# Coopers kits ideas



## jkhlt1210 (8/2/14)

G'day guys I'm doing kits just looking for some ideas. I've got a coopers original draught and coopers original lager. Going to put both down at same time. Any simple recipes ideas for both? How much DME or BE etc and hop ideas for both. All advice welcome


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## damoninja (8/2/14)

jkhlt1210 said:


> G'day guys I'm doing kits just looking for some ideas. I've got a coopers original draught and coopers original lager. Going to put both down at same time. Any simple recipes ideas for both? How much DME or BE etc and hop ideas for both. All advice welcome


With those two kits you could almost do whatever you wanted, provided you have access to other ingredients... 

What styles are you looking for?


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## Dan Dan (8/2/14)

Have a look on the coopers website. They have a bunch of recipes on there, easy enough for the beginner. If you sign up for the emails, they will send you the recipe of the month. This months looks pretty good in fact.


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## jkhlt1210 (8/2/14)

damoninja said:


> With those two kits you could almost do whatever you wanted, provided you have access to other ingredients...
> 
> What styles are you looking for?


 Anything really I want to experiment with hops but not sure which ones


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## damoninja (8/2/14)

If you haven't already download the kit / extract spreadsheet. 

If you're after something easy basic that you can't go wrong with and it's your first time using hops/grains, here's a nice recipe that won't be very intrusive


*Style:* American pale ale
Final volume: 18 litres
Original gravity: 1.051
Final gravity: 1.013
Est alcohol: 5.4% (bottled) 

*Extracts:*
1 x Coopers Lager
1kg light dry malt extract

*Grains:*
150g dark Crystal
If you can't get a dark one, any crystal malt is fine, dark will just add a little colour. 

*Hops: *
15g Amarillo @ 20mins
10g Amarillo @ 5mins

*Yeast: *
US-05 or Nottingham yeast


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## jkhlt1210 (8/2/14)

Awesome! That looks great thanks heaps! Any ideas on the Draught can????


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## yum beer (8/2/14)

Add to the draught

1kg LDM
300 gm dextrose
15 gm cluster @ 5 minutes


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## wereprawn (8/2/14)

If you have access to the ingredients you could try this one. I made it a few months ago and it turned out very nice.

1 can coopers draught.

1 can liquid wheat malt extract.

100 g crystal 60

100 g victory.

20 g EKG @ 15 MIN

1 PKT BRY-97

ferm @ 20 deg.

Not made to any particular style. Just something that I threw together with the ingredients I had at the time. But definitely one I will brew again.


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## damoninja (8/2/14)

I did this recipe with an IPA kit a while ago so I'm kinda guessing what went in to it based on the flavour it came out with, using the draft will provide the bitterness so I've adjusted... 

For some reason, the recipe had amarillo in it which i thought was a bit out of place in an english style, but worked beautifully so who really cares.



*Style: *Dark english red ale
Final volume: 20L
OG: 1.055
FG: 1.014 (safale S04 might flop out at 1.020)
Est alcohol: 5 - 5.8%


*Extracts:*
1 x Coopers draught
1.7kg Black Rock liquid amber malt extract (if you can't get black rock, another amber will do)

*Grains:*
150g Chocolate malt 
200g Medium-Dark crystal (crystal 60 or higher will do OK)

*Hops:*
25g amarillo @ 30mins
15g Fuggles @ 10mins

*Yeast:*
1 pack safale S04


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## jkhlt1210 (9/2/14)

Thank you guys for your ideas. Very helpful and I will give them a go! Can't wait to try them


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## jkhlt1210 (9/2/14)

Ok people all I could get hop wise was 2 packs of Cascade, 1 pack Ckuster and 1 pack Fuggles. All are 12grams each so any more suggestions for these hops with my tin of Coopers Lager and tin of Coopers Draught? Which ones with which brew?


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## Rod (9/2/14)

damoninja said:


> If you haven't already download the kit / extract spreadsheet.
> 
> If you're after something easy basic that you can't go wrong with and it's your first time using hops/grains, here's a nice recipe that won't be very intrusive
> 
> ...


similar recipe 

i can of coopers english bitter
1kg light dry malt
150 light crystal
no more hops
cooper yeast


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## jkhlt1210 (9/2/14)

Which ones for buttering and which for finishing?


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## jkhlt1210 (9/2/14)

My reply didn't go through. I was able to get 2 packs of cascade and 1 each of Fuggles and cluster. So which ones for both brews for finishing and buttering ?


