BeerBorg

Has anyone tried this BD receipt without the raspberries?
I was wondering how it would turn out.
I'm not much on fruit in my beer but chocolate stout sounds good, and I'm not sure I'm ready for a biab process.

Haven't tried it so can't help ya there and don't know how the recipe is set up so not much help there either. That said, there is nothing wrong with a chocolate stout without raspberries.

Probably taste pretty good for sure.

Inkleg wrote:Haven't tried it so can't help ya there and don't know how the recipe is set up so not much help there either. That said, there is nothing wrong with a chocolate stout without raspberries.

Would there be a need to replace the fruit with another fermentable such as corn or cane sugar or does the recipe come out 'stouty' enough?

Replacing the fruit with plain sugar will not make it "more stouty", just more alcoholic. "Stouty" and alcohol content are not really related, IE Guinness pub draft is very low in alcohol.

If I was replacing the fruit with anything, I'd replace it with some DME to give it more body.

Yes I have tired it with the raspberries but I would run it without the raspberries. It kind of tasted funky.

Good feedback, thanks.

I just received my kit from BD, however there was the one can of the white horse missing. They are sending that now. But mine came with a can of Boysenberries not rasberries. Can't wait to start on this one.

So making my Olde Irish Chocolate stout. TWo questions, should I have used both packets of yeast that came with the recipe?
And there was no bottling instructions as to how much sugar should be used when I bottle.

Beernube wrote:So making my Olde Irish Chocolate stout. TWo questions, should I have used both packets of yeast that came with the recipe?
And there was no bottling instructions as to how much sugar should be used when I bottle.

Sugar, try 1/2 tsp per 12oz.

As far as yeast, if they give you 2 packs, I would suggest using both, but if you didn't you will still make perfectly fine beer as long as you are patient.

I used the recommended amount of sugar and cold conditioned for 6 weeks. The first 2 bottles I opened had barely any carbonation and were VERY tart. Could not drink either one. My question is if the next bottle I open has barely any carbonation, can I add additional sugar and condition for several more weeks? I should I just wait and condition for several more weeks?

Very tart as in sour / acidic (vinegary) or tart like green apple tart?

If acidic (vinegary) then something went wrong with your sanitation of the equipment and/or bottles, and this will not get better. (but if you happened to like sour beers and were willing to let them sit for a year to mellow and oxidize a bit they might turn into something interesting, but most folks are not going to want to do that).

If green apple flavor, that is acetaldehyde, and it may improve if the yeast are still active (but if you have that much then you potentially should have let it sit in the fermenter longer before you bottled, as the yeast will take up the acetaldehyde much more effectively with a big yeast cake as the yeast use it as "hibernation fuel"). That ties into...

As far as lack of carbonation, you shouldn't have "barely any" with that amount of sugar unless your caps were not sealed. It won't be "soda pop" like carb, but it should be at least an appropriate amount for a stout.

So then that leads to how warm is it where you have your bottles sitting *before you cold conditioned for 6 weeeks*? You should be carbonating them at room temperatures in the mid-60s or > for 3-4 weeks *before* you cold condition them. Otherwise they will not carbonate, your yeast will fall asleep. You can't just add sugar and toss them in the fridge, they will never carbonate if you do that.

If you did just toss them in the fridge before they actually were carbonated, then take them out, put them somewhere warm and ignore them for 3-4 weeks and try again. That should carbonate them (hopefully, but the yeast should wake up) and if it's acetaldehyde your tasting it should improve that too.