'battle Of The Toucans'

[Diggs]

Looks great but don't rack to secondary just for something to do unless it is necessary it is one easy way to introduce an infection.

Cheers Tropical, if all I have to gain is infection then I won't bother
That will free up the tub and fridge for another brew quicker!

 

[fiat128s]

Hey all, title is pretty self explanitory: Whats your best toucan recipe?

Two cans of anything, plus some finishing hops if you put them in - thats basically it...

Essentially, I'm curious as to the combinations that people put together and what they come out like - after all its a good cheap way to make a strong, well bodied, good-headed beer! I caved in and put down a toucan of Farmland Draught the other week...looks delicious: ruby red, great aromas, and will be ~7% AbV.

So, any recipes/combinations?

Cheers - boingk

Last toucan I put down was the basic Coopers Real Ale, nothing else added.

This made a full bodied malty brew with excellent head retention, but a little on the sweet side for my taste. Many others have decleared it their favourite.

I am planning to use the same idea again tomorrow but I will also add a boil of Super Alpha (13% AA) and some homegrown Smooth Cone (approx 8-10% AA) which I thought would give some nice bitterness to the brew and also dry hop some Hallertau Aroma pellets (8% AA) to add some nice hoppy aroma.

Any thoughts on this simple recipe?

 

[mwd]

Looks good to me but I would have thought 2 cans at 23l should be bitter enough to make a good easy drinking beer. I would make your hop additions quite late in the boil say 20 mins or shorter to avoid adding a load of extra bitterness.

 

[fiat128s]

A friend from Gosford way and I put down a toucan for her yesterday, using 2 x Coopers Real Ale kits, with both yeasts, and nothing else added.

When I did the OG test I tasted the wort in the testing tube and it was incredibly bitter, so my friend then tasted it and declared she'd never be able to drink it if the end product was like that. :angry:

Has anyone ever done a toucan like this and will the hops impact be lessened after fermenting and bottle secondary? I am really hoping that it will frankly, it will be a disastrous start to her brewing career if it is undrinkable for her and it took some talking to get her away from the idea of a can and kilo of sugar

I was also surprised to see that the OG was only 1040, does this sound right to the more experienced?

Grateful for any comments, Cheerz Wab

I just read this post after asking the same question on 18-4-12. I found the result of this recipe a great beer but if anything too sweet. At $NZ13 per kit it makes an excellent brew for less than the cost of a medium / high kit and kilo.

 

[alexfl]

i've been reading this thread for some time and i finally put down my first toucan yesterday (and 5th brew)..

1 coopers stout 1.7kg
1 coopers dark ale 1.7kg
500g dark brown molasses sugar
550g of light liquid malt extract
200g of dark or choc grain, steeped 30 mins
200g medium crystal malt, steeped 30 mins
50g NZ Styrian Goldings boiled for 10 mins
Safale S-04 yeast

OG - 1061

it was bitter as a *******. i'm hoping it will come right.. bloody waiting game!

also, i pitched a little warm tho, 26*C, but have been lowering the temp (slowly by leaving it outside for a bit) until it is now about 21/20*C (24hrs later). i hope the temp change will not ruin the brew, what with it being early days etc. also, i wonder what FG it will end up at? does anyone have any insight or comments they'd wish to make? would be appreciated..

 

[mattyra]

i've been reading this thread for some time and i finally put down my first toucan yesterday (and 5th brew)..

1 coopers stout 1.7kg
1 coopers dark ale 1.7kg
500g dark brown molasses sugar
550g of light liquid malt extract
200g of dark or choc grain, steeped 30 mins
200g medium crystal malt, steeped 30 mins
50g NZ Styrian Goldings boiled for 10 mins
Safale S-04 yeast

OG - 1061

it was bitter as a *******. i'm hoping it will come right.. bloody waiting game!

also, i pitched a little warm tho, 26*C, but have been lowering the temp (slowly by leaving it outside for a bit) until it is now about 21/20*C (24hrs later). i hope the temp change will not ruin the brew, what with it being early days etc. also, i wonder what FG it will end up at? does anyone have any insight or comments they'd wish to make? would be appreciated..

I make a similar beer alot. I use 1 can of Dark Ale, 1 can of Stout and 1Kg of dextrose (with all that sugar it tastes good still). I think it tastes great. Although I leave it for months before I drink it.

Also you put your brew outside. If it is in sunlight it can wreck your beer.

 

[petesbrew]

i've been reading this thread for some time and i finally put down my first toucan yesterday (and 5th brew)..

1 coopers stout 1.7kg
1 coopers dark ale 1.7kg
500g dark brown molasses sugar
550g of light liquid malt extract
200g of dark or choc grain, steeped 30 mins
200g medium crystal malt, steeped 30 mins
50g NZ Styrian Goldings boiled for 10 mins
Safale S-04 yeast

OG - 1061

it was bitter as a *******. i'm hoping it will come right.. bloody waiting game!

also, i pitched a little warm tho, 26*C, but have been lowering the temp (slowly by leaving it outside for a bit) until it is now about 21/20*C (24hrs later). i hope the temp change will not ruin the brew, what with it being early days etc. also, i wonder what FG it will end up at? does anyone have any insight or comments they'd wish to make? would be appreciated..

