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The Bruery Tart of Darkness® Sour Stout | 5 Gallon Beer Recipe Kit | Extract

The Bruery Tart of Darkness® Sour Stout | 5 Gallon Beer Recipe Kit | Extract

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Description

  • This BrewMaster Series kit was scaled down to a homebrew batch size in collaboration with the brewmasters at The Bruery
  • This sour stout is the perfect blend of roasty, sweet, tart, and smooth
  • Includes a single addition of Saaz hops
  • Estimated ABV: 5.6%
  • Estimated IBUs: 5
  • Makes 5 gallons of finished beer

Provided to us, to provide to you, The Bruery (Orange County, CA) has added the newest recipe to the Brewmaster Series of ingredient kits!

Background: MoreBeer! has a small beer fridge in our Concord, CA location. We try to order different beers every week, to allow our customers to try something new. We recently received "Tart of Darkness" from The Bruery. Nobody here had tried it before, so we opened a bottle to split amongst numerous employees. Within a few sips, the two cases we received had been completely purchased by employees - sorry Concord customers! We instantly got in contact with The Bruery, and being from a homebrewing background, they agreed to work with us on the recipe!

Their Tart of Darkness sour stout is the perfect blend of roasty, sweet, tart, and smooth. From the second it hits your palate, to the satisfying "ahhhh" after taking a sip, this is a beer that will leave you wanting another every time! A great beer for those that already love sours, or for those just getting into sours!

  • Makes 5 gallons
  • Estimated Original Gravity: 1.053 - 1.058
  • SRM (Color Range): 36-38
  • IBUs: 5
  • Estimated Alcohol Percentage: 5.6%



This kit can take between 6-12 months to finish, depending on your personal preference on how sour it should be.

To learn more about The Bruery, checkout their website at:

www.thebruery.com
 

Our recipe kits DO NOT include grain bags, yeast or priming sugar. To find our yeast recommendations, choose your preferred kit option above and then select the drop-down menu under “Yeast Options”.  For more info, click on the recommended yeast(s) below in the “You Might Also Need” section below. All included steeping grains will come milled.

 

Liquid Malt Extract (LME) vs. Dried Malt Extract (DME)
MoreBeer! recipe kits are offered in both Liquid Malt Extract and Dry Malt Extract so that our customers can choose the format that best suits their needs and brewing style. LME is a viscous liquid, similar in consistency to maple syrup. In addition to being the more affordable option, many brewers find LME easier to handle than dry extract. DME is more condensed and comes in a powder format that is similar to baking flour. Although it’s a little more costly, DME is naturally lighter in color and stays fresher for longer. We highly recommend DME when brewing light colored beers.
 
 

 

Community Q&A

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Browse 2 questions Browse 2 questions and 4 answers
Why did you choose this?
MoreFlavor Store
My boyfriends favorite sour
Katherine W on Jul 6, 2018
My boyfriends favorite sour
Katherine W on Jul 6, 2018
One of my favorite sours
Joe R on Apr 12, 2018
One of my favorite sours
Joe R on Apr 12, 2018
do you put Wyeast Roeselare - WY3763 in the primary and then move to secondary after 2 weeks and let sit for 6 months?
Tom H on Jan 13, 2018
BEST ANSWER: Tom. I've done this kit twice and in fact the 2nd is currently in the fermentor. Batch #1 turned out excellent - a very authentic clone of a great and unique sour stout. Yes, add the WY3763 into the primary and rack to secondary at about 2 weeks. I left the first batch sour for 9 months then bottled. The oak chunks went in at about 6 months. With very nice results - but not overly sour.

My current batch was done Jan 2017 and is now hitting 1 year and still souring in a carboy. I tasted it at 9 months and decided to give it more time to sour and develop. Probably taste it in a few more months and see. Trying not to hurry it.

Hope this helps.
Mike
A thin grey mold developed on top of the beer in carboy at 6 months, and got more intense (now full layer) after I added the oak chips. Is this just Brett or is my beer ruined?
Ariel F. on Dec 29, 2019
BEST ANSWER: This sounds like a pellicle which is a very normal and safe occurence in sour beer. You can look up lots of pictures of pellicles on google images. If you fermented your beer with a regular yeast and sanitized your fermenter then you shouldn't have anything to worry about. If it ferments into a beer before the introduction of brett or bacteria then it will be safe to drink.
Reviews

4.4 / 5.0
5 Reviews
5 Stars
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Rated 5 out of 5
Great sour
I have been home brewing for over 30 years. I recently brewed this beer and it is arguably the best beer I have ever made. I left it in the primary for seven months adding the oak chips for the final month. It has only been in the bottle three weeks, but is already an awesome sour.
September 29, 2016
Rated 5 out of 5
Amazing. Just need patience
I brewed this in July of 2014, and I'm posting my review in August of 2015.... when the beer is finally ready. The only changes I made: added 1lb of DME to up the ABV. After brewing, I let it sit in glass secondary, in a closet for about 10 months. I live in So Cal with no A/C so the fermenter occasionally endured 80 to 90 degree temps but for the most part it was in the 70s.