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## jkhlt1210 (9/2/14)

All packs are 12grams


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## Alex.Tas (10/2/14)

try this:
coopers draught
1.5kg of liquid malt extract, or say 1200g of dry malt extract
boil 12g of cluster for 25 min
boil 12g of cascade for 15 min

ferment with US05 yeast if you can get it, or use the kit yeast if you cant.
after its been fermenting for 5 days or so, add your second pack of cascade straight into the fermenter. if its in one of those teabag things, tear it open and add the pellets inside straight into the fermenter.

brew till its done. bottle/keg

Love life now that you have good beer on hand.


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## damoninja (10/2/14)

jkhlt1210 said:


> Which ones for buttering and which for finishing?


As a general rule I don't put butter in my beer 


In your case, the kits should provide enough bitterness. I wouldn't bother doing a 60 minute boil for bittering. 


All your hops are great for late additions (eg 20, 10, 5, 0 minutes...), if you wanted to add bitterness you would add some bittering hops at 60 minutes. 

Most hops are "suitable" for bittering... The higher the alpha acid and the longer the boil, the more bitterness obtained!
The spreadsheet will help you work this out, even the 20 and 10 minute additions will add a little bit of bitterness but not nearly as much.


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## jaypes (10/2/14)

damoninja said:


> If you haven't already download the kit / extract spreadsheet.
> 
> If you're after something easy basic that you can't go wrong with and it's your first time using hops/grains, here's a nice recipe that won't be very intrusive
> 
> ...


mmmmmm

Amarillo


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## damoninja (10/2/14)

jaypes said:


> mmmmmm
> 
> Amarillo


People have said to me using amarillo is boring and uncreative, but screw them - I love these hops


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## damoninja (10/2/14)

I actually got given some old coopers kits, I have on hand: 

1 Lager
1 Real ale
2 Draught
2 Stout

I'm generally brewing all grain, but I'm thinking of doing three toucans with these. 

I think I'll do the first recipe I mentioned with the lager and real ale kits.


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## jkhlt1210 (10/2/14)

Alex.Tas said:


> try this:
> coopers draught
> 1.5kg of liquid malt extract, or say 1200g of dry malt extract
> boil 12g of cluster for 25 min
> ...


Awesome! Thankyou heaps for that! I will do that one definitely tonight. How much water do I boil??


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## damoninja (10/2/14)

jkhlt1210 said:


> Awesome! Thankyou heaps for that! I will do that one definitely tonight. How much water do I boil??


I'd boil 4-6 litres, add your malt extract before adding hops... Do not boil the kit.


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## jkhlt1210 (10/2/14)

damoninja said:


> I'd boil 4-6 litres, add your malt extract before adding hops... Do not boil the kit.


Once again thanks to all for being very helpful! Everyone is great on this forum helping out with advice. I just want to brew great beer and I'm looking forward to getting more into it


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## Alex.Tas (10/2/14)

I probabaly should have said too, add 100g of dry malt extract (DME) to each litre of water you boil. if you are using liquid malt, maybe 120g or so. 
The reason you do this is that you get more out of your hops if the water you are boiling them in has a higher gravity (density) due to the dissolved sugars in the malt extract.
The reason you dont boil the kit can is that it already is loaded with some hops, and if you boil it, you will lose most of the taste of those hops and swap it for bitterness, which in this recipe is what you dont want. 
If i've confused you, dont worry. whatever you do, you wont bugger it up.

Enjoy buddy


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## jkhlt1210 (10/2/14)

Alex.Tas said:


> I probabaly should have said too, add 100g of dry malt extract (DME) to each litre of water you boil. if you are using liquid malt, maybe 120g or so.
> The reason you do this is that you get more out of your hops if the water you are boiling them in has a higher gravity (density) due to the dissolved sugars in the malt extract.
> The reason you dont boil the kit can is that it already is loaded with some hops, and if you boil it, you will lose most of the taste of those hops and swap it for bitterness, which in this recipe is what you dont want.
> If i've confused you, dont worry. whatever you do, you wont bugger it up.
> ...


 G'day Alex thanks heaps for your advice! I am going to do that exact recipe you suggested. Thanks for the tips and I will make sure I boil some DME with the hops


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## Alex.Tas (11/2/14)

No worries fella.
The recipe was similar to the first beer i made which gave me results i was really happy with.

Last bit of info i forgot, make it up to 22L. After some more thought, if you use dry malt extract, only use 1 kilo. if you use liquid, use say 1200g. You may be able to freeze the unused liquid malt extract for your next brew. I haven;t done this before, but im sure someone on this forum will know if you can or not, or its a waste of time. The recipe should give you a beer around 4.1% alc by volume from memory. If you want to up this, then grab some dextrose from your brew shop, some supermarkets sell it in the homebrew section. Big W and kmart sell it too i think, packaged up by coopers.

