Any Predictions?

[yuridwyer]

Any predictions what this will be like?
Cooper's Irish Stout + 1.5Kg All Craft Range LME, OG 1.046, in FV for 33 Days, made a balls of rehydrating yeast, these were my notes "Rehydrated 10g Mangrove Jack's New World Strong Ale Yeast yeast, spilled it, salvaged a third, then used generic "10g Beer Yeast (Ale)", sprinkled and stirred", used Fuggles t90 (2017), 6.2% alpha rating, 50g to dry hop for 5 days before bottling, temp range 18-22, then used 1 carbonation drop per 500mL bottle, FG 1.012. Had slight contamination worries (see another thread) but advice reckons it's ok.
What do ye think? Sounds ok? Or should I have left out the hops?

[yuridwyer]

Forgot to add, been in the bottle now for a month

[phildo79]

Why did you leave it in the FV for 33 days? That's a bit OTT for a beginners kit with an OG of 1.046

[phildo79]

Hang on. What was your batch size? 3kg (essentially) of LME but only an OG of 1.046? That sounds rather low. Last week I brewed a 21 litre batch with 4kg of DME and it yielded an OG of 1.073.

[LordEoin]

open one.
pour it into a glass.
see if you like it.
Remember that you have another 5 gallons to go through.

[phildo79]

Also not sure why you're dry hopping a stout. And with a generic, mild hop like Fuggles, I doubt it will impart much on the beer.

[LordEoin]

I've dryhopped stouts with fuggles a few times. I just like fuggles. Earthy. I prefer EKG, but fuggles isn't bad in a stout, even dryhopped so long as you don't leave it in too long. 50g might be a bit much though.

[yuridwyer]

I've found that leaving in FV for recommended time doesn't work out great, although that may be more due to drinking it only a couple of weeks after bottling. Like I said, I'm new to this so still learning.

[phildo79]

I never found kits to be that amazing. There are a few half decent ones but you need to wait months on them improving. If you step up to extract brewing, you will notice a big difference in quality and turn-around time.

[yuridwyer]

I never found kits to be that amazing. There are a few half decent ones but you need to wait months on them improving. If you step up to extract brewing, you will notice a big difference in quality and turn-around time.

Yea, I'm thinking that alright, as ok as the kits have been so far, there's a certain taste off them that's a bit.... not tangy, but a bit sweet or something. A mate has started extract brewing and his first one didn't have that generic flavour. I'm guessing it might be something acting as a preservative in the kit, which isn't there when you're brewing "fresh"?

[phildo79]

If you use table sugar when preparing your kit, it will probably give the beer a slight cidery taste. It can take a while to go away. I realised this very early on and then always used brewing sugar (dextrose) so I'm not sure if the same applies with stout kits.

Kits can be ok. They are quick and easy to make. But they have their limitations. Most people love the fact that they are getting 40 pints of beer for £15. But after a while, once you get more into brewing, it becomes less about saving money and more about making something truly exceptional.

[yuridwyer]

open one.
pour it into a glass.
see if you like it.
Remember that you have another 5 gallons to go through.

Took your advice, tonight was 35 days in the bottle, very very happy with it, thought it would be overly hoppy but I am more than pleasantly surprised. Better than the Pilsner I did before the stout, I won't even talk about that.....

[LordEoin]

mmmmmm beer