10-27-2012, 03:34 PM
Tried this recipe (modified) with mixed success. Was my first attempt at EZ Caps brewing so knew I would likely need to tweak as I experiment and learn.
Sort of blended the recipe with general EZ Caps beer brewing instructions as follows:
- 3.5 liters water
- 1/4 can (approx. 1 cup) Muntons LME (Irish Stout) - already hopped from what I understand
- 1/4 cup DME (dark)
- 1/4 package (approx. 3/8 Tsp) of yeast that came with Muntons LME
Followed the EZ Caps brewing instructions and filled 2 two-liter bottles about 85% full and capped.
Within hours bottles started to form foam on top of black liquid. By the next day very tiny bubbles were rising to the top where a large foam head had formed in the bottles. Rubber (latex?) material in cap was buldging outward and slit became evident from the buldge. Bottles soon were tight-as-a-full-tick! They stayed that way for about 3 days then the foam began to subside; a sludge sediment started to build in the bottom of the bottles. I did not disturb (shake) the contents and let sit for two weeks. Location in house was the utility room which temp ranged in the mid-to-upper 70's.
At the end of two weeks I placed one bottle in the fridge and waited 1 day before opening. Wow! Talk about Stout! Had a great stout flavor but the bitter edge (hops?) was a bit more than I would have liked - maybe I'll back off on the LME (hopped) and add a little more DME? Also noticed that the bottle stayed fairly carbonated during the week - as long as it lasted. Drank about 3/4 of 1 liter for my first sample and felt little to no buzz which meant very low alcohol %. Guess I need to get a hydrometer if I want to measure actual alcohol content rather than just on a buzz scale - ha!
Took the second bottle at the end of the third week and made the mistake of opening prior to fridge. Was going to swap the cap. Unscrewed slowly and let the gas escape but as I lifted the cap off the bottle foam suddenly erupted and started gushing from the bottle!!! Screwed the cap back on quickly and placed what was left in the fridge for overnight. Next day late I opened and all was well except for some loss of liquid. This bottle had less of the bitter edge and slightly better flavor - maybe letting ferment longer than 2-weeks was important. Second bottle lasted about a week but since I had cracked open prior to fridge I noticed it turned very flat at the end of the bottle. I actually pored about a cup remaining down the drain (to help the septic tank) - just couldn't take it that flat. Again - no real buzz effect so not sure what went wrong regarding fermenting.
Any insight on how to up the alcohol % would be appreciated. Should I have used more yeast? More DME? Let sit longer? 3-4 weeks or more? Temp a little higher? 80's? Overall I was pleased with 1st attempt at such a simple approach but will definitely need to tweak to get a better overall result.
Thanks for any feedback and Cheers!
Sort of blended the recipe with general EZ Caps beer brewing instructions as follows:
- 3.5 liters water
- 1/4 can (approx. 1 cup) Muntons LME (Irish Stout) - already hopped from what I understand
- 1/4 cup DME (dark)
- 1/4 package (approx. 3/8 Tsp) of yeast that came with Muntons LME
Followed the EZ Caps brewing instructions and filled 2 two-liter bottles about 85% full and capped.
Within hours bottles started to form foam on top of black liquid. By the next day very tiny bubbles were rising to the top where a large foam head had formed in the bottles. Rubber (latex?) material in cap was buldging outward and slit became evident from the buldge. Bottles soon were tight-as-a-full-tick! They stayed that way for about 3 days then the foam began to subside; a sludge sediment started to build in the bottom of the bottles. I did not disturb (shake) the contents and let sit for two weeks. Location in house was the utility room which temp ranged in the mid-to-upper 70's.
At the end of two weeks I placed one bottle in the fridge and waited 1 day before opening. Wow! Talk about Stout! Had a great stout flavor but the bitter edge (hops?) was a bit more than I would have liked - maybe I'll back off on the LME (hopped) and add a little more DME? Also noticed that the bottle stayed fairly carbonated during the week - as long as it lasted. Drank about 3/4 of 1 liter for my first sample and felt little to no buzz which meant very low alcohol %. Guess I need to get a hydrometer if I want to measure actual alcohol content rather than just on a buzz scale - ha!
Took the second bottle at the end of the third week and made the mistake of opening prior to fridge. Was going to swap the cap. Unscrewed slowly and let the gas escape but as I lifted the cap off the bottle foam suddenly erupted and started gushing from the bottle!!! Screwed the cap back on quickly and placed what was left in the fridge for overnight. Next day late I opened and all was well except for some loss of liquid. This bottle had less of the bitter edge and slightly better flavor - maybe letting ferment longer than 2-weeks was important. Second bottle lasted about a week but since I had cracked open prior to fridge I noticed it turned very flat at the end of the bottle. I actually pored about a cup remaining down the drain (to help the septic tank) - just couldn't take it that flat. Again - no real buzz effect so not sure what went wrong regarding fermenting.
Any insight on how to up the alcohol % would be appreciated. Should I have used more yeast? More DME? Let sit longer? 3-4 weeks or more? Temp a little higher? 80's? Overall I was pleased with 1st attempt at such a simple approach but will definitely need to tweak to get a better overall result.
Thanks for any feedback and Cheers!