Reason for the reduction in malt is that i based the recipe i gave you off one of my past ones, but i had more bitterness in my brew (because i had a larger quantity of hops on hand). Because i had more bitterness (measured in IBUs) i could use more malt which gives some sweetness to your beer. If you add too much malt without enough hops you can have an unbalanced beer.
Dextrose on the other hand usually ferments out almost completely. leaving you with not much in the way of sweetness or flavour but it ups the ABV%.


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## jkhlt1210 (11/2/14)

Alex.Tas said:


> No worries fella.
> The recipe was similar to the first beer i made which gave me results i was really happy with.
> 
> Last bit of info i forgot, make it up to 22L. After some more thought, if you use dry malt extract, only use 1 kilo. if you use liquid, use say 1200g. You may be able to freeze the unused liquid malt extract for your next brew. I haven;t done this before, but im sure someone on this forum will know if you can or not, or its a waste of time. The recipe should give you a beer around 4.1% alc by volume from memory. If you want to up this, then grab some dextrose from your brew shop, some supermarkets sell it in the homebrew section. Big W and kmart sell it too i think, packaged up by coopers.
> ...


 Great thanks again for all that! I'll be getting my boil on tonight!


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## damoninja (11/2/14)

Alex.Tas said:


> You may be able to freeze the unused liquid malt extract for your next brew. I haven;t done this before, but im sure someone on this forum will know if you can or not, or its a waste of time.


Freezing is fine, just remove as much air from as possible from the container. If you've only got a little bit in a large container, pour a small layer of cold water across the top to stop the top getting any freezer burn and drying it out. 

You will also need to boil it before using since it's no longer in a sterile environment.


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## jkhlt1210 (11/2/14)

Alex.Tas said:


> No worries fella.
> The recipe was similar to the first beer i made which gave me results i was really happy with.
> 
> Last bit of info i forgot, make it up to 22L. After some more thought, if you use dry malt extract, only use 1 kilo. if you use liquid, use say 1200g. You may be able to freeze the unused liquid malt extract for your next brew. I haven;t done this before, but im sure someone on this forum will know if you can or not, or its a waste of time. The recipe should give you a beer around 4.1% alc by volume from memory. If you want to up this, then grab some dextrose from your brew shop, some supermarkets sell it in the homebrew section. Big W and kmart sell it too i think, packaged up by coopers.
> ...


Alex!!! I have just finished putting down the exact brew you gave me. I'm excited as! Can't wait to bottle it!


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## jkhlt1210 (11/2/14)

Alex.Tas said:


> No worries fella.
> The recipe was similar to the first beer i made which gave me results i was really happy with.
> 
> Last bit of info i forgot, make it up to 22L. After some more thought, if you use dry malt extract, only use 1 kilo. if you use liquid, use say 1200g. You may be able to freeze the unused liquid malt extract for your next brew. I haven;t done this before, but im sure someone on this forum will know if you can or not, or its a waste of time. The recipe should give you a beer around 4.1% alc by volume from memory. If you want to up this, then grab some dextrose from your brew shop, some supermarkets sell it in the homebrew section. Big W and kmart sell it too i think, packaged up by coopers.
> ...


Alex!!! I have just finished putting down the exact brew you gave me. I'm excited as! Can't wait to bottle it!


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## jkhlt1210 (11/2/14)

Alex.Tas said:


> No worries fella.
> The recipe was similar to the first beer i made which gave me results i was really happy with.
> 
> Last bit of info i forgot, make it up to 22L. After some more thought, if you use dry malt extract, only use 1 kilo. if you use liquid, use say 1200g. You may be able to freeze the unused liquid malt extract for your next brew. I haven;t done this before, but im sure someone on this forum will know if you can or not, or its a waste of time. The recipe should give you a beer around 4.1% alc by volume from memory. If you want to up this, then grab some dextrose from your brew shop, some supermarkets sell it in the homebrew section. Big W and kmart sell it too i think, packaged up by coopers.
> ...


Alex!!! I have just finished putting down the exact brew you gave me. I'm excited as! Can't wait to bottle it!


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## Alex.Tas (11/2/14)

good to hear mate. make sure you give it a taste during the fermentation. you will need to take gravity readings in a week or so, so you should have a taste each time you sample it so you get an idea as to how its coming along!


