Stout kit modification - general q's

KAGY

Hi All,
Starting a Muntons Export Stout kit and want to mess around with this one, but don't want to ruin the full kit if all goes wrong. So, two q's

What's a good way to experiment with part of a kit? I have a primary and three 5l demijohns. Would adding extra flavours after primary fermentation work? Or would you start it off in the primary, then rack to the demijohns once the yeast has established?

An secondly, any suggestions for hacking? Going to try treacle in one, maybe dark choc in another if possible (coco powder?), or whiskey?

Looking forward to your comments, this forum has been a great help so far.

tteknulp

Get 250g lactose and 300g choc syrup 200g sugar free drink choc it makes a nice choc milk stout

KAGY

tteknulp wrote: »

Get 250g lactose and 300g choc syrup 200g sugar free drink choc it makes a nice choc milk stout

Interesting, I take it those amts are for the full 40 pints and in addition to your usual fermentables?

Son0vagun

I plan to do the same with my coopers stout. Hopefully ill have 5 demi-johns and can do something differently to each. Plan to add some hops to some. Really want to add lactose to one, but no idea where I can get lactose. Interesting to hear about adding chocolate drink. Must try treacle too.

I imagine you'd ferment in the primary and then add stuff to the secondary's.

Let us know how you get on.

tteknulp

Get the lactose in homebrew west or home brew company 500g is €3 i think ,idid milestone black pearl 2 can kit so no other extras ,its a lovely pint

sharingan

Stouts are easy to hack, but you are specifically talking about racking off to DJs once the high krausen has passed. If you have a fermenter with a tap, that should be pretty easy, but I would leave it at least a week before you transfer so that you avoid any DJ blowouts.

You will probably lose a lot of brew though, and I would be concerned about leaving a lot of yeast behind in the primary, but thats just a risk you will have to take.

Add your beer hacks to the DJs directly, preferably in liquid form, and have fun. Stout can take a lot of messing about. And you are on the right track with your suggestions so far.

The usual suspects for spiking stout include:
- chocolate
- treacle
- coffee
- vanilla

But also look into:
- honey
- maple syrup
- any kind of pumpkin/squash essence
- coconut
- spirits
- more grain fermentables
- dry hopping

Have fun, and label well. A properly done stout is a treasure indeed.

KAGY

Excellent, just the info I was after thanks. I'll search the interweb for qty's and post up in a week or two when I actually do it. At least now I won't feel like I'm cheating when I say I brew my own...

sharingan wrote: »

<snip>

You will probably lose a lot of brew though, and I would be concerned about leaving a lot of yeast behind in the primary, but thats just a risk you will have to take.
<chop>

Is your concern a lack of yeast in the demijohns or the remaining 6 or 7 litres sitting on the full amount of sediment in the primary?

edit: actually, reading back you probably didn't know that I was leaving some plain in the primary, so to get more yeast in the DJ's I might give it a gentle stir a day or two before racking.

BeerNut

sharingan wrote: »

I would be concerned about leaving a lot of yeast behind in the primary

KAGY wrote: »

Is your concern a lack of yeast in the demijohns or the remaining 6 or 7 litres sitting on the full amount of sediment in the primary?

edit: actually, reading back you probably didn't know that I was leaving some plain in the primary, so to get more yeast in the DJ's I might give it a gentle stir a day or two before racking.

The living active yeast is spread throughout the liquid and there's plenty of it. The stuff at the bottom is dead: leave it behind in the primary and don't stir it in.

sharingan

KAGY wrote: »

Is your concern a lack of yeast in the demijohns or the remaining 6 or 7 litres sitting on the full amount of sediment in the primary?

edit: actually, reading back you probably didn't know that I was leaving some plain in the primary, so to get more yeast in the DJ's I might give it a gentle stir a day or two before racking.

My first concern would be that you might lose a bit of yeast alright. But thats just part of the learning process. If you do it at the right time (just after heavy krausen, but not so soon that you risk a DJ blowout), you should have a healthy dose of yeast going into each DJ to finishe the job.

You will also lose quite a lot of beer from the DJs as you will find it hard to get the last pint out. But I think you just write that off as an expense on the research