# First Stout Advice



## Budron (21/7/09)

Hi guys,

I'm a brand spankin' new brewer and have gone for a stout for my second brew.
I used a tin of coopers irish stout and a 1kg mix from my LHBS that contained malt, dextrose, corn syrup and some lactose.
It's OG was 1040 and it's happily bubbling away in the fermenter as I type.

My question is, when I bottle, as I will be using carbonation drops, I was thinking of only using the 1 drop instead of 2 as stouts are typically less carbonated. What do you guys think?
Will this affect my final % ALC?

Cheers,

Budron


----------



## iScarlet (21/7/09)

Should only affect the ABV by maybe 0.25%

When I've done my brews I've always used two drops so I've got no comparisons to draw.


----------



## vanceonbeach (21/7/09)

I read somewhere that two carb drops in a 750ml bottle add 0.2% to the alcohol content. So I'm guessing adding one drop would mean only a 0.1% increase so the short answer is no.

I personally prefer a bit of fizz so would err on the 2carb drop fizzy side rather than risk a flat brew, but hey it'syour beer!


----------



## foxy (21/7/09)

yeah mate, ive done the half carb on me stouts and reckon its the go. definately suits the style. just make sure you leave it for at least 2 months for the head to properly develop. half carb half the brew, full carb the rest that way you'll be able to see what you like. mark the bottles of course!
also if your brew ends up horribly sweet, ditch the lactose next time. i used it once - never again


----------



## buttersd70 (21/7/09)

1 drop for a stout, not a problem at all....a stout shouldn't be a fizzy load of old rubbish anyway. The one drawback with low levels of carbonation in bottled beer is that it can be a bit hard to form a head.....pocket sparkler ftw.  


(search for "pocket sparkler"....)


----------



## manticle (21/7/09)

Weird. I prefer lower carb for all my beers but mostly seem to get ok head retention.


----------



## bum (21/7/09)

Maybe he means a big nitro-style head?


----------



## manticle (21/7/09)

foxy said:


> also if your brew ends up horribly sweet, ditch the lactose next time. i used it once - never again



I use about 200-250 g for all my stouts. They turn out great - just have to balance the right amount of bittering and dark roasted malts. Roast barley helps too.

That said, I'll need to taste a few opthers like warren's 3 shades (or is it 4 shades?) before I can really judge my own.


----------



## buttersd70 (21/7/09)

bum said:


> Maybe he means a big nitro-style head?



Big _Northern _head.Nitro is for girly girl southern fairies....

I was talking about head _formation_, not retention. It's a different thing.....get under 2 vol co2, and you start having issues pouring out of glass. Get under 1.5vol co2, and theres no way you can form a head poured out of glass....without resistance in the pour (like beer line gives in a cask/keg situation), then the lower the carb volume, the less inclined the solution will be to give up the co2 for the formation of the head....the pocket sparkler (ie a syringe to push beer back into itself) aids in the release of the co2 to form a tight, compact head.....if you'd ever seen beer being pulled through a handpump with a sparkler attachment, you'd understand.......2 finger widths of head.....one above the glass, one under. That's a head I would expect on a stout.

edit: manticle, I've tried a version of warrens 4 shades, brewed by DrSmurto.....I needed tissues afterward...and not for my nose, or eyes.


----------



## chappo1970 (21/7/09)

buttersd70 said:


> ...Nitro is for girly girl southern fairies....



Oh like this type of fairy Butters?








Just needed clarification?

Chappo


----------



## buttersd70 (22/7/09)

Yeah. THe one on the left is obviously from Kent...from the exposed nipple, I would say most likely from the Maidstone area. The short fat hairyness of the one on the right identifies them, obviously, as being from Exeter. 

If they were from Yorkshire (or anywhere else in the north - except Lancashire), they would be wearing a flatcap, have massive rippling muscles, and work down t'pit.


----------



## chappo1970 (22/7/09)

Oh? Yorkshire? Right so more like this then?


----------



## mfdu (22/7/09)

aaaarrrrghhhh my eyes my eyes they burn !!!!!!!


----------



## Bribie G (22/7/09)

However in the North East we Geordies always keep our clothes on because the sword dancing could prove painful if there's an inexperienced dancer in the group.


On topic. If the OP is referring to 'draught stout' such as nitro Guinness served across the bar, then the beer should be flattish but with a creamy head and this is the ideal usage for a pocket sparkler.

On the other hand if the OP means something more Foreign Extra Stout such as Sheaf Stout, Guinness 6% in the bottle, Coopers Stout etc then it should be carbonated the same as other bottled and canned beers, and in fact possibly a bit more (buy a bottle and see what I mean). Personally I carb my stouts same as my lagers, not my ales.


