'battle Of The Toucans'

[Interloper]

So do I. So my next brew is going to be a Coopers Lager and Tooheys Dark Toucan. I'm not sure if it'll be too bitter though, should I boil the lager for longer? It's my first ever toucan, so I have NFI. I'm doing these two because they are what I have, and the yeast was missing in the Dark when I bought it .

Will have to talk my brother into doing one of these. He loves the darks and it sounds awesome!

Tanga you can throw some LDME in to add some sweetness back into the mix to balance the hoppy bitterness of a 2can, but that ups the alc content. I'd never add any extra hops to a 2can...

It WILL be bitter without a little malt, but age will mellow that bad boy out nicely. (months in the bottle, not weeks so next winter you will have a killer brew)

 

[Peaka]

I've read through the Coopers Stout Toucan posts for this topic and I still can't decide what to do with my toucan of Coopers Stout that I got tonight so I have a few questions.
Should I use no Malt, or Malt with Liquorice extract and fuggles hops? Dextrose maybe?
Whats the best yeast to use?
Would I need to wait at least a couple months before cracking one open?

 

[Interloper]

a 2c with added hops is brave - it will be very bitter anyway. You may only want hops as a flavour, not a bittering agent, so a late addition might be the way to go.

I like me fuggles, 'specially in stouts - some find them too grassy as a flavouring agent though.

 

[Peaka]

I think I need to read up more on using hops because I normally just get those hop in a bag thingy's that you leave in hot water for 10 mins and then add to the fermenter. That process probably only adds bitterness correct?

 

[Interloper]

I think I need to read up more on using hops because I normally just get those hop in a bag thingy's that you leave in hot water for 10 mins and then add to the fermenter. That process probably only adds bitterness correct?

I'd say that's probably more flavour than bittering, but I don't use the hops in a tea bag myself.

Boiling hop flowers or pellets is usually done for 35 mins+ for bitterness and 5-10 for flavouring. (pellets is what I use mostly)

Then there's "dry hopping" where you chuck the hops in the fermenter with no boil, which adds pretty much zero bittering, but good flave, depending on your hop choice.

 

[Bribie G]

I think I need to read up more on using hops because I normally just get those hop in a bag thingy's that you leave in hot water for 10 mins and then add to the fermenter. That process probably only adds bitterness correct?

Dry hopping principally adds aroma, but to my taste it adds a certain amount of bitterness but not as much as boiling them. I did the following Coopers Stout Toucan on 1/9 and it was perfectly drinkable after a month. I still have 8 2L PET bottles and will be saving it for Christmas but will take a bottle to the Brisbane Amateur Beer Brewers meeting in a couple of weeks.

2 tins Coopers Stout
1kg Light Dried Malt Extract
750g Dextrose

Nottingham Ale Yeast

Dry hopped with about 25g Fuggles pellets after seven days, just chucked them into the fermenter.

All those extra sugars have nicely balanced out the bitterness, but it's a lethal Alcohol strength, at least 8%

 

[petesbrew]

Just tried my toucan dak/stout last night, A gap of a few months between tastes.
I think it's about 6 months old now, and it's really smoothed out beautifully.

Peaka, in a toucan, I'd probably use no more than a teabag, as they're pretty bitter (especially the stouts) however the teabag will mainly add flavour & aroma.

 

[Peaka]

Ahh cool thanks Interloper.
I think I may just not use any hops this time around and maybe 500g of powdered malt. That should give it a nice head hopefully. Now with yeasts, should I keep the 2 Coopers Stout yeasts in the fridge for another time and use 1 of a different kind or will it need 2?

 

[Peaka]

Thanks for everyones help

 

[Interloper]

Dry hopping principally adds aroma, but to my taste it adds a certain amount of bitterness but not as much as boiling them. I did the following Coopers Stout Toucan on 1/9 and it was perfectly drinkable after a month. I still have 8 2L PET bottles and will be saving it for Christmas but will take a bottle to the Brisbane Amateur Beer Brewers meeting in a couple of weeks.

2 tins Coopers Stout
1kg Light Dried Malt Extract
750g Dextrose

Nottingham Ale Yeast

Dry hopped with about 25g Fuggles pellets after seven days, just chucked them into the fermenter.

