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As the heading says, I've been brewing for 20 years, started with dump and stir kits and now brew about 50/50 grain and extract. I've been bulk priming for a decade or more. Last Xmas I bottled a Dark Ale and extract beer ( my kids bought it for Father's Day so I had to brew it up ) and about...

Tried my hand at making this little known style as it seems attractive to a dark beer lover. http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/style/175/ My recipe looked like this: Volume 21 litres, abv about 7.25% 1 can Thomas Coopers IPA 1 can Morgans Ironbark Dark Ale 1 can Liquid dark malt extract 500g...

Up until now I've always done one brewing activity at a time, so I'll bottle say one weekend, and then start the next brew a week or two later, wait for that to ferment, bottle it, wait another few weeks, etc etc. It often ends up over a month between brews. But the thought occurs to me that...

I made the Coopers Old Brown Dog recipe pack at the weekend. I had the run of the kitchen so I used the gas cooktop to steep the crystal grain. This means of course I could add heat along the way and get the temperature right up to exactly where I wanted it. In the last few years I have been...

Enjoyed a beer from the tap in Jindabyne last week, a Kosciousko Pale Ale. Appeared very similar to a Fat Yak until you tasted it. The hop bill must be enormous. I must say it's the best commercial beer I have tasted for a long, long while. Does anyone have a clone recipe for this beer?

I thought I'd share my method of getting 3 different abv levels out of one brew. Sort of started when visitors that were driving asked to taste the home brew. So I start with a simple technique, I brew a 24 litre batch of whatever takes my fancy at 7% abv. Starting in fermenter - 24 litres @...

In the holidays I ran out of brew to drink so I made myself a very nice Porter by mixing 50/50 Coopers Best Extra Stout (6.3%) with James Squires 150 Lashes Pale Ale ( 4.2%). The result was so good that I can't wait to make some of my own. I can easily dilute a stout kit to 5.25% ( or boost a...

Our new BBQ has an outdoor sink that I now dream of connecting as a brewing water supply. The BBQ has an excellent triple ring burner and a large stainless steel work area so it will make a superb brewery. The water supply has a nylex tap fitting. What sort of hose should I use to connect to...

My old brewfridge is no longer needed as I have a new one. It's an old 340 litre fridge/freezer. The freezer seal is cactus so it's no good as a full time fridge without new seals It's been hand painted a grey colour and looks rough, clean inside however. I was using the fridge compartment as...

Over Xmas my kitchen building will be completed and I am planning what to brew in it to celebrate. I've seen in the fancy bottle shop some 'Grand Porter' labelled at 8.5%abv. So that's what I want to make. So here's the plan, considering I can only mash up to 2 kg and boil 10 litres with my...

Due to my kitchen rebuilding project I ran out of beer, so I bought some Coopers Bext Extra Stout reasoning that if it were Coopers and had 6.3% abv it must be somewhat drinkable. And it is quite drinkable so much so that I'd like to make a clone of it. Now I know all the normal comments about...

Has anyone tried using a rice cooker for a mash? The science guru here at work is testing various brands and found one that holds the contents at 70 deg C using it's internal thermostat. The bowl is too small for AG, but I reckon it would hold 2-3 kg of grain in 8-10 litres quite easily...

New brewers often ask how long will my brew last in the bottles. Last night I cracked open an old glass bottle that a brewer had found during a garage clean-out. It was a straight K&K Coopers Stout. "In those days all I knew was to add the sugar and ferment it" he said. The steel top was...

I have made some great brews with Morgans Master Blend malts, but with the recent rationalisation of their products the Dark Crystal is no longer available. Does anyone have any ideas on what else to use to get UNROASTED dark malt? Has anyone used the Coopers Dark Extract? Does it provide...

Does anyone have any experience at converting a BBQ to use for brewing? I'm currently doing 5 to 8 litre boils and 1.5 kg mini-mash, and SWMBO has made it quite clear that the aromas I'm producing are not acceptable inside the house. The BBQ is under cover and has supply of electricity and...

I'm going to knock up a quick Coopers English Bitter to counter an impending beer drought. Anyone got a good recipe with this can?

I brew with strong batches to maximise my fermenter throughput, and water down as I bottle. My question is how to best add the diluting water ( boiled and cooled of course ) I want to introduce as little oxygen back into the beer as possible and just pouring the extra water into the bottling...

After looking at the Old Ale and 'imperial' styles my crazy thought is to make Imperial Aussie Pale Ale with a 2 can of Coopers and some extra bits. So far the recipe looks like this: Volume 22 litres abv about 8% 2 x Coopers Aussie Pale Ale 1.5 kg can of Morgans Caramalt 0.3kg Raw Sugar...

A fellow brewer came down the coast last week with his 'new' beer. I've been on his back for years to stop using sugar and dex but he has been resistant. Up until now his favourite brew has been a can of Coopers Dark Ale and one kg of Raw Sugar ( sucrose ) $16 - 4 days to ferment and 12 days in...

I know the Morgans Master Blend cans are made from 100% grain, and have a combination of some seriously nice grain types. The thought has crossed my mind to make an all extract brew using 100% master blend cans. I'd hope it would be almost as good as AG without the mashing. Has anyone tried...