After 2 weeks of children and visiters, I got the whole day off to do "beer stuff". Great start to 2014 :D
I did an AG beer, bottled a beer which was in the FV for too long and transferred another to secondary, while dry hopping the shíte out of it.
And I got to do this kit, a 3.0kg St Peter's Cream Stout Kit (http://www.geterbrewed.com/st-peters-cream-stout-3.0-kg) generously given to the club compliments of GetErBrewed (http://www.geterbrewed.com/) to review.
The kit contains 2 no 1.5kg tins of hopped extract. Both tins appear the same to me; the extract was black in both and both tasted bitter as woodworm :P
The kit also includes a hop sachet which I've only seen in St Peter's kits. It's a powdered hop extract which looks like a sachet of dry yeast, but it smells like hops :D
You also get a sachet of dry yeast.
This is going to be easy :D
(http://www.3dsteel.ie/images/nhc/stPetersStout/stPetersStout-01.jpg)
(http://www.3dsteel.ie/images/nhc/stPetersStout/stPetersStout-02.jpg)
I put the two tins in a spare FV and poured a kettle of boiling water over them. Let them sit there for 10 - 15 minutes to soften the extract and boil the kettle again.
(http://www.3dsteel.ie/images/nhc/stPetersStout/stPetersStout-03.jpg)
I sanitise all my gear. FV, jug, scissors, paddle, tin opener, air lock...
(http://www.3dsteel.ie/images/nhc/stPetersStout/stPetersStout-04.jpg)
I add the kettle of boiling water to the FV, then drain the two tins into it. Boil the kettle again and give the extract/water a good stir to dissolve all the extract.
(http://www.3dsteel.ie/images/nhc/stPetersStout/stPetersStout-05.jpg)
I split the next kettle of water between the two tins to get the last of that precious goo into the FV.
(http://www.3dsteel.ie/images/nhc/stPetersStout/stPetersStout-06.jpg)
(http://www.3dsteel.ie/images/nhc/stPetersStout/stPetersStout-07.jpg)
Now stir like fúck to aerate the wort while adding cold water up the 20.5L mark.
(http://www.3dsteel.ie/images/nhc/stPetersStout/stPetersStout-09.jpg)
At 20.5L the temperature is 22°C. Perfect for pitching the yeast. Look at the foamy head, it's like a massive 5 gallon glass of stout :P
(http://www.3dsteel.ie/images/nhc/stPetersStout/stPetersStout-10.jpg)
I draw off a sample to check the gravity. It was 1.048°, which sounds right. The kit says it will ferment to 5.0% ABV.
(http://www.3dsteel.ie/images/nhc/stPetersStout/stPetersStout-11.jpg)
(http://www.3dsteel.ie/images/nhc/stPetersStout/stPetersStout-14.jpg)
I sprinkle the hop sachet onto the foam head. Then pitch the yeast.
(http://www.3dsteel.ie/images/nhc/stPetersStout/stPetersStout-12.jpg)
(http://www.3dsteel.ie/images/nhc/stPetersStout/stPetersStout-13.jpg)
I put the FV in the corner with the STC/heat-belt set to 19.5°C.
(http://www.3dsteel.ie/images/nhc/stPetersStout/stPetersStout-15.jpg)
The taste at the moment is like a flat sweet stout. Most of the sweetness will ferment out but I'm looking forward to it.
Easy peasy! The hardest part was opening the tins, I need a new tin opener >:( Only 358 days to Christmas!
Errm!, There is quite a difference between Woodworm and Wormwood!
I think the Pastis industry in .fr would have got nowhere by adding the liitle grubs to spirits!
The pastis industry was so lucrative one of the companys(Ricard) built a F1 racing circuit!
Quote from: Garry on January 01, 2014, 07:33:56 PM
The kit contains 2 no 1.5kg tins of hopped extract. Both tins appear the same to me; the extract was black in both and both tasted bitter as woodworm :P
So were you the fellow with the beard on "I'm a Celebrity"?
nice one garry!
i wonder if you can get those sachets of hop powder anywhere separately...
