2 Tins Of Coopers Ingredients, Nothing More.

[SDHBrewing]

I've started doing mostly 2 can brews, and reckon they taste heaps better than just kit and kilo. First was 2 Coopers Pale Ales, and I pitched both the yeast packets for good measure (don't mind a clouder Coopers Pale Ale. Let it sit in the bottles for about 2 months and it turned out real nice.

Also tried a Coopers IPA with a tin of Coopers amber liquid malt extract, and a half kilo of dry dark malt extract to darken it up a bit, fermented with a Brew Cellar English ale yeast (this was a sort of English special bitter to celebrate winning the ashes back from them), also turned out nice. I also used a hop tea made with some spare hops to balance the malt. And my last one was a stout made with Coopers Irish Stout tin and a tin of Coopers liquid dark malt extract, plus a few other bits, but probably getting off topic.

However, the what surprised me was that the 1.5 kilo tins of liquid amber malt extract and dark malt extract were cheaper than a kilo of dried malt extract, and I find the liquids much easer and quicker to brew with. All in all though I reckon two can brews rock :super: , so I'll be doing more, and if the prices stay ok at my home brew shop then I won't bother with dry ingredients except for priming or making up the gravity. :beerbang:

 

[JCG]

Im glad I stumbled on this tread, It has inspired me to go away and try this method. I just dont believe dextrose or sugar have a part in brewing other than primming.

Cheers JCG.

 

[RobboMC]

You could always dilute it by making the volume more than 23 litres.
Be careful not to reduce the headroom too much as the brew can froth a bit on the top. I often squeeze 28 litres into my fermenter.

 

[pacman]

My best kit brews by far and away have been a Coopers 1.7kg can brewed to 11 litres in a Malt Shovel 11.5kg fermenter. Only additives have been water & Safale yeast.

Bavarian Lager my favourite to date, although the Bitter turns out very nice. The latter a bit too bitter for some of my friends after 6 weeks in bottle, but this tends to mellow after a few months. Friends with more mature tastes have, however, been very impressed from the word go.

Extra bitterness has so far only been an issue with Coopers Bitter, but am waiting for a Thomas Coopers IPA to bottle condition. This could be a challenge for both me and my friends who appreciate that extra bite. Will post results in a few weeks.

Cheers,

pacman

 

[wildschwein]

Yeah,

I just finished up drinking a batch of Wander Munich Lager made up to about 13 litres (just water, kit extract and yeast) and the flavour was perfect. You can usually get this product for the same price as generic Hombrand Coles kits and the quality is very good and the yeast is usuable too (unlike generic brand beer kits). I couldn't help thinking that when I was swilling on this really tasty beer that it seemed a lot like a Beck's or a Heineken. Quite bitter and aromatic but damn refreshing and easy to drink.

 

[JCG]

I have been thinking of doing a 2 can for last week, I wanted to try the coopers larger or draught (undecided between the 2), my question is what IBU is the Larger and Draught ? Or is their a website which lists different kits and their IBU? Finally if adding additional malt to a 2 can mix will that hide some of the hop bitterness?

Cheers JCG

 

[Brooksy]

I have been thinking of doing a 2 can for last week, I wanted to try the coopers larger or draught (undecided between the 2), my question is what IBU is the Larger and Draught ? Or is their a website which lists different kits and their IBU? Finally if adding additional malt to a 2 can mix will that hide some of the hop bitterness?

Cheers JCG

Have done both, the Coopers Lager is very good. The Draught IMHO turns out a bit sweet.

Doing the standard versions of both I found the Lager a bit lame but that was fixed by "toucanning" and the draught (IMHO) was always sweet (too sweet for me anyway). Hops addition though fixes both draught probs.

Don't have a clue what their respective IBU ratings are, never found them, but I'd reckon it'd be stretching the truth if I gave either of them a 25. Have to be less.

To save expense brew 1 can to 11.5 litres - start with the Lager.

Off Topic: Then boil the worts and add back your flavouring and aroma hops.