I bottled it and I screwed up the sugar ratio so the bottles never carbed. Luckily I have a kegging system, so, I gently poured all the bottles into a keg, waited several weeks, and I can honestly say this is one of the best sours I've ever had. I've had the original Tart Of Darkness, but I don't know how close this is to the original. All I know is this is VERY tart and thoroughly enjoyable.

I'm buying two more recipe kits. Can't wait for next year.

August 18, 2015
Rated 5 out of 5
hope it turns out
I can't wait until this is ready. easy to brew, waiting is difficult
May 12, 2015
Rated 4 out of 5
Nailed It
Started the brewing process Thanksgiving Weekend. I kept the carboy in my garage wrapped in blankets to insulate from the hot and cold that we get here in Southern California. May 25, added the wood chips and gave everything a stir. July 15, I bottled using Belgian Strong Ale yeast as my bottling yeast. Today, September 15, we opened a bottle and I have to say it compares almost exactly to the real thing which we have had many times. We will definitely invest the time again and make this beer.
September 15, 2013
Rated 3 out of 5
Great beer, poor instructions
I've read a LOT of online reviews for this beer and it gets stark raving reviews. So I ordered it, and brewed it this weekend. Now for the hard part: Waiting. I've decided to have this beer drink-ready by the first weekend for October. It'll make a great Halloween beer!

Brewing it is easy enough, and it brews pretty much like most other beers. Fermentation, however, is a different story. If you read the main description of this kit, it'll warn you that it could take 6-12 months to finish. I hope you enjoy that description, because it's the only special instructions you're going to get from MoreBeer for this kit. The kit itself comes with their standard instructions, and nothing else specific to this beer.

I posted a help request on homebrewtalk.com and one of MoreBeer's representatives (Jipper) said the following:

"I would leave it in primary for the entire time, and bottle it when the taste is to your liking. It will get more sour the longer you let it go, but 9 months should be a good amount of time. May might be a little early for the oak, but again, how much oak you'd like is personal preference. I'd let it bottle condition for a month at least, but after a couple weeks you could try opening one to see where it stands. Let me know if you have any other questions!"

Though I still had un-answered questions, I emailed MoreBeer support, and I got a very different answer from them:

"Thanks for the inquiry. I would bottle at least 6 weeks ahead of time to ensure carbonation. You would have to add back yeast for bottling. I would rack to a secondary on any beer that is planned to be stored for longer than a month in a carboy. You would rack after primary fermentation to get the beer of the trub if storing longer than a month. Other than that it should be pretty straight forward. Unfortunately you can't rush a beer like this and have to go off taste to determine when it's ready. Let me know if you have any additional questions."

I've tried asking the experts about re-pitching yeast prior to bottling, and when I should bottle (given my deadline of 10/5), etc., and I get a hundred different answers from a hundred different people.

Fortunately, I have a few solid months before I actually have to worry about this, so it's not really a problem right now, but I'm still very frustrated. I'm considering contacting The Bruery directly and hope they help me out.

I'm giving this kit a 3 star rating for now because I HAVE to give a rating and I'm not waiting 9 months to warn other brewers about these pitfalls. I decided on three stars for the following reasons:

1. The lack of special fermentation instructions from MoreBeer, coupled with the fact that two of their representatives have two different answers leads me to believe that nobody at MoreBeer is on the same page, regarding how to handle this beer. To me, this warrants a lower rating.

2. The other reviews for the actual beer itself online are stellar, so that warrants a higher rating

3. It's a pretty neutral rating that accurately reflects how I feel about it right now.

All in all, I think that, for now, this is a fair rating for this kit, given the circumstance.

However, when October comes and I actually get to drink this beer, I WILL come back and amend this review and alter the rating for it. Assuming, of course, I'm able to figure out how the hell to get it right by October.

So unless you're a very experienced brewer that can answer these questions, I would avoid this kit, at least until MoreBeer gets their act together and agrees on some special fermentation instructions for it.

