Youngs American Oaked Rum Ale

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Fore

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Just put this on. Saw no existing review, so opened this as a place holder. I'll return in some weeks with my opinion.

As per the other Youngs kits, this came with a very large yeast sachet. But as with all kit yeasts, it didn't really show much life when I rehydrated it. It also comes with a large packet of American Oak Chips. I was expecting these to be chips then, but it was more like powder. I think it's what's left at the bottom of the barrel when they've finished selling the chips to everyone else :nono:. Still, I'm being a bit picky, as it will probably still achieve the intended flavour addition. You add the powdered chips at the start of fermentation. It also comes with a large bag of brewing sugar, to reach the 6.5% target ABV. It differs in this respect from the Bulldog kits, which already come with the sugar in the wort. I'm not sure yet which I prefer; I have a feeling that the Youngs approach is better value for money.

I could smell the rum aroma in the wort. This will certainly produce a different tasting beer than the norm. Looking forward to it.
 
3 weeks in; just transferred to secondary. Reached 1.008. Sample tastes OK, if a bit out of the ordinary. Strong alcohol & rum hints; can't say I got any oak flavours.

It seemed quite viscous; unusual at 1.008. Interested to see how this turns out.
 
The weren't ripped off.

The chips are deliberately small to increase the surface area, increase the amount of exposure that the oak has to the brew and thereby increase the "taste".

For comparison, imagine one lump of oak and how long it would take for the brew to soak into it to get to the flavour!

The flavour of oak is quite subtle and should come with maturity of the brew (think 16 year malt whisky!) so I hope you transferred some of the chips into the secondary FV.
 
It's a good point, but no, I didn't transfer any. My secondary is all about clearing, so nothing taken but beer. It did have 3 weeks though, longer than most would leave before bottling (and a lot longer than the instructions suggest, but we know what to do with those).
 
Tried a cheeky bottle. 12 days warm. Let's just say, too early. Have trouble holding back. Carbonation is almost there and body is good. First taste was a bit chemically. My guess is that they add some sort of rum flavour syrup, and it's that that comes through a bit green. I'm sure that will pass with age. I once brewed a Woodfords Admiral that came with a fruity sachet; that also tasted chemically early on, but later transformed into one of my best ever kit brews.

This is very strong on the rum and light on the oak. Have doubts that this will be a favourite, but after some ageing it'll be a nice tipple. Just tried a sample of Bulldog Bad Cat and that knocks the socks of this. But I'm being unfair; I'll return when it's aged a bit....
 
So I'm drinking this proper now. Noticed the oak flavours when I switched from a lager to this, so I take back a bit of what I said earlier, there is definitely an oakyness here. The chemical touch has gone completely and the rum has mellowed. So it's now better balanced. It knocks me off my feet every time I drink it; it really packs a punch.

I can always pretty much tell if I like a beer when I try the green sample, and I don't change my mind on that. It's not a preferred style for me.

Don't get me wrong, it's OK, but I think what particularly turns me off this is something I suffer with a lot of kits, namely that it's overly flavoursome, call it "salty". I never quite figured out if this was my perception of high IBU, or if they have tried to bring out the hops by adding calcium chloride. Whatever the case, the first mouthfuls are OK, then it just grates at your tongue. Some will no doubt like it, but if you prefer sweeter lighter beers, it's not for you.
 
I barreled this last December. Its now incredibly smooth and fantastic once you get used to the taste. Everyone that has tried a sample loves it. The stronger the brew the longer the conditioning. Its well worth the wait.

Ive just barreled their Mocha Porta which smells amazing and also barreled Courage Directors which tastes fantastic already after only 4 days in the barrel on the heater pad to secondary ferment. I think after two months conditioning it will as good as the original.
 
When I oak aged a barley wine recently I bought some oak chips (for brewing) from eBay.

After sterilising with boiling water I placed one or two chips in each bottle.

They stay in the bottle with the sediment when pouring - and continue to impart their oak flavour for a long time as the beer aged. The ones I refrained from drinking for 9 months tasted superb.worth a try on top of their sachet for the next brew
 
Mine has been conditioning now for about four weeks. It tastes as good as the innis and gunn equivalent. I'm. very impressed.

IMG-20160610-WA0000.jpg
 
Made one of these last night, smells amazing in the fermenter :thumb:

Will be going into bottles as I get the feeling it's going to be quite strong so not a session beer!
 
Sampled at the start of the week, 1.010 and tasted great, bottled last night, smells amazing. Now back in the brew fridge to prime. Really can't wait ~4 weeks before sampling this again though luckily there was 1/3 bottle left in the bottling which I'll use to check carbonation in a PET bottle so maybe I can try that a little sooner!
 
Sampled at the start of the week, 1.010 and tasted great, bottled last night, smells amazing. Now back in the brew fridge to prime. Really can't wait ~4 weeks before sampling this again though luckily there was 1/3 bottle left in the bottling which I'll use to check carbonation in a PET bottle so maybe I can try that a little sooner!

Had the carbonation bottle last night, the bottle was solid but it wasn't hugely carbed, might just be due to the spare headroom on this bottle. However, my word it's good, even the wife said she liked it and she's not a huge beer fan. Think I'll have to try a full bottle next. Going to need to resistance not to start drinking it all now, another month and I think it will be cracking. Definitely keep half a dozen back for Christmas.
 
Hey guys im just bottling this stuff now.

I threw the brewing sugar it came with in at the start.. why not.

Anyway, I've got coopers carbonation drops...

They state 1 per 375 and 2 per 750ml

What about my 500ml pet bottles??? How many do i use? They are too chunky to cut up. Help.

Ta

Mark
 
Haha.

In the end I used 2 carbonation drops

I did make a larger volumes. Probably 26 or 27 litres and instructions say gravity should be below 0.8 before bottling but mine was 1.1 ish...

It had been in the vessel 2 months ( is that crazy?) Looked and smelled amazing though...

It had been bubbling the whole 2 month too. Slowed recently..
 
My american oak/rum finish beer is still fermenting, it's down to 1010, it's been going for 10 days should I leave it a few days
 
My american oak/rum finish beer is still fermenting, it's down to 1010, it's been going for 10 days should I leave it a few days

If it's still bubbling then yes. I leave everything for at least 14 days before I even think about checking the gravity.
 
Thanks mate, have you brewed this kit also i was wondering if the priming sugar in the kit is enough or should I increase the amount if priming sugar
 
Thanks mate, have you brewed this kit also i was wondering if the priming sugar in the kit is enough or should I increase the amount if priming sugar

Yeah brewed it a couple of times, it's rather good! Think I've bottled it each time I've made it and the amount of priming sugar supplied was just right.
 
Yeah brewed it a couple of times, it's rather good! Think I've bottled it each time I've made it and the amount of priming sugar supplied was just right.
Thanks did you batch prime and how long did you condition it, I have a brew fridge so maintaining the temperature isn't a problem thanks for the info
 
Thanks did you batch prime and how long did you condition it, I have a brew fridge so maintaining the temperature isn't a problem thanks for the info
Yeah, I'd always batch prime if bottling a 40 pint kit, saves a lot of hassle. After bottling 2 weeks in the warm to carbonate and then move somewhere cooler. You can drink it a couple of weeks after that but it probably best to leave it 4-6 weeks to mature.
 
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