08-02-2006, 06:41 AM
Cool! It sounds like you've jumped in with both feet and are havingfun with it. I suggest making notes by keeping a little brewinglog. That way if youshould come up with the "Ultimate Brew", you canrecreate it. Also, if you come up with something excedingly nasty,you'll have something to teach you how to avoid repeating yourmistakes.Enjoy!Willum - Who needs to bottle a little hard pink lemonaid tonight!--- "eezzcap" wrote:>>> I made a stout following the directions with the spray malt that I> listed the other day and began fermenting it today. It had aninitial> starting potential alcohol percentage of 4% (1.030 initial specific> gravity) which worries me that there will not be much alcohol in the> finished product. My Sarsaparilla had the same starting gravity.> Although I tasted the sample that I used to measure the startinggravity> and it tasted just like a Guiness without carbonation. Sohopefully it> will at least taste right if there is a low alcohol content. It ishard> to drink enough stout to get drunk of of anyway. I used chocolatemalt> for both bottles and put 1 cup of 7-11 dark roast coffee into oneof the> bottles. I did have to add some water to top off each bottle and Ileft> a little sediment and some liquid in the bottom of my cooking pot.> AFter a couple of hours the bottles are brewing nicely and there isan> additional deposit in the bottom of each bottle. I saw that the> instructions in the files section for making beer called for 1 and1/2> pounds of malt. May try that next time. I also know that stoutsdo not> have as high an alcohol content as ales. After a couple of hours,it is> fermenting nicely.>> I put my first 20-oz bottle of sarsaparilla and my first 2-literbottle> of cider in the fridge today after 4 days of fermentation. I planon> trying them and testing them with my hydrometer in 2 or 3 days.>> By the way, my hydrometer showed an intial specific gravity of1.065 or> 9% potential alcohol. These is with a large can of concetratedapple> juice, water topped of to 90% full and 1 cup of sugar. Are others> getting a different initial reading with these percentages. Perhaps> there is something wrong with my hydrometer and not my stout?>> Not matter how these things turn out, I am enjoying making them.And> the little fizz that escaped when I changed bottle caps on my cider> today was delicious!>>> --- In E-Z-Caps@yahoogroups.com, "eezzcap" wrote:> >> >> > I got some good advice from a very helpful person at my localbrewshop> > (http://www.arborwine.com ). I wasgoing to> > pick up a can of John Bull Hopped Brown Ale because I thought itwould> > be the easiest without having to cook anything and I would beable to