Some 9 months after originally brewing this and numerous samples along the way I’m now utterly convinced I nailed this and my reservations around bottling it and suffering from bottle-bombs were unfounded. Unfortunately after sitting for so long it was now taken on a slight sourness which as it’s been in my garden I’m inclined to think may be some wild yeast at work. Decoction mashed (remove some wort, boil it intensely then add back in to the mash) with a rich and intensely malty selection of German malts. Saaz hops added in to the boil to balance things out and then a Bavarian lager yeast added. Long slow fermentation, had to be roused a few times to get her going and restarted a few times. Sampling after a few months provided a rich, malty and sweet beer with a huge chewy mouthfeel, a real tasty dessert beer for dipping. Unfortunately I had convinced myself that fermentation hadn’t finished and the residual sugars would be troublesome if I tried to bottle and condition the beer. I’m now of the understanding that a beer that started at 1.117 and has finished at 1.023 with 12,3% ABV, is well and truly finished. So this beer hasn’t been carbonated (some natural carbonation is present) and has taken a slight sourness now but it’s drinkable and is in no way a bad beer. My wife and Ukrainian friend hated it but didn’t appreciate what it was. I’m definitely brewing this again with more confidence and maybe toned down a little. The rich caramel and fresh bread flavours mingle with raisins and fruit cake so well. The long period of lagering has smoothed it out too.

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.

I’d only tried Summer Lightening in bottle before and I’m convinced it’s got more hop character. Having tried it from cask recently I couldn’t wait to try my Homebrew clone again and I’m giving myself an extra 0.1 on the review because it’s actually a lot closer to the cask version than I realised. The recipe I used clearly was a clone of the cask version. Happy days! 😃

Nightcap beer, a sessionable Homebrew clone of Summer Lightning by Hopback Brewery. It’s safe to say this is on the sweet side of the Maris otter malt profile. My guess is, it’s due to the low flavour and aromas coming from the hops. Bitterness is good, it lingers well and is in balance, there’s just not enough punch form the EKGs… easy brewing this, happy to do it again but I think I’d load up the flameout hops more and may even dry hop, as I’m sure Hopback probably do. Not a bad beer, just not quite on the mark.

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.