Hi Fellow Brewers,

I'd really appreciate some feedback on some issues I've had with my second batch brewed, an American Stout styled extract with steeping grains recipe. First, here are the recipe details (actuals follow later ...) :

Brew Method: Extract
Style Name: American Stout
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 21 liters (fermenter volume)
Boil Size: 15.14 liters
Boil Gravity: 1.095

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.069
Final Gravity: 1.016
ABV (standard): 6.94%

FERMENTABLES:
3 kg - Liquid Malt Extract - Light (56.5%)
1.36 kg - Dry Malt Extract - Light (25.6%)

STEEPING GRAINS:
400 g - United Kingdom - Roasted Barley (7.5%)
300 g - United Kingdom - Carastan (30/37) (5.6%)
250 g - United Kingdom - Chocolate (4.7%)

HOPS:
1 oz - Summit, Type: Pellet, AA: 17.6, Use: Boil for 60 min
1 oz - Centennial, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.7, Use: Boil for 15 min

YEAST:
1 X Danstar - Nottingham Ale Yeast 11g
Starter: No
Form: Dry
Attenuation (avg): 77%
Flocculation: High
Optimum Temp: 13.89 - 21.11 C
Fermentation Temp: 19 C


My tap water is soft and low alkalinity. I ended up with only 18L in the primary fermenter. Foam due to aeration was
overflowing out the 6 USg plastic carboy, so I stopped adding water. I should have added more water to the fermenter, and allowed the foam to spill out. Lesson learned The measured OG came in at 1.084, much higher than the recipe stats.

Obviously the lower dilution played a part in this, but I also suspect that the steeping grains yielded more than
expected. Prompted by the high OG, I pitched 2 x 11g packets of the dry yeast (one more than the recipe specified), after proper re-hydration as per the instructions.

Primary fermentation was very active, and the bung was blown out under pressure on the 2nd night (the blow-off tube
blocked up), causing wort loss of another two liters (hello Krakatoa, black wort on the ceiling ...). I racked to a 6 USg glass carboy on the 6th day, where it stayed for another 3 weeks. FG came in at 1.022.

On bottling day, I primed the remaining 4 USg with 86grams of dextrose. Unsatisfactory tastings at 3 and 4 weeks
after bottling: strong molasses, sweet, almost cough syrupy aroma and taste, and very low carbonation.

So my two main concerns now are the taste and low carbonation. Perhaps the yeast has stopped attenuating the priming
sugar? The first two bottles I tried had very little yeast sediment on the bottom. As for the horrible medicinal molasses taste & aroma, I'm wondering if this could have been caused by adding that extra packet of yeast?

Any feedback and suggestions would be great. This has made me a bit apprehensive about brewing stouts, but
fortunately my subsequent, most recent brew (an APA) turned out really well. Now I'm in the process of equipping
myself for BIAB style brewing, so am looking forward to trying this new method on my next brew.

Cheers!
BDP

Thanks for the responses. I'll see what a few additional months do for the carbonation levels. If the priming sugar attenuates, then it should not taste as sweet as it does now.

As for the possible infection, I can speculate as to a couple of likely causes, in addition to the obvious, general sanitation of equipment. The secondary fermenter I used is a glass carboy that I inherited from someone who used to make wine. I had a solution of PBW soaking overnight in it, and then sanitized with Star San prior to use. While pondering likely causes of an infection, I noticed that the inside of the carboy appears to have fine pitting in areas. I previously held the view that glass was resistant to corrosion because it is inert, but this may be a mistaken view. I think I'm going to retire this old carboy.

Option two is that some of the wort on the ceiling might have fallen back into the fermenter

Unfortunately, 6 USg is the largest size fermenter I can get my hands on, so for high gravity beers I might split the batch into two separate fermenters. A 5/8" blow-off tube can apparently clog, so I won't be relying on this as a way of dealing with vigorous fermentations.

Thanks again for the input. Lots to learn, but hey it's all part of the fun

Cheers