 

[JCG]

Thank you for your reply I think I will try the 2 cans of Larger and some saaz for aroma. Will let you all know how it turns out.

JCG

 

[Tony]

I dont know if this link has been posted yet......... i didnt read the whole thing but here is a 3hundred and something post long thread from grumpys forum that stretched over 2 years on the subject.

Its a good read if you have a while

cheers

https://www.grumpys.com.au/read.php3?id=13472

 

[Brooksy]

Great link Tony!!

I am supposed to be bottling today, now half the day has gone and I've been reading that link. Good info.

Now off to bottle........ lol

 

[shamus]

when you add 2 kits, does anyone know how the IBU is affected? If you add 1 kit at 21IBU and 1 at 23, does the total IBU come in at 44 or does it add up differently?

 

[brettprevans]

Use a tin of draught and a tin of stout. get a nice easy 'black and tan' brew.
or if you like a bit more betterness use a bitter and a stout.

 

[Brooksy]

when you add 2 kits, does anyone know how the IBU is affected? If you add 1 kit at 21IBU and 1 at 23, does the total IBU come in at 44 or does it add up differently?

With an inexperienced pallete (about 6 toucan brews), I think the IBU increased by 1.5 rather than total or double.
Saying this I believe the final IBU of your brew would be about 33 (0.75*IBU1 + 0.75*IBU2).

I've done a few toucan Lagers and Bitters and the IBU doesn't seem to double.
Getting ready to do another Toucan Bitter on the weekend, it really turns out nice but I might add some extra hops (Fuggle teabag) for more hop flavour.

 

[shamus]

cool....I'm doing a high alcohol Toucan screamer on the weekend with a Coopers Draught and Farmland Lager and adding 1.5kgs of dextrose and some extra hops for flavour and aroma. Just hoping it won't turn out too bitter

 

[Luka]

I've got a toucan in primary atm thanks to this post. I thought I would experiment a little and went for a Coopers Draught/Coopers Lager mix. Pitched both yeasts and just added water!. Lovely golden amber colour and after sampling the wort after taking a hydrometer test its not a bad drop. It doesnt seem to bitter to me as some have mentioned, I mean the bitterness is there, which I found in the straight Coopers Lager was almost non existent.

My one question, I was thinking of bulk priming with a malt sugar that I picked up at the supermarket to add some more maltiness and body as this seems to be lacking a bit. For 20 litres I was thinking of 220grams, any thoughts? because this is a pretty cheap brew and I'm still fairly new at this Im willing to experiment, just dont want to over-prime it thats all.

 

[Brooksy]

G'day Luka,

I don't bulk prime but the 220gms for 20ltrs seems a bit much to me. Hopefully someone will advise on a more appropriate measure. I'm sure I've read somewhere here that 160 - 170 gms per 23 litres was the norm.

Please don't take this as gospel but more as a warning to check further.

 

[Luka]

G'day Luka,

I don't bulk prime but the 220gms for 20ltrs seems a bit much to me. Hopefully someone will advise on a more appropriate measure. I'm sure I've read somewhere here that 160 - 170 gms per 23 litres was the norm.

Please don't take this as gospel but more as a warning to check further.

I could have explained better, the reason I thought 220 gms was becuase its not straight dextrose, its "Extra Malt Brewing Sugar" and in the ingredients it lists dextrose, malt and maltodextrin. After reading through numerous topics and posts here, I was lead to believe more of this type of sugar was necessary for bulk priming. Im open to being corrected, in fact I should start a new topic for this and not hijack this one.

 

[Slurpdog]

Put my first Toucan down yestertday after reading that 2 cans of the Coopers stout makes a great, and smooth beer.
I've changed it a little as it's the first time I've used a liquid yeast and so at the moment there's a WLP1214 Belgian Abbey ale yeast gobbling up all the malt. An unusual combo I've been told but judging by the airlock activity those little guys are having a wow of a time!
Can't wait to sample it!