All those extra sugars have nicely balanced out the bitterness, but it's a lethal Alcohol strength, at least 8%

mmmmm sounds like my kind of brew. Love the Nottingham, love the fuggs and DAMN that's a lot of sugars!

Just tried my toucan dak/stout last night, A gap of a few months between tastes.
I think it's about 6 months old now, and it's really smoothed out beautifully.

:icon_drool2:
:icon_drool2:
stop it these pretzels are making me thirsty! 6 month old 2c of dark ale/stout?... delish!

 

[Interloper]

Ahh cool thanks Interloper.
I think I may just not use any hops this time around and maybe 500g of powdered malt. That should give it a nice head hopefully. Now with yeasts, should I keep the 2 Coopers Stout yeasts in the fridge for another time and use 1 of a different kind or will it need 2?

as others have said you couldn't miss with the Nottingham Ale Yeast, all LHBS stock it. One pack should chew through your fermentables no probs.

I use it heaps in ales and stouts, but others can probably suggest something on par?

 

[petesbrew]

as others have said you couldn't miss with the Nottingham Ale Yeast, all LHBS stock it. One pack should chew through your fermentables no probs.

I use it heaps in ales and stouts, but others can probably suggest something on par?

Has anyone tried it with US-56?

 

[Barge]

I put down a twocan pilsener in June that has come up a treat. I used two coopers euro lagers and 250g each of LDME and Dex. 30g of Hallertauer at 15min and flameout. Fermented with S-189. Lagered (or rather stored at ambient) for 16 weeks. Came out at 41 IBU's. I was aiming for something like Bitburger. The bitterness is there but the colour is much darker, more like a bo-pils. Still good for a quick cheap brew, though.

 

[Peaka]

Today I bought 500g of Dark Unhopped Spraymalt for my toucan but I think I bought the wrong yeast. My local didn't have Nottinghams so I got Saflager S-23.
Would this still be ok for this brew or should I just use the 2 yeasts from the Stout cans?

 

[barfridge]

Today I bought 500g of Dark Unhopped Spraymalt for my toucan but I think I bought the wrong yeast. My local didn't have Nottinghams so I got Saflager S-23.
Would this still be ok for this brew or should I just use the 2 yeasts from the Stout cans?

Unless you have temperature control and can brew at 10-14 degrees with your lager yeast, I'd go with the can yeast.

But in reality alsmot any ale yeast is better than what you get with the can. Personally I'f be buying a couple of bottles of coopers and reculturing that yeast

 

[quantocks]

just kegged and tasted my first two-can coopers lager. Must say, not overly impressed with the flavour of the beer. I thought it was going to be a bit VBish, but it's fairly average.

could be the kit yeasts i've been using. Just ordered some decent yeast. Will try again soon.

 

[chug!chug!]

Im drinking the toucan lager atm following bribies enthusiasm....added 200g of wheat malt...has good mouthfeel, the bitterness
does remind me of VB. Going to up the bitterness with a toucan bitter and real ale+ malt + dry hops + nottingham....
should stumble on something good + easy + cheapish.....Cheers Bribie! :beer:

 

[quantocks]

alright, I must admit, while it's still very cloudy and it's been in the keg warm for a week and chilled at 2 degrees for 3 days now, I'm pissed off 3 schooners of twocan coopers lager. I made it up to 17L that could be my problem.

 

[Fermented]

I bottled a Coopers Real Ale toucan about a week ago just as a 'look see' to understand toucans.

It's somewhat reminiscent of a lightish porter (think of a lighter colour and mouthfeel version of Nelsons Blood porter, but lacking the burnt aftertaste). Doesn't appear to be carbing up much (6g dex/750), but it's tasty as an evening quaffer.

Only mistake on this one was tossing in two yeasts. The airlock didn't need water - it was ejecting foam for a couple of days straight.

Cheers - Fermented.

 

[petesbrew]

Only mistake on this one was tossing in two yeasts. The airlock didn't need water - it was ejecting foam for a couple of days straight.

Yep, they'll do that to you!
Sounds like a good drop.