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## pat86 (11/2/14)

jkhlt1210 said:


> Alex!!! I have just finished putting down the exact brew you gave me. I'm excited as! Can't wait to bottle it!





jkhlt1210 said:


> Alex!!! I have just finished putting down the exact brew you gave me. I'm excited as! Can't wait to bottle it!





jkhlt1210 said:


> Alex!!! I have just finished putting down the exact brew you gave me. I'm excited as! Can't wait to bottle it!


you are excited :beerbang:


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## jkhlt1210 (12/2/14)

Alex.Tas said:


> good to hear mate. make sure you give it a taste during the fermentation. you will need to take gravity readings in a week or so, so you should have a taste each time you sample it so you get an idea as to how its coming along!


 Damn right I will do that! Took a look just now it's bubbling away going crazy! Can't wait for this to be ready


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## jkhlt1210 (12/2/14)

Another question.... Since my fermenters are in an esky, I have to lift them out to be able to take a hydrometer reading then lift back in. Does that matter ?


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## damoninja (12/2/14)

jkhlt1210 said:


> Another question.... Since my fermenters are in an esky, I have to lift them out to be able to take a hydrometer reading then lift back in. Does that matter ?


How come they're in an esky? Temp control? 

Should be fine, just use starsan in the airlock instead of water as when you move it will probably suck in/out and you might get a drop in the vessel.


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## jkhlt1210 (12/2/14)

damoninja said:


> How come they're in an esky? Temp control?
> 
> Should be fine, just use starsan in the airlock instead of water as when you move it will probably suck in/out and you might get a drop in the vessel.


 Yeah temp control. I live in Townsville and my garage is my brewery so you can imagine how hot it gets . So I have an ice bottle in with them


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## damoninja (12/2/14)

jkhlt1210 said:


> Yeah temp control. I live in Townsville and my garage is my brewery so you can imagine how hot it gets . So I have an ice bottle in with them


Though of getting an old fridge and whacking a temp controller on it? Much more stable temperature and probably costs less to put together than eskies that size are to buy ;p


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## jkhlt1210 (12/2/14)

damoninja said:


> Though of getting an old fridge and whacking a temp controller on it? Much more stable temperature and probably costs less to put together than eskies that size are to buy ;p


 70 litre esky with cardboard box over the top covered by blanket. 1x 3 litre ice bottle between fermenters change over at night. Temp stays at 20 degrees


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## Harlz (12/2/14)

I got this recipe from Homebrew youtuber Tubedinoz. (coopers sexed up draught)
10L batch

1 can coopers Draught
75g crystal malt
12g Nelson Sauvin - dry hopped at start of fermentation
kit yeast

Hes recipe is slightly different as I used what I had left over from other batches.
the OG - 1.052

Its still fermenting at 20-22
Hope it turns out nice.


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## pat86 (12/2/14)

Harlz said:


> I got this recipe from Homebrew youtuber Tubedinoz. (coopers sexed up draught)
> 10L batch
> 
> 1 can coopers Draught
> ...


You should hold off the dry-hops until the major whack of fermentation has already happened, otherwise it will scrub most of the aroma. If you are fermenting for say 14 days, a dry hop between day 4 - day 7 could give you a lot more hoppy goodness than dry hopping too early


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## jkhlt1210 (12/2/14)

pat86 said:


> You should hold off the dry-hops until the major whack of fermentation has already happened, otherwise it will scrub most of the aroma. If you are fermenting for say 14 days, a dry hop between day 4 - day 7 could give you a lot more hoppy goodness than dry hopping too early


 Good advice I'll remember that especially since I lety brews go for 14 days


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## Harlz (12/2/14)

pat86 said:


> You should hold off the dry-hops until the major whack of fermentation has already happened, otherwise it will scrub most of the aroma. If you are fermenting for say 14 days, a dry hop between day 4 - day 7 could give you a lot more hoppy goodness than dry hopping too early


Thanks for this. I did dry hop from 1st day of fermentation. I am quite new to brewing and will know this for next time. 
Cheers


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## damoninja (13/2/14)

+1 to late dry hopping


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## Xander (14/2/14)

damoninja said:


> If you haven't already download the kit / extract spreadsheet.
> 
> If you're after something easy basic that you can't go wrong with and it's your first time using hops/grains, here's a nice recipe that won't be very intrusive
> 
> ...


Would this recipe work with the Morgan's Australian Lager instead of the Coopers Lager?

How long do you mash the grains for, and at what temperature? (sorry if this is a stupid question - I'm yet to brew my first batch!)

How did this beer turn out? What "main stream" beer could you compare this with - eg Matilda Bay, Squires etc?

