Almost a year from when this was brewed recent bottles of it have been more consistent. Some early bottles varied wildly in flavour and mouthfeel. This has mellowed somewhat and the roastiness and bitterness has come down massively. What is evident, quite clearly, is the cocoa nibs. They’re prominent adding a metallic sweetness. This bottle is a bit thin compared to others I’ve had so I’d like to look at stirring the beer before bottling. Having said that my last beer was consistent but that was a low ABV golden ale. Something to look into anyway. 8 bottles left now, should last me a while as I want to keep going trying one a month. Hand on heart the best beer I’ve brewed so far, and it stands up to some beers I’ve paid money for. I feel I’ve got a lot of knowledge to put into my next stout so looking forward to brewing a new one.

Vast improvement on 3 weeks ago when last sampled. Full mouthfeel with some creaminess. Roast malts dominate with cold brew coffee. Some raw cocoa comes through and a rum like finish. Well impressed, hopefully it keeps conditioning and improving as I have around 30 bottles left 👌

I’m about 4 bottles in to a 22 litre batch of this, my first ever all-grain stout. It’s still quite young, 3 weeks after bottling there’s still a lot of roastiness and a slight astringency. There’s a lot of inconsistencies between bottles, but mostly the beer is thin and roasty with hints of raw chocolate and molasses. I had a bottle last week that was really full-bodied with a thick mouthfeel which I now think was a one off. Overall I’m happy with this beer. Lots of bottles left so I’m happy to see how this develops. It may mellow out in time but also the recipe was rushed and the grain bill wasn’t entirely what I wanted but you can certainly taste the contributions from the Demerara sugar and the cocoa nibs.