----------



## mwd (22/7/09)

I was thinking I was a bit weird but I don't like flattish bottled stouts I prefer a bit of sparkle so I prime my bottles with the same amounts as for ales. ( using a scoop and dex ).


----------



## bum (22/7/09)

BribieG said:


> However in the North East we Geordies always keep our clothes on because the sword dancing could prove painful if there's an inexperienced dancer in the group.


Sorry to be keeping this off topic but I cannot believe you mentioned "sword" dancing in the current pic posting climate. 

Let's see if Chappo has the minerals.


----------



## surlyraider (22/7/09)

I did a batch of Coopers Stout and did 1/2 of the bottles with 1 carb drop and 1/2 with 2. Def a difference in the texture (in terms of carbonation) and have to say I preferred the 1 drop better. Didnt affect head retention/formation at all, both excellent, just the carbonation.


----------



## chappo1970 (22/7/09)

bum said:


> Sorry to be keeping this off topic but I cannot believe you mentioned "sword" dancing in the current pic posting climate.
> 
> Let's see if Chappo has the minerals.




I don't think I kanna doe it kaptain there are too many horrid sights, even I winced at it! But check it for yourself type "naked+sword+fighting" into google images... Man there are some sick weirdo's out there...


Cheers

Chappo

BTW you tried it didn't you! Sicko! :icon_cheers:


----------



## Budron (22/7/09)

Thanks guys for all the responses. I think I am going to go with 1/2 the batch with 1 carb drop and the other half with 2, work out what I like ans stick with it.
Also, my stout ferment stoppped bubbling after 2 days. Is this normal, or do I have dead yeast? It's be sitting constantly at about 22c, so I dont know why it would have stopped?

Cheers,

Budron


----------



## buttersd70 (22/7/09)

Budron said:


> Thanks guys for all the responses. I think I am going to go with 1/2 the batch with 1 carb drop and the other half with 2, work out what I like ans stick with it.
> Also, my stout ferment stoppped bubbling after 2 days. Is this normal, or do I have dead yeast? It's be sitting constantly at about 22c, so I dont know why it would have stopped?
> 
> Cheers,
> ...



There is a link in my sig that deals with this question....


----------



## Bribie G (22/7/09)

Budron said:


> Thanks guys for all the responses. I think I am going to go with 1/2 the batch with 1 carb drop and the other half with 2, work out what I like ans stick with it.
> Also, my stout ferment stoppped bubbling after 2 days. Is this normal, or do I have dead yeast? It's be sitting constantly at about 22c, so I dont know why it would have stopped?
> 
> Cheers,
> ...



Airlock activity is not a true indication of how fermentation is going as the fermenter may not be sealing too well so, after a couple of days of vigorous bubbling the gas could be escaping elsewhere and give the impression that fermentation has stopped. 

Hydrometer hydrometer hydrometer

If you are using home brew style 750ml PET bottles then do yourself a favour: for a third of the cost of two priming lollies, just drop one supermarket sugar cube into each bottle for an identical effect.


----------



## Budron (22/7/09)

Thanks mate, I've tried to read as much as I can, but there's a lot to all this brew stuff! But already starting to love it!

Oh and cheers for the sugar cube advice! I presume it's the same if i'm using glass 750ml?


----------



## RdeVjun (22/7/09)

Budron said:


> Oh and cheers for the sugar cube advice! I presume it's the same if i'm using glass 750ml?


I haven't tried them, but they may not quite fit through the opening. BribieG will be along shortly to correct me if I'm wrong!

If not, I'll give them a whirl, or at least get some for standby as I mostly bulk prime these days.


----------



## Bribie G (22/7/09)

RdeVjun said:


> I haven't tried them, but they may not quite fit through the opening. BribieG will be along shortly to correct me if I'm wrong!
> 
> If not, I'll give them a whirl, or at least get some for standby as I mostly bulk prime these days.



Nearly all PET bottles have the same sized opening and God has designed that CSR sugar cubes should EXACTLY fit through the opening. Wondrous times we live in :icon_chickcheers:


----------



## felten (22/7/09)

I should probably enable signatures to make sure I'm not linking stuff that's already in butter's sig >_< (the first thing I do on joining a forum is usually disabling sigs :|)


----------



## RdeVjun (22/7/09)

BribieG said:


> Nearly all PET bottles have the same sized opening and God has designed that CSR sugar cubes should EXACTLY fit through the opening. Wondrous times we live in :icon_chickcheers:


How's about those silly, backward, glass- based heathen who got the shock of their lives when Plastic Jehovah showed up one day with his fancy wide PET religion and its sweet cubic prophet! They had such a narrow mono- theistic approach to the universe with its rich saccharine splendour and did live their lives in darkness, eternally haunted in their waking and their sleep by lozenge- shaped sprites, the evil sound of smashing glass, and nightmare rivulets of divine frothy essence!


----------

