OK so I'm starting the planning on this brew, since I want to get it going in about 3 or 4 weeks' time. The inspiration for this brew is this specific stout: https://www.ratebeer.com/beer/birken...-stout/354622/ I actually see now for the first time that AtronSiege actually reviewed this beer a few years ago, so his input might be great here... :P
The base for this brew is this, the Mangrove Jack's Dublin Dry Stout. It seems to cover the bases of what I'm looking for in this beer: Light chocolate and coffee notes with a decent body, good head and retention and a dry finish. I opened up the kit already and found that it has improved a bit over the years, and it seems to contain modern spray malts now, rather than just plan DME, and a proper packet of yeast. I've moved the yeast to the fridge to keep it as fresh as possible.
Anyway, now the notes of this kit does seem close, but to me it seems to lack the chocolate of that Birkenhead Chocolate Stout, so I would like to improve on that. This kit seems to compare to a Guiness style stout, which is fine, but not what I'm after. As I've asked on the other threads as well, chocolate nibs seem to be the best choice here. I have no idea though how much to add in the 23l brew, since I don't want to overpower it. I've been wondering about how to add it as well, and I was thinking of boiling some chocolate nibs in normal water and adding that to the fermenter before pitching the yeast. In order to provide the fuller mouthfeel of this beer as well I was wondering - maybe add some additional components? Lactose for a fuller head and mouthfeel?
Any thoughts/input on this? I want to know the ins and outs of a stout before I jump the gun on this one - I fell in love with that Birkenhead Chocolate Stout and would like to get closer to it, specially since it's selling for R50 per 500ml bottle in the local liquor store. I would love having a few bottles of this over winter!
The base for this brew is this, the Mangrove Jack's Dublin Dry Stout. It seems to cover the bases of what I'm looking for in this beer: Light chocolate and coffee notes with a decent body, good head and retention and a dry finish. I opened up the kit already and found that it has improved a bit over the years, and it seems to contain modern spray malts now, rather than just plan DME, and a proper packet of yeast. I've moved the yeast to the fridge to keep it as fresh as possible.
Anyway, now the notes of this kit does seem close, but to me it seems to lack the chocolate of that Birkenhead Chocolate Stout, so I would like to improve on that. This kit seems to compare to a Guiness style stout, which is fine, but not what I'm after. As I've asked on the other threads as well, chocolate nibs seem to be the best choice here. I have no idea though how much to add in the 23l brew, since I don't want to overpower it. I've been wondering about how to add it as well, and I was thinking of boiling some chocolate nibs in normal water and adding that to the fermenter before pitching the yeast. In order to provide the fuller mouthfeel of this beer as well I was wondering - maybe add some additional components? Lactose for a fuller head and mouthfeel?
Any thoughts/input on this? I want to know the ins and outs of a stout before I jump the gun on this one - I fell in love with that Birkenhead Chocolate Stout and would like to get closer to it, specially since it's selling for R50 per 500ml bottle in the local liquor store. I would love having a few bottles of this over winter!
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