Wormwood, that's what I meant :-[
I didn't really watch "I'm a celeb..." Was he the lad who couldn't read an analog clock?
Quote from: LordEoin on January 01, 2014, 10:21:43 PM
nice one garry!
i wonder if you can get those sachets of hop powder anywhere separately...
I just asked my old buddy Google, and he tells me that HBW have hop sachets. They don't give much info though.
http://www.homebrewwest.ie/hop-extract-sachet-40-pints-487-p.asp
There are gems hidden behind more gems on that site...
That's isomerized, so probably just for bittering.
Did the sachet provided taste very bitter or full of hop flavour?
I didn't taste the powder in the hop pack. But it smelled like sticking your nose into a bag of hops. It's probably a bit late to go licking the foam head now?
I'd guess that they are for aroma though. The bitterness would come from the hoped extract. Did I mention the woodworm :P
I went out to check progress this evening. No activity yet. The STC was reading 16d C. So it's too cold.
Don't fear. I wrapped a duvet around the FV and gave it a little cuddle. Whispered a few reassurances into the air lock and told the yeasties to stay away from the light. It was at 17.5d when I left :) It'll be forgotten about by the morning :P
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/03/udaratap.jpg)
Wot no bedtime story, phone the NSPCK(Kits)
A healthy 19.9°C this morning and the air lock is popping away nicely :)
@CH; You're only trying to make me feel worse! It's not working :P
Probably because you spooned the FV all night... :-*
Quote from: LordEoin on January 03, 2014, 10:23:01 AM
Probably because you spooned the FV all night... :-*
Did you ever wake up in the morning and see a hand next to your face ???
And you're thinking, "who's dirty hairy hand is that?..... Oh wait, it's mine :-[ :D"
Well that's how bad the pins-and-needles were :P :P
Garry, Smashing review so far, everyone loves pictures, thanks for taking the time to write it up so well!
think Ill have to take a look into these kits, was after another Porter, but this sounds interesting
Am I the only one who cant get onto HBW?
It's working fine for me. Here are direct links to the kit:
http://www.geterbrewed.com/st-peters-cream-stout-3.0-kg (http://www.geterbrewed.com/st-peters-cream-stout-3.0-kg) €24.42 <--- best price for this kit, and sponsor of this raffle.
http://www.homebrewwest.ie/st-peters-cream-stout-30-kg-36-pints-beer-kit-3178-p.asp (http://www.homebrewwest.ie/st-peters-cream-stout-30-kg-36-pints-beer-kit-3178-p.asp) €26.95
https://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/st-peters-cream-stout-makes-36-kits-p-2042.html (https://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/st-peters-cream-stout-makes-36-kits-p-2042.html) €26.95
Cheers Eoin, but must be the ships web, but only HBC link works for me. Want to get an order in soon so its there when I get home. Think this & a Porter Maybe for this time home ;D
Does anyone have any word on how this un is working out?? Payday soon...hacked coopers original stout or one of these? :)
Confession time; I haven't bottled this yet. It's still in primary :-[
But the other night, I was making a stew. So I went out to the garage for a bottle of stout to add to the stew. I didn't have any, some bastard must have drank my stock! So I got a pint glass and filled it from the FV of this stout. I had a little sup of course. It had a teeny bit of carbonation in it so I got out my ghetto nitro system and gave it a blast of head. I ended up drinking 1/2 the pint. Lovely stuff, even straight from the FV.
The rest of the pint went into the stew, which turned out quite well too :)
What that "Ghetto Nitro system" you speak of Garry?
That looks like a nice pint.
basically a syringe of air
http://www.packaging-gateway.com/features/feature774/feature774-4.html (http://www.packaging-gateway.com/features/feature774/feature774-4.html)
Quote from: Damofto on February 21, 2014, 04:15:21 PM
What that "Ghetto Nitro system" you speak of Garry?