That should be pretty awesome. I reckon the Molasses will be definitely contributing to the bitterness. Styrian is an awesome hop (not sure if what I've used were a NZ variety).
As per previous post, sunlight can ruin your beer.

Mine in the past have finished off around 1016 - give or take.

 

[alexfl]

thanks for the tips guys~ it was only in the light for a couple of hours yesterday. it's still foaming away, so should be sweet.
it was the first time using grains, really looking forward to the results. i'll post back once bottled & tested.
cheers!

 

[Diggs]

Just reporting in on my first Toucan, whilst it still needs a while in the bottles to mature I am very happy with this one. Sweet and syrupy and reminds me of the Miliken Black Hole Stout, definitely my best beer so far and should be fully matured for the winter!


Cascade Chocolate Mahogany Porter
Tooheys Real Ale
1kg Dark Dry Malt
500gms Light Dry Malt
12 gms Cascade Hops - steeped for 10 mins
1.5 packets BrewCellar English Ale Yeast
20 lt batch

 

[simplefisherman]

Hi all just wondering if anyones tried a toucan with
Coopers dark ale
Coopers English bitter
.5 kg of be2
Maybe some hop additions?
Not sure if it may be too bitter.
Also would this be better put in bottles (pet) rather than keg incase it needs more aging?

 

[hbg]

2 x Thomas Coopers Light Liquid Malt (or Morgans 1.5kg Lager Malt)
American Ale / US 05 yeast
12-15 g of hops.
Eg:
Amarillo
Citra
Cascade
Willamette

 

[adniels3n]

Also would this be better put in bottles (pet) rather than keg incase it needs more aging?

I've had PET bottles lose pressure after about 6 months. Glass if you plan on aging longer I reckon. More experienced bottlers might chime in.
Drinking a Coopers Stout + Dark Ale + 1kg Dex as I type. Old faithful doesn't disappoint.

 

[kalbarluke]

This is my first toucan attempt and so far the results seem promising:

1 x Morgans Golden Pilsner
1 x Morgans Blue Mountain Lager
100g crystal
50g choc malt
20g fuggles @ 5 min
20g willamette @ 5 min
S-04 yeast

OG - 1.050

I usually only make my beer to about 19L but I made this out to about 23L. After 2 days the SG is 1.030 and it tastes like it will be a nice English ale, which is what I am aiming for.
I must say I was a bit sceptical about the toucan concept but I think I may be a convert. Will try the same base for an APA but use citra/cascade combo or cascade/galaxy combo and US-05. Am also keen to try some of the many stout recipes on this thread.

 

[Cloth Ears]

Cans each of Coopers Pale Ale and European Lager, can of light liquid malt, 1kg of BE2 and 1kg of dex, along with chillies, cloves and cinnamon. Dry hopped Amarillo and Pacific Jade.

Well, this one has been tasted a bit and it's only been in the bottle for 2 months. My excuse, I had to bottle about 5 PET bottles as I didn't have enough glass (I'll use that next time also).

OK, despite the large amount of fermentable sugars, it's a lovely light brew. Lovely light floral, grassy and almost 'pot-like' nose, along with hints of clove (but no cinnamon). I used 5 Habanero chillies in the boil and left one in the fermenter - this has left it with quite a chilli hit. It's not initially hot, but it grows on you. I love it, but I'd be hesitant in offering it to somone who doesn't like chilli at all. I'll have to alter the chilli/clove/cinnamon balance for the next one, but it's a success as far as i'm concerned.

 

[tricache]

I think my next batch will be a toucan for sure!!

I only bottled my last batch Saturday and I'm already looking to what to brew next haha

 

[Rob S]

Can't get to the grain shop until next week so going to put down this for shits & giggles

Coopers Lager
Coopers Draught
Recultured Chimay yeast (1L starter)
350g DME (all that's left)
350g sugar

Hoping for a reasonably high gravity. Ferment at 17 and I'll probably throw some more sugar in on day 5.

Some help with some aroma hop additions with this one? Any point doing this with a toucan? For a white Chimay clone, google suggests 5 min boil of hallertau hersbrucker (8g 1.2aa) and EKG (15g 5.8aa).

No idea what to expect. Beer probably.

 

[tricache]

Just threw this down tonight
1 x Thomas Coopers Collection Stout
1 x Coopers Dark Ale
1kg of malt/dex combo
20g fuggles @ 10 min

Also moved fermenter to a tiled area :lol:

 

[Ivan Other One]

SWMBO picked up some Coopers stout cans on special so the at the start of this month this was kegged,


2 x cans Stout

300g lLDM

300g Dex

150 g Saunders liquid malt

Thomas coopers Stout yeast

Made to 25 litres.

Hmmm, geting close to testing time.

 

[mwd]

another stout toucan

2x Coopers Irish Stout
1kg Dark dry extract
250g Black Malt Thomas Fawcett
500g Rice Malt Syrup
Nottingham yeast harvested from bottom of fermenter.


Should be a roasty brew Do I need more sugar to bring it into headbanger territory?

 

[Ivan Other One]

another stout toucan



Should be a roasty brew Do I need more sugar to bring it into headbanger territory?

Sounds like a nice mix Troppo.
Final wort volume????
If it's around 23litres, another half kilo of dex wouldn't hurt, or even a half kilo of ldm for a more creamier head.