Heady stout

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Heady stout

Postby Awol71 » Tuesday Jul 29, 2014 3:39 pm

I bottled a stout today. It was a 2 can coopers Irish stout with 1kg of dextrose and both can yeasts. Pitched at 22c in 23l. After 4 days it had dropped to 16c and I topped it up to 29L with boiled and cooled water. When bottling there was at least an inch of head in every bottle. I waited for it to settle a bit before topping up. What's the reason for this? Sometimes it happens on the first couple until the air bubbles from opening the tap clear the line. This was the first time it happened every bottle. Was in the fermenter for 15 days. I don't test with a hydrometer. It fell out the arse end of the box and smashed the first time I was about to use it. ( story of my life)
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Re: Heady stout

Postby Oliver » Monday Aug 04, 2014 6:37 am

What was your reasoning for topping it up rather than starting with a volume of 29 litres?

It sounds like the beer had probably finished fermenting when you topped it up. It'd be very difficult -- nay, near impossible! -- to add water without admitting oxygen at this stage, which is not what you want to be doing.

Is this the first time you've made this brew? Some beers do tend to me more "heady" than others.

Cheers,

Oliver
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Re: Heady stout

Postby Pogierob » Tuesday Aug 05, 2014 6:17 am

I would suggest getting a new hydrometer ASAP.
What are you using to fill the bottles? Just some hose or a bottle wand?
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Re: Heady stout

Postby weizgei » Tuesday Aug 05, 2014 8:38 pm

When you say "an inch of head", do mean the same kind of beer foam you get when pouring a carbonated beer into a glass? That is unusual, I don't get any foaming at all when bottling, not even with the first few bottles. Can you think of something in your process that might have caused this?

Adding water post-ferment isn't too bad, as you say it was boiled, which removes a lot of the oxygen, so as long as you added it carefully, without splashing everything around, then that should be ok. I agree you should get a new hydrometer though, 15 days should be plenty to ensure it's fermented out, but it only takes one bottle bomb to lose an eye.
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Re: Heady stout

Postby SaazGorilla » Wednesday Aug 06, 2014 3:33 pm

I might just chip in and say I get a similar problem when doing Wheat Bears (Wheat Kit + 1.5kg Dried Wheat Malt Extract + Liquid yeast).

I find the bubbles within the foam seem much larger than typical carbonated foam and the beer tastes ever-so-slightly fizzy but mostly flat (at the bottling stage). Bottling is a messy affair when it happens and my strategy is to 'overfill' the bottle until I see that all the foam has cleared. When you draw the bottle away from the filling wand, you should have the right headspace in the bottle neck ready to cap. I lose around a 6-pack per 23L batch in the process and I've found the beers are always fine when ready to drink.
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Re: Heady stout

Postby Awol71 » Thursday Aug 07, 2014 1:03 am

It's a 30L fermenter so I didn't want half of it blown out the airlock. I added the water after the krausen had dropped back down. It continued to bubble for another 4 or 5 days.
I use a clear hose with the tube and valve on the end. I fill half a glass first to flush the first bit of crap out plus any air. The head was pretty fine, just like the carbonated beer. Was flat when tasted. I've added water the same way before with no problems. Had one the other day. It's a bit flat and still a bit green but flavour is there. I've moved them inside to carbonate properly as its been a bit cold in the shed. I'll have another crack at one tomorrow.
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