That looks like a nice pint.
As LE says, it's just a syringe. More info here. (http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,3574.msg65134.html#msg65134)
It was a nice pint too, straight from the FV! Better get it bottled soon.
That's great Thanks lads, I will try that.
Mmm what are we waiting 7-8 weeks and its not even bottled yet, tut tut, this was a raffle kit am I right, we should have the full review by now. Don't mean to be an ass but I'm waiting on ya to see if I'm gonna buy it or not. I'm gonna buy a stout kit next week do you reckon this beats Coopers Irish Stout
Quote from: benji on February 21, 2014, 08:57:24 PM
Mmm what are we waiting 7-8 weeks and its not even bottled yet, tut tut, this was a raffle kit am I right, we should have the full review by now. Don't mean to be an ass but I'm waiting on ya to see if I'm gonna buy it or not. I'm gonna buy a stout kit next week do you reckon this beats Coopers Irish Stout
I'm getting whipped now :P This long in primary is borderline beer abuse?
From the little taste I've had of this one, it's definitely fuller than the coopers. But the coppers has more bitterness. You can't go wrong with either kit, they all have lovely bottoms :P
That's not fair you are being an ass as long as the review gets done in a reasonable time frame I wouldn't start throwing stones.
6 weeks in primary though G yeach!
Well done CH you got to insult 2 peps in one post, sorry Gary didn't mean to offend but I was genuinely following this review since you started it as I want to make a brew for my Guinness drinking Step Dad and this looked like a good brew going by other reviews
Wow, just checked back there! Cheers for the update Garry...now....is it full bodied from 7 weeks in primary, or just cuz? :) I remember a lot of ones saying the coopers original was fit to be drunk from the fv too...within 2 weeks! To hell with the plumbing!
If it's a bit less bitter than the Coopers I reckon I'll give it a go...I'd like to coffee it up, thicken it up, and creamify it too though! Any thoughts? Still trying to move it toward that Caledonian Double Dark...
I was thinking of doing a bit of experimenting and by hacking this to a chocolate milk stout, was thinking of steeping 150g of chocolate grain then fermenting with 500g of dark spray malt,500g of lactose and 300g of Tesco "Milk Chocolate Dessert Sauce" . then whilst bottling adding some a wee bit of "littlePod pure chocolate extract"
Quote from: benji on February 21, 2014, 10:54:51 PM
Well done CH you got to insult 2 peps in one post, sorry Gary didn't mean to offend but I was genuinely following this review since you started it as I want to make a brew for my Guinness drinking Step Dad and this looked like a good brew going by other reviews
I try, you called yourself an ass, I just confirmed it. Not polite to bust a guys balls just coz he is 3 or 4 weeks late with a review. Garry knows me better. None of the reviewers work or get paid by the NHC so not fair to be busting their chops on timelines. Rules state if it doesn't get done recipient gets struck off.
Maybe Raffle Boss wants to comment but I see it working pretty well at the moment, still waiting for semi-clad "brewers wives" in pictures to spice them up a bit though!
Quote from: CH on February 22, 2014, 07:29:44 AM
... still waiting for semi-clad "brewers wives" in pictures to spice them up a bit though!
Now what have you started?
Mmmm, Brewers Wives section Mmmmm!!
Quote from: CH on February 22, 2014, 07:29:44 AM
I try, you called yourself an ass, I just confirmed it. Not polite to bust a guys balls just coz he is 3 or 4 weeks late with a review. Garry knows me better. None of the reviewers work or get paid by the NHC so not fair to be busting their chops on timelines. Rules state if it doesn't get done recipient gets struck off.
Maybe Raffle Boss wants to comment but I see it working pretty well at the moment, still waiting for semi-clad "brewers wives" in pictures to spice them up a bit though!
Patience is the brewer's most important skill. It's a good on to learn.
