Brew 2: Coopers Irish Stout Kit

So again this post is just from memory, as this was brewed before Christmas.

Again I'll start with the ingredients:
http://www.homebrewwest.ie/coopers-brewmaster-irish-stout-17kg-446-p.asp
Rich and dark with coffee, chocolate and licorice aromas. To think of all that silky, smooth, malted, roasty-ness without licking your lips is impossible.
Ingredients Bundle Recommended By HomeBrewWest (the only exception): Coopers Malt Extract Light 1.5kg, Carbonation Drops (use just 1 Kg of the Malt Extract).

I went with:
http://www.homebrewwest.ie/coopers-malt-extract-dark-15kg-231-p.asp

Brew day:
So I went against HBW better knowledge and went for the dark malt extract, and used the full 1.5kg along with the coopers brewmaster Irish stout kit. Used the kit yeast and fermentation happened quickly and was finished within a few days. Nothing major to report, after a little while, racket to bottling bucket with 100g of glucose dissolved in water. Bottled no problem!

OG: 1.058
FG: cant remember, less than 1.020
ABV: ~5%

This being my first beer, I found it hard to leave condition for long. Drank about half the batch before it was properly conditioned in hindsight.
Loads of flavour in this one. Heavy, nearly creamy beer. Carbonation was a bit of an issue, but this seems to be an issue with stouts. First half of the pint was lovely, but the heaviness of the beer and the lack of carbonation near the end, means you wouldn't drink many of them.
The last of these were drank on Paddys day with my soon to be bro-in-law, which was the best way to finish a fairly successful first attempt at brewing.
Gave alot of this one away, and others didn't seem to be as fond of it as I was, so I won't make the same mistake with my next stout planned.
And however many times you hear, 'its no Guinness', its always annoying. Non-brewing 'muggles' have got to stop comparing every beer to the regular pint down the pub.

Learnings:
Don't reinvent the wheel. When HBW go out of their way to post an alternative recipe for this stout heed their advice. My stout was way too heavy, a lighter malt, and less of it would have done the job just fine.
Stouts need conditioning. Have a brew ready for drinking and lock the stout away until its well conditioned, it'll be worth it.

Improvements:
Follow the instructions. This is a solid kit, don't mess with the formula and you'll get a lovely beer.

 

And Zombie Hopocalypse was born. A beautiful stout label if I do say so myself. 

 

Finished product, now just try to tell me 'its no Guinness'