Thanks for your help!


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## Alex.Tas (14/2/14)

No need to mash these grains, they are what you call specialty grains, so all you need to do is steep them in hot water (around 60-70 deg) or so for about half an hour. because you aren;t actually mashing the grain, the temp isn't so important.
switching tins will be fine. wont taste exactly the same, but will be close.


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## jkhlt1210 (14/2/14)

Alex.Tas said:


> No need to mash these grains, they are what you call specialty grains, so all you need to do is steep them in hot water (around 60-70 deg) or so for about half an hour. because you aren;t actually mashing the grain, the temp isn't so important.
> switching tins will be fine. wont taste exactly the same, but will be close.


 G'day Alex hey in a few weeks I want to attempt my first all grain brew. Any first simple recipes?? Maybe a pale ale?


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## Alex.Tas (14/2/14)

Not from me sorry mate, I haven't gone that far yet. limited time/space etc excludes me from AG brewing at the moment. Soon enough i will make that jump though.
Best bet is to try the AG forum. use the search function or even better still, try the recipies section. There is a button for it just below the AHB logo in the top left hand corner of the browser window.


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## damoninja (14/2/14)

Dr Smurto's Golden ale. 
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/recipe/502-drsmurtos-golden-ale/

Simple recipe, most importantly a real nice beer. 

What kind of AG method / equipment are you looking in to? If you need help there post in the all grain forum, great help available there.


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## Trevandjo (14/2/14)

I've got a tin of coopers stout sitting around. Any ideas on how to use this as part of a partial mash Shwartzbier? Or should I just chuck it and go AG?


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## berts (14/2/14)

just use it as a kit with 1 kilo of malt, beatiful


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## Harlz (14/2/14)

With dry hopping should I take the hop bag out after a few days or leave it until the end of fermentation?


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## jkhlt1210 (15/2/14)

I want to try lord raja goombas 2 pot stove method with bucket lauter. Nice and simple and easy hopefully


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## jkhlt1210 (15/2/14)

damoninja said:


> Dr Smurto's Golden ale.
> http://aussiehomebrewer.com/recipe/502-drsmurtos-golden-ale/
> 
> Simple recipe, most importantly a real nice beer.
> ...


yeah that post was for you saying I will try the 2 pot method with bucket lauter


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## jkhlt1210 (15/2/14)

Alex.Tas said:


> Not from me sorry mate, I haven't gone that far yet. limited time/space etc excludes me from AG brewing at the moment. Soon enough i will make that jump though.
> Best bet is to try the AG forum. use the search function or even better still, try the recipies section. There is a button for it just below the AHB logo in the top left hand corner of the browser window.


cheers mate. Have you done extract for a while? Was thinking I do some more extract before leaping into AG


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## damoninja (15/2/14)

Harlz said:


> With dry hopping should I take the hop bag out after a few days or leave it until the end of fermentation?


Nah, leave it. 

To be honest I wouldn't even use a bag, drop them right in to the fermenter. Doing this you'll probably want to cold crash for a few days so they drop to the bottom.


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## damoninja (15/2/14)

Put this down today: 

1 can coopers lager
1 can coopers real ale

*Actual OG:* 1.053
*Predicted FG: *1.009, (don't know if it will actually go this low)
*ABV: *6%
*Calculated EBC: *21.2 (I think it's actually darker because the tins are old, I'd say more like 30-35)

*Mini mash* @ 64 degrees, approx 60% efficiency as I just did it on the stove and rinsed the grain.
1kg BB ale malt
170g carapils
100g pale crystal
100g medium crystal
100g dark crystal

*Hops*
20g cascade @ 20mins
10g cascade @ 5mins
1/2 whirflock tab

*Yeast*
1 pack US-05


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## indica86 (15/2/14)

Expensive way to make beer. Will be good but AG is cheaper.


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## damoninja (15/2/14)

indica86 said:


> Expensive way to make beer. Will be good but AG is cheaper.


Agree.

I brew AG mate, got the kits for free hence their age, AG is way cheaper indeed, I usually come in at $1-$1.20 per litre for an AG batch depending on style etc. 

But all in all, this brew costed me about $6 in grains + hops, if I were to do an AG 

I also re-use yeasts, this time I didn't have any jarred US-05 on hand but ultimately it's gonna get jarred up when this brew's done so I don't really count it as a cost. 

*Edit: *Well i guess the yeast was a cost, but $5 when I'll probably use it 5 times? Pittance!


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## indica86 (15/2/14)

Aah yes, the lod free can caper.

Nice one. :drinks:


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