I'm happy with this review so far, it was posted quickly, it's very detailed and a lot of work has been put into it.
Garry is not late with the review, he had this thread started promptly, within less than 2 weeks of receiving it (and the delay was because of Christmas)
I cringe at the thought of the beer sitting on the trub for 7 weeks, but I have full faith in Garry's ability and I'm sure that it will be fine.
I've tasted other beers brewed by Garry that sat in primary for this long and they were great.
I too look forward to hearing how the beer ends up, and drinking some of it in the Well at some stage.
Good man Garry! Cheers O0
Quote from: benji on February 21, 2014, 11:48:00 PM
I was thinking of doing a bit of experimenting and by hacking this to a chocolate milk stout, was thinking of steeping 150g of chocolate grain then fermenting with 500g of dark spray malt,500g of lactose and 300g of Tesco "Milk Chocolate Dessert Sauce" . then whilst bottling adding some a wee bit of "littlePod pure chocolate extract"
I did a coppers stout with 500g of lactose. It was too sweet for my taste, I'd go with 250g if I did it again. I've never heard of the Tesco choc dessert sauce but give it a go? Check the ingredients for any strange looking preservatives though.
If your looking for something like Guinness though, I'd just brew this kit as it is. I'm not sure if a seasoned Guinness drinker would appreciate all that extra chocolate in his beer?
Quote from: Joe Rocket on February 21, 2014, 11:39:49 PM
Wow, just checked back there! Cheers for the update Garry...now....is it full bodied from 7 weeks in primary, or just cuz? :) I remember a lot of ones saying the coopers original was fit to be drunk from the fv too...within 2 weeks! To hell with the plumbing!
If it's a bit less bitter than the Coopers I reckon I'll give it a go...I'd like to coffee it up, thicken it up, and creamify it too though! Any thoughts? Still trying to move it toward that Caledonian Double Dark...
If you look up ditchs stout on Jim's beer kit, there are guys drinking it straight out of the bucket ;D
As for creamifying it, here's one I made earlier:
www.nationalhomebrewclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,3574.msg46296.html#msg46296
Quote from: Garry on February 22, 2014, 05:51:50 PM
I've never heard of the Tesco choc dessert sauce but give it a go? Check the ingredients for any strange looking preservatives though.
Have you considered adding biscuits to it for secondary? Dry-bourbon-creaming it!
Maybe some ben and jerry's fish food too
And prime it with chocolate nesquik.
If you need a quick source of lactose, add a pint of milk (not buttermilk though, it has the wrong kind of cultures)
What's the worst that can happen?
Bottled tonight. Terminal gravity was 1.016 so it will be shy of the stated 5% abv. Maybe I should have left it another week :P
Still tastes good :)
I had a bottle of Guinness extra stout tonight and the carbonation was a lot more than you'd get from a pint of draught. I kinda liked it so I carbed this one to 2.0 cols.
Can you get your hands on the commercial St. Peters Cream Stout to compare it? That stuff is so tasty (feckin pricey too though)
Quote from: delzep on February 23, 2014, 11:43:20 PM
Can you get your hands on the commercial St. Peters Cream Stout to compare it? That stuff is so tasty (feckin pricey too though)
I'll keep an eye out for it. Don't hold your breath :P
I've only ever seen it in Sweeney's off licence and that was a couple of years ago (was about €4.50 a bottle so I didn't have too many of them ???)
Unfortunately it's not available in Ireland anymore - the importer dropped it for some reason (maybe the price).
Quote from: Dunkel on February 24, 2014, 11:35:23 AM
Unfortunately it's not available in Ireland anymore - the importer dropped it for some reason (maybe the price).
I bought some in Sainsburys, 4 or 5 years ago along with a Golden ale as I had done the GA 3Kg kit and they 2 were very close, never got around to the stout as I wasn't big into them at the time and its taste didn't encourage me to do so either as I was just on the jump to AG
I'll have a look for you next time I'm up.