See you all in October!
January 8, 2013
Response from MoreFlavor
Hi Brian, thank you for your review! The difference in our response regarding the bottle conditioning time is simply based off of past experiences. Depending on the temperature of where the bottles are carbonating, how much yeast and sugar is in each bottle, etc. will create varying results. At the right temperature, the bottles should all be carbonated in 4 weeks, but if it's somewhat cold where these bottles are, it could take longer. Technically, 4 weeks and 6 weeks are both "correct" answers. In regards to the primary vs. moving it to secondary fermenters, those are a personal preference as well. Leaving in the primary may help create a slightly "funkier" beer, while racking to secondary might help to keep the flavor profile "cleaner". The Bruery goes straight into barrels with this beer, and they leave it there the entire time, but fermenting in a carboy is different, so different homebrewers will end up brewing this kit differently - either way we're hoping you end up with an excellent batch of sour beer!

We're sorry for the confusion, but appreciate you providing this feedback! Please let us know how it turns out in the end, and what methods you ended up going with. Also - when it comes time to pitch yeast for priming your bottles, we'd recommend using a wine yeast, as they'll be able to handle the pH of your wort better than a beer yeast would. DYW86 and DYW49A would be my personal recommendations, but again, this is one of those personal preference things. You won't recognize too much of a flavor difference from the priming yeast you select though, so either should work fine!

Cheers!
December 14, 2017
Matt Monroe
Response from MoreFlavor
OK Here's an update. I emailed both Wyeast AND The Bruery, and here's what they both had to say:

From a Brewer/Microbiologist working at Wyeast:

Hi Brian,

I recommend adding some bottling yeast. 4021 is an excellent strain for this application. It has a high tolerance to low pH and high alcohol.

From the director of brewing operations at The Bruery:

Brian,

When to Bottle? Probably 1 to 2 months before you want to drink it.

Should I re-pitch yeast? Yes, add fresh yeast right before you bottle. I would use a Belgian Golden Strong yeast strain. We use 2.5 x 10^6 pitch rate for most of our sours.

Should I rack to secondary? By secondary do you mean racking it to another carboy after primary fermentation? If so, yes.

------------

I hope this info helps other brewers that are looking for answers on this.
December 14, 2017
Brian B
Response from MoreFlavor
Hi Brian, thank you for your review! The difference in our response regarding the bottle conditioning time is simply based off of past experiences. Depending on the temperature of where the bottles are carbonating, how much yeast and sugar is in each bottle, etc. will create varying results. At the right temperature, the bottles should all be carbonated in 4 weeks, but if it's somewhat cold where these bottles are, it could take longer. Technically, 4 weeks and 6 weeks are both "correct" answers. In regards to the primary vs. moving it to secondary fermenters, those are a personal preference as well. Leaving in the primary may help create a slightly "funkier" beer, while racking to secondary might help to keep the flavor profile "cleaner". The Bruery goes straight into barrels with this beer, and they leave it there the entire time, but fermenting in a carboy is different, so different homebrewers will end up brewing this kit differently - either way we're hoping you end up with an excellent batch of sour beer!

We're sorry for the confusion, but appreciate you providing this feedback! Please let us know how it turns out in the end, and what methods you ended up going with. Also - when it comes time to pitch yeast for priming your bottles, we'd recommend using a wine yeast, as they'll be able to handle the pH of your wort better than a beer yeast would. DYW86 and DYW49A would be my personal recommendations, but again, this is one of those personal preference things. You won't recognize too much of a flavor difference from the priming yeast you select though, so either should work fine!

Cheers!
December 22, 2017
Matt Monroe
Response from MoreFlavor
OK Here's an update. I emailed both Wyeast AND The Bruery, and here's what they both had to say:

From a Brewer/Microbiologist working at Wyeast:

Hi Brian,

I recommend adding some bottling yeast. 4021 is an excellent strain for this application. It has a high tolerance to low pH and high alcohol.

From the director of brewing operations at The Bruery:

Brian,

When to Bottle? Probably 1 to 2 months before you want to drink it.

Should I re-pitch yeast? Yes, add fresh yeast right before you bottle. I would use a Belgian Golden Strong yeast strain. We use 2.5 x 10^6 pitch rate for most of our sours.

Should I rack to secondary? By secondary do you mean racking it to another carboy after primary fermentation? If so, yes.

------------

I hope this info helps other brewers that are looking for answers on this.
December 22, 2017
Brian B