Me against the Big Boys.....

[WalesAles]

I entered some Earl Grey Stout in the Hammerton Brewery Black Friday Comp.
Only 100 entries.
Scored 29/50 and 26/50
Scoresheets to follow when I can upload them.

WA

[drjim]

Like to see the recipe never mind the scores. Made coffee imperial stout and coffee stout but tea is another level!

[WalesAles]

drjim,
1 can Coopers Stout Kit
1Kg Med Spraymalt
500gr Demerara sugar
40 Rooibos Earl Grey T Bags in at day 7, out at day 13, bottle day 14.
Brew to 20Lts

This is what Monkey said.....
Re: Coopers Stout again........!
Post by Monkeybrew » Sun Jul 17, 2016 6:41 pm

Wow, what a lovely pint!

I served mine a bit too cool (9C), so the head didn't hang around for long, but what a lovely easy drinking stout.

I got some Earl Grey in the aroma, but couldn't pick it out in the taste, but it's turned an ordinary Coopers Stout into a very very moreish sweet stout

I am now very tempted to try and replicate this brew for my keg.

Cheers as usual WA!

MB

WA

It`s an old comment, but they always come out BLM!

[Jocky]

Well done for entering the competition, and I hope you find the feedback scoresheet useful information.

Send me a message if anything is unclear - I handled the score sheets for the competition.

[Jocky]

As requested by WA, here's his scoresheets (with the judge's personal details redacted).

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And here's the description it was judged against:

https://www.bjcp.org/style/2015/16/16A/sweet-stout/

16A. Sweet Stout
Overall Impression
A very dark, sweet, full-bodied, slightly roasty ale that can suggest coffee-and-cream, or sweetened espresso.

Appearance
Very dark brown to black in color. Can be opaque (if not, it should be clear). Creamy tan to brown head.

Aroma
Mild roasted grain aroma, sometimes with coffee and/or chocolate notes. An impression of cream-like sweetness often exists. Fruitiness can be low to moderately high. Diacetyl low to none. Hop aroma low to none, with floral or earthy notes.

Flavor
Dark roasted grain/malt impression with coffee and/or chocolate flavors dominate the palate. Hop bitterness is moderate. Medium to high sweetness provides a counterpoint to the roasted character and hop bitterness, and lasts into the finish. Low to moderate fruity esters. Diacetyl low to none. The balance between dark grains/malts and sweetness can vary, from quite sweet to moderately dry and somewhat roasty.

Mouthfeel
Medium-full to full-bodied and creamy. Low to moderate carbonation. High residual sweetness from unfermented sugars enhances the full-tasting mouthfeel.

Comments
Gravities are low in England, higher in exported and US products. Variations exist, with the level of residual sweetness, the intensity of the roast character, and the balance between the two being the variables most subject to interpretation. Some versions in England are very sweet (low attenuation) and also low in ABV (Tennent’s Sweetheart Stout is 2%), but is an outlier compared to the other examples. These guidelines mostly describe the higher gravity, more balanced, export versions rather than the low alcohol, very sweet versions that many find quite difficult to drink.

[Jocky]

From the judge's point of view it looks like they're getting quite a few unusual aromas and flavours, which typically would have come from esters from the yeast.

However, given their description of 'mint' and 'herbal' I'm wondering if what they've picked up is actually the Earl Grey. Unfortunately the judge's don't see the name of the beer as every beer is judged blind to avoid bias, so they wouldn't have known there was Earl Grey in it.

If you were going to enter this in a competition in future I'd recommend entering it in category 30A Spice Herb or Vegetable beer (https://www.bjcp.org/style/2015/30/). In this category you get to tell the judges what the base beer is and what else you've added to it, and they then judge it a bit more subjectively - not just is this a good sweet stout, but do the additional ingredients combine to a harmonious and pleasurable drink?

[WalesAles]

Thanks for that Jocky!

WA

[MarkA]

That's not too bad WA, and it's always good to get a bit of feedback and advice!