For the weekend that's in it :P
This is a lovely pint. It smells really sweet/malty. But there's nothing sweet in the taste. It's bitter chocolate with a hint of coffee. Nice body. Good head initially but retention isn't great. Good lacing ( great for a homebrewed stout without nitro).
The head retention would probably be better force carbed in a keg than bottle conditioned.
For a straight kit with no mods, this is the berries 8)
It sounds like you've found the stout kit for you Garry!
I hope you have a long life together and have many little halfcast coffeeman babies! ;D
Hi Garry, what a brilliant post! I am interested to know how it turns out. I see a few flip top bottles in there. Do you have a source? :)
Cheers heeler, and welcome to the nhc. I bought the flip tops in a group buy we had a few months ago. Don't hold out for another one because it was a pita for the organiser(s) :P
Keep an eye out here though because they do pop up from time to time. I believe pubs who sell German beers are glad to get rid of them for a bottle or 2 your finest?
I'm drinking a few of these st Peter's again tonight. Yummmmy :-*
Quote from: Garry on March 14, 2014, 09:58:24 PM
This is a lovely pint. It smells really sweet/malty. But there's nothing sweet in the taste. It's bitter chocolate with a hint of coffee. Nice body. Good head initially but retention isn't great. Good lacing ( great for a homebrewed stout without nitro).
The head retention would probably be better force carbed in a keg than bottle conditioned.
For a straight kit with no mods, this is the berries 8)
Garry, thanks again , great to see a give away getting a fantastic review, this whole St Peter's range is a fantastic seller at Get 'er Brewed, glad you enjoyed it
Quote from: Tube on March 17, 2014, 01:37:13 PM
Jeez Garry that's a bit diddley eyedley.
True, but I am trying to make a Brit look Irish :P
Quote from: @geterbrewed on March 17, 2014, 11:35:50 PM
Garry, thanks again , great to see a give away getting a fantastic review, this whole St Peter's range is a fantastic seller at Get 'er Brewed, glad you enjoyed it
You're most welcome guys. The pleasure is all mine. Literally ;D
I was at a christening on Saturday. The only beer on tap I'd drink was Beamish. The Beamish is like this pint with its sweet malty aroma, but bitter taste. But Beamish has a redish hew. Like it's rebel brothers :P The St Peter's is black as the ace of spades though. The head on this is also a tan color. Again, what you'd associate with a bottled stout.
There's a nice bitter dryness in the finish :)
If brewing this kit I'd definitely recommend carbing to 2.0+.
Wonder what it'd be like on Nitro?
I have a few of St Peters Cream Stout in my stock and reading your posts last night got me thirsty. I wonder how close the kit is to the commercial brand. :)
Look what landed in Bray!
Was chatting to CH on friday about the Coopers Irish Stout Kit that I have recently put on and he gave me this to try.
Very easy drinking Stout Garry, theres defo a chocolate taste and judging by the review you've shown that its a very easy kit to do too.
I must try get a bottle or two of the stout I have on now down to you.
Half the batch is bottled and I'm dry hopping the other half of it with Fuggles at the moment.
Glad you like it fish. I still have a few left. I'm trying to see if they will last until next winter? Will power Garry, will power :P
Sorry Mr G hope you didn't mind better appreciated by someone who was going to appreciate it ;)
Not at all CH :) It's nice to get the feedback :)
Hi, I brewed this stout and bottled on 1st may 2014.I love it. It needs about six weeks in the bottle and should be drunk off the shelf. Astonishing quality and better than any commercially brewed stout I know. I made sure to keep to the recommended water amount. I can really give this one 10/10.☺
would either of you add anything/ hack this kit or keep it standard? Im thinking of a more straight forward brew this time home &its a toss between this & the craft brew range stout I think
It's good as-is :) I might just steep some carapils (~150-200g) to aid head retention.
cheers Gary, will keep it in mind when I go to put my order in towards the end of my trip :)