 24hrs. Have checked the seal on FV and even taped the lid up to be safe, but was hoping to see some bubbles this morning. Any thoughts? Brewed slightly short at 16.5L and pitched at slightly below 23c and stored in a pantry so dark but mild ambient temp in there.

First attempt was bull dog DIPA kit this time last year which for some reason didn't carbonate properly using drops on bottle, and ended up not drinking the final product, which left me distraught ever since! Hoping for a much better result with this one.

Cheers

 

[Graz]

The general consensus with bucket type fermenting vessels is that they don't often have a perfect seal so the CO2 from fermentation will often find an easier route out then through the airlock.

Easiest way to see if it's going or not is to crack the lid open a bit and see if you have a layer of froth (krausen) on the top or not. No froth means it probably didn't get going.

Also sometimes it can take a bit longer than 24hrs for it to get started so don't panic just yet.

What was the sell by date on the kit? Usual reasons for non-starters is old / gone off yeast, too hot / cold when you pitched it (although 23C should be ok), wort not aerated enough, or it's not warm enough wherever you left it to ferment (again sounds ok in your case).

P.S. I planning to brew this kit soon in time for Christmas drinking. Sounds good.

 

[Prender]

Thanks for quick reply. Sounds right re bucket FV as had same experience with DIPA last time but it got going eventually and tasted fine, just the carbonation issue that screwed it.

This AMP kit has a bb date of Aug 2017 so no issue on that front, I guess I'll just have to wait patiently.

Tips on better FV for future? Really don't think I could take pouring another 40 bottles down the drain, it's like watching your favourite pub burn down.

 

[Graz]

I was going to say in the previous post that isn't a massive issue with bucket style fermenters, it's all I've ever used, just that the gas from fermentation seems to find a way out that isn't via the airlock. On that note I don't use airlocks on mine and probably never will, I just click the lid into place then crack it open ever so slightly to allow the gas to escape. As I now ferment my beer in a brew fridge I'm not worried about any insects getting in etc. though the gap is so small I doubt they would anyway, never had it happen for all the years I just used to stick the FV on the worktop in our utility room.

 

[dangleberry]

Thanks for quick reply. Sounds right re bucket FV as had same experience with DIPA last time but it got going eventually and tasted fine, just the carbonation issue that screwed it.

This AMP kit has a bb date of Aug 2017 so no issue on that front, I guess I'll just have to wait patiently.

Tips on better FV for future? Really don't think I could take pouring another 40 bottles down the drain, it's like watching your favourite pub burn down.

The FV doesn't make any difference to the carbonation - that's all done after your beer has been transferred to your bottles.

As Graz says, FV doesn't even need to be airtight - don't waste money on a new one!

 

[Prender]

The FV doesn't make any difference to the carbonation - that's all done after your beer has been transferred to your bottles.

As Graz says, FV doesn't even need to be airtight - don't waste money on a new one!

Thanks Dangleberry. My ref to carbonation was just to say I needn't have been worried over air lock for previous brew, that the lack of carbonation (drops didn't work for some reason) was the only issue that messed the beer up- FV did its job fine.

Still hoping to see some bubbling action tonight all the same! 😁

 

[Graz]

Made this up last night, going to bottle it for Christmas consumption.

My God it smells amazing, very excited about this kit :)

 

[Graz]

Made this up last night, going to bottle it for Christmas consumption.

My God it smells amazing, very excited about this kit :)

Bottled this last night and had a cheeky taste from the trial jar. My word if it tastes this good now I can only begin to imagine what it will be like after a few weeks of conditioning and carbonated / chilled. The coffee notes are quite strong almost like beer with a shot of Tia Maria in it but not in a bad way, I think if it just mellows slightly in the bottle it will be really tasty.

Looking forward to this on Christmas Eve hopefully combined with sleeping children, the log burner crackling away, and a splash of single malt to chase it with :mrgreen:

 

[Graz]

Further update, thought I should test this on Saturday night so chilled a bottle in the fridge. Love it, taste, aroma, head, all spot on. This is possibly the closest thing I've made to a commercial craft beer, I was saying to the wife I could easily sell it for several £ a bottle and I doubt anyone would complain.

Going to enjoy this over the Christmas period but will also stick a few bottles aside for extended maturing, maybe even save a couple for next Christmas.

Going to try the Oaked Rum Ale sometime soon but this is definitely going to get made again.