Chocolate Stout

[Brian]

Ah......homebrewing.
I always used to cram as much corn sugar in mine to crank up the alcohol content much to the dismay of unwary drinkers. 
Make a Rauch beer.  I did once and used liquid smoke.  It was GOOD.

Spending too much time on mead lately but will have to make beer for the Spring and Summer.

Brian

[stuartjc]

Ah......homebrewing.
I always used to cram as much corn sugar in mine to crank up the alcohol content much to the dismay of unwary drinkers. 

I would be more "what is this c**p?!!? I asked for BEER, not BUD!"

:-P

[Brian]

No no no no.................................these were good home brewed IPA's and stouts to start.  Then I added a pantload of corn sugar.  I remember my sister in law sitting in a chair outside, drinking a Rauch beer I always served in mason jars.  She got up to use the bathroom and almost fell over.

Ah, good times.

I never, ever had made anything close to "Bud".

Brian

[cozcoester]

thank you chilipepper for the response to my earlier question.

[DeejayDebi]

I was just going to say kegging makes brewing so much more enjoyable! I hate washing and filling bottles! It even makes traveling easier - grab a few kegs throw them in a barrel and go!

I have 11- 5 gallon kegs and 10 -3 gallon kegs I don't ever plan to bottle again! Well except two from every batch so I can see it but I used the little 8 oz bottles for that.

[Jaq]

We made a coffee-chocolate stout in which we used Ghirradeli cocoa powder.  I think the Irish moss we added helped make it less cloudy.  I'm not sure if you can use that with mead...

Jaq

[ScarySouthernMan]

Guys and gals,


Hi there,

  I'm brand new here.  I just caught glimpse of this thread and thought I'd chime in.  While I am insanely new to cheese making, I would like to think that I am an accomplished brewer.  My close friend and I are 40 batches deep in a competition project that we are hopeful will yield some winning results for us this year.  As far as the chocolate stout goes.  My advice to a beginner is to go ahead and bottle the entire batch.  Kegging is wonderful, but in my opinion it is a certainty that you will indeed want to one day bottle your beer.  We have a twin keg setup and we keep an American Stout on tap at all times.  I can say that for your chocolate stout (depending on starting gravity and target ABV) that bottle aging it is a superb way to enjoy the fruits of your labor.  My advice (as a newbie to this forum I realize) is to go ahead and enjoy a couple of your young beers the moment you believe them to be ready.  After you have experienced the thrill of your your efforts.  Don't touch another one for two months.  Then you will truly come to understand the value in aging a fine ale.  Stouats are not like Corona (as I'm sure you're well aware).  they don't fight degradation from the word go.  Provided you store them properly out of direct light and the temperature doesn't exceed about 74 degrees or so, you should be enjoying a fine aged stout in a few months.   It's like a black and white difference between the "green" beer and the true finished product.

Best wishes.  Feel free to ask me about brewing whenever you'd like...

- Jacob

[DeejayDebi]

Kegging is definately the way to go. I got tired of chasing down bottles and washing them. I have 12 - 5 gallon kegs and 10 - 3 gallon kegs much easier. For parties I just grab a few kegs and carry a few of the hand sized CO2 cartridges and go. So much easier!

I've also use the kegs for picking up raw milk without having to return bottles or pay for deposits.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Where do you get empty kegs?

[DeejayDebi]

They are getting harder to find with metal prices so high but the soda companies were dumping them like crazy for awhile. They use the bag in box system now like the wine that comes in a box. Less cost and less space. Many home brew suppliers still have them and eBay is another source. There is one company that still make them somewhere.

There are also two basic types and that is personal preferance. Coke made a pinlock fittings and everyone else used a ball lock fittings. These guys are pretty nice and they sell used kegs.

Go here

[linuxboy]

Craigslist or http://www.chicompany.net/. Chi used to have a 5 pack special they would sell for a little over $100 shipped for corny kegs. Not sure if they still do that.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Actually Chi has several interesting items. They do state on their writeup that kegs are now going for $50 apiece in some places. So how do you fill these things? Does the entire top screw off?

1- An electric brew heater with a stainless element. This could probably be used for heating a small vat.
Brew Heater

2- A Freezer Conversion Thermostat. Could be used to control cave temp in a frig or freezer. This is BY FAR the cheapest solution that I have seen.
Thermostat

3- A heavy duty heating pad. I use a seed starting pad for ripening cream cheeses, yogurt, etc. This one is reasonably priced, a compact size and looks like it could hold quite a bit of weight. You can use the same thermostat above for precise temps.
Heating Pad

[linuxboy]

http://www.chicompany.net/ball-lock-kegs-4-pack-36.html

That's the deal I was talking about. It's a good deal for cleaned kegs, and you don't have to hunt craigslist for them. I like Chi for their service and good prices for industrial food service type supplies. I think last time I compared prices, they were the cheapest on a lot of items.

The top comes off corny kegs, and you can fill them up.