I took up home brewing back in the 80's, when the only beer you could buy in the supermarket was American Ales and lites. I like my beer meaty and flavorful. Double Stout sounds perfect. When the micro brew revolution hit in the 90's and I could spend $7-$8 for an excellent 6-pack, I gave up brewing my own.
No recipes to share, but the best tip anyone ever gave me was using 1-litre, screw-cap, plastic bottles instead of bottling in glass. Easy to find, easy to clean, much faster to bottle liters instead of 12-ounce bottles and 1-litre was the perfect quantity. I could finish one over a few days and not have it go flat, or it was plenty enough to share with a friend or two.
Oh... and... You'll get 80% of the finish quality after about 1-2 weeks.
I liked to bottle a few smaller bottles for sampling during the aging process. Strictly for scientific purposes.
Have fun!
