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Hmmm....I just cracked a 2nd bottle, just to see if it would be as good as the first, but for some reason it had absolutely no head at all. It was nicely carbonated but as I poured it it looked like sarsparilla cordial.

DavidG

Ausdag,

Did you bulk prime or put a little dex/sugar in each bottle?

If it pours like cordial though, your bottle may not be sealing properly. I had a Crown Lager stub that even when I bulk primed poured flat like cordial. I threw that bottle away. No visible imperfections on it.

Cheers,

Greg

Hi Greg, I put a carbonation drop in each bottle following the advice I'd read a number of times that fro stout it's better to use only one dro per long neck rather than the usual two drops.

The bottle I opened last night had a nice head, so it's probably an individual bottle thing.

This one I opened, the one with no head, still had a good amount of carbonation, It certainly wasn't flat like cordial, it just poured like cordial. Could be a combination of bottle problem and soap residue on the glass.

Cheers,

DavidG

Oooops, should have read the post more carefully

If the bottle is gassed, but no head when poured into a glass then you're correct about it probably being a bit of soap or grease on the glass.

Cheers,
Greg

And in the end, head or no head, it still tasted good

Cheers,

DavidG

BTW, would using only one carb drop/long neck be a factor in the absence of the head? My glass is squeaky clean, and the real ale I tried yesterday (see 'My Latest Tastes sike Mercurochrome) had a whopper of a head, but my stout still continues to be very weak in that department.


What can I add next time to a) increase the head and b) smooth out the rough, burnt taste. I like the burnt smokeyness, but I would like to try and take some of the in-your-face edge of of it. Oatmeal?

DavidG

Put down a Coopers 2 can stout (stout + dark ale) on the weekend, added a few extras: 1/3 cup rolled oats, 1/2tsp ground cinnamon and 100g cocoa powder. this may sound a bit all over the place but I just got a bit caught up in the whole flavours thing. Anyway it had a SG 1054 and bubbled away nicely for a couple of days but then the os temps got up (38c) and I forgot to change the wet towel. hope that it's not rooted! will rack to secondry and give it 4 days or so with better temp control and see how we go.

One of the good things about Stouts is that with so much flavour any slight imperfections (such as brewed a few degrees to warm) will be lost in there. Stouts are great Summer brewing.

Cheers,
Greg

Sounds good porridge.
This one I did earlier:

undercover1 wrote: -Coopers stout tin
-300g jar of black cherry jam- the good stuff
-100g Cadbury's cocoa powder
-Brewmaster stout bag- dried malt, maltodex, dex & liquorice powder, I forget the exact proportions
-Fistful of rolled oats
All to be boiled/simmered in 5l of water for 15 mins, then strained & cooled, topped up to 20l
Plan to rack after about 10 days, then bottle when SG is steady & leave as long as possible.

is coming along fine, in fact I'm not sure how much I will have left by the time winter comes around. And I always thought I couldn't drink stout on a hot day, this has proved me wrong.

well yesterday I put down the following:
1.5kg Black rock Miner's stout
1.5kg Black rock dark malt extract
100g dextrose
500g Malto-dextrin
10ml liquorce extract
Pitched Safale S-04 @25 degrees
OG: 1052

This morning it has dropped to 24 (will try and lower this with wet towels today) and is bubbling away nicely. I've never brewed a stout before so I'm keen to see how it comes up.

Talk about additives, try some mint and some choclate ina stout.

Yum

Dogger

Tried a Young's Double CHocholate Stout yesterday - didn't like the Chocolate. Will try Oatmeal next.

DavidG

ausdag wrote:Tried a Young's Double CHocholate Stout yesterday - didn't like the Chocolate. Will try Oatmeal next.

Both fine beers, IMHO.

Oliver

Oliver, where can I get a good commercial Oatmeal stout to try?

Cheers,

DavidG

ausdag wrote:Oliver, where can I get a good commercial Oatmeal stout to try?

Cheers,

DavidG

Where do you live in Brisbane? I find the HBS in Annerley on Ipswich Road very helpful.

Hi Mikey,

Yes, I find Annerley HBS a friendly chap. Only been there once though to get hops but he was very helpful.

Sorry, by Oatmeal stout to try, I meant a bottle from a bottle shop to try so I can see what they should/idealy taste like before trying to make my own.

Cheers,

DavidG

ausdag wrote:Oliver, where can I get a good commercial Oatmeal stout to try?

I'd try Dan Murphy's, if you've got it where you are. Otherwise, find a big bottleshop with a good beer selection.

Cheers,

Oliver