Coopers Aus pale ale ...first brew in a couple years

[Spohaw]

Hello every one :icon_cheers:

First brew in a while

I have put on a Coopers pale ale can with a number 10 brew enhancer , 25gm of cascade hops and 15 gm of saaz finishing hops
I also chucked in 500gm of dextrose as well

I havent got a hydrometer yet ... had one but it got thrown out along with all my old brew stuff ....

I only made the mix up to just under 21 ltrs

Any one tried something similar ?
Tried the same beer with galaxy hops instead of the saaz but I couldnt buy the galaxy hops at the brew shop so I settled for saaz

Cheers Spohaw

 

[hoppy2B]

Hi Spohaw,

Welcome back to beer making.

How did you use the Cascade and Saaz? I assume you put them late into the boil. You probably could have used a bit more. Will you be dry hopping?

I like to do a full boil but I use rain water when making beer so its essential.

Cheers.

 

[Spohaw]

Hello hoppy2b

I put the cascade in early and boiled it for 20 mins with the dextrose and enhancer
the saaz I just steeped for 10 mins and chucked it in the fermenter

I like hoppy beer so maybe the next run ill put more in , how much would you have put in ?

I am usuing rain water as well but I didnt boil it ... maybe I should have

Cheers

edit : I will be dry hopping .... now I know what dry hopping is .... got 25gms of cascade left over so ill add that after fermentation

Cheers again

 

[hoppy2B]

Yeah I think you definitely should boil your rainwater. I found when I didn't boil mine it didn't keep very well and I tended to get some off flavours as well.

I used 140 grams of cascade in a Saison a couple of months ago which I have almost finished drinking now. Its quite nice and not overpowering. I also used 20 grams of Caraaroma, 20 grams of dark crystal and 40 grams of medium crystal in it. I'm used to a lot of hops though because I grow them and have been using my dwarf cluster most of the time and they are quite strongly flavoured.

Yeast is important as well and I don't know how well the Saison yeast captures the hop flavour. That was my first use of Cascade hops as well.

I'd probably suggest 50 grams late in the boil with the Cascade and maybe dry hop 40 grams, assuming you had a 90 grams packet.

I'd also recommend steeping 200 grams of medium crystal. Or as an alternative maybe 30 to 40 grams of dark crystal on its own.

Cheers.

 

[Spohaw]

Thanks for the tips ...ill be boiling the rain water from here on in

I only got 25 gms of cascade left (50gm packet) so ill dry hop with that , if I can get to the brew shop in time I will get more hops

I will add a pale or medium crystal and more hops to the next brew to see how that goes ...

The yeast I used was just the one from the Coopers can I will get a different one for the next brew as well ... are there any pale ale specific ones ?

I dont think ive ever tried a saison , is it much different then the aus pale ale?

Cheers

 

[hoppy2B]

Most people recommend using US05 yeast as about the best for retaining hop flavour. Try and ferment it nice and cool.

Saison is the yeast strain I used. Its called Belle Saison. It seems to get better the longer the beer is left to age, as the flavour of the ingredients comes to the fore. Early on the yeast character is a bit dominant.

For extract beer making I normally use the Coopers Original Series Lager as its the cheapest and nice and light. To that I add a bit of the crystal type malts and chuck in a heap of hops late.

Crystal grains are normally steeped for an hour or so at about 70 degrees C.

 

[Spohaw]

Hello again .....

With the dry hoping do you think I should add it after fermentation or half way through ?

Was thinking about getting some of those cubes and putting some dry hops in then and then leave it in until I get everything I need for the keg setup , It will be maybe 1-2 weeks after the fermenting

And with the grain do I need to crush / mill it before steeping?

Cheers again

 

[DU99]

Crush your grain before stepping.if you don't have mill read this post

 

[gsouth82]

I've been doing a bit of reading about dry hoping lately on AHB. I've seen a lot of people recommend 1-3g/L. Assuming you've done a 23L batch, 25g of cascade will be on the lower end of that but depending on what you're after, it might be OK.

 

[hoppy2B]

Best to dry hop at the end of fermentation.

Get yourself a hop ball or two if you can and use some stainless nuts or something to weight it down so it sinks and the hops are submerged.

 

[hoppy2B]

You should be able to buy your grain milled.

I just use a piece of calico for steeping. Its linen I think, which I bought at Spotlight fairly cheaply.

 

[Spohaw]

Thanks everyone for the great advice, the beer I made was great I have pictures some where I will upload them when I find them

I made another brew with half a kilo of crystal 60 malt , i tried to mash it best i could for 60 mins in a biab bag ....... just to get the feel for it .
It had kilo of dextrose and a Coopers Pale ale can. I used us-05 yeast and only cascade hops ( 5gm at 60 mins , 5gm at 30 mins , 10gm at 20 , 15gm at 10mins and 15gm at 5mins ) and it is the best beer I have ever drank :icon_drool2: ....its a little cloudy atm only been in the keg 5 days ...Im hoping it clears up in a few

Thanks to everyone for the great advice ...I would never have had this beer other wise .... pat yourselves on the back , you are doing a great job :beer: A++ AHB

Thanks again Spohaw

 

[slcmorro]

Half a kilo of crystal? That's gunna be one sweet beer!

 

[Spohaw]

Suppose so... definitely not sour ...haha

 

[Simon2808]

question is - why are you doing a coopers pale ale?

 

[Pilchard]

My easy drinkers are coopers pale tin with 500g crystal BIAB 15g Amarillo at boil, 30-60 dry hopped. The last was 30 citra 30 Amarillo. Bottling tomorrow tasts tops, big and hoppy with body and some sweetness. My next, tomorow will be AG but that is another story, I don't have time some weeks to do a 5-6 hour brew session, so kits and bits have their place. They work and make beer. Do use another yeast as said in earlier posts, I have had success with muntons and mangrove jacks, there are plenty of others and reculturing techniques. I am finding out slowly that yeast maketh the brew.

Cheers.

 

[Spohaw]

Simon , I am using the pale ale can because I like pale ales and im only just starting out brewing
I want to make a whole heap of brews with the coopers pale ale can with a different type of hop in each brew , just so I can get a taste for the hops
so far I have only done a cascade , galaxy and a simcoe ....I have amarillo for the next one

Hello Pilchard , its good to know Im not the only person using half a kilo of crystal ...haha., I have to agree with you too about the yeast , Ive found that using the us-05 yeast doesnt give you that "bad homebrew" flavour like the can yeast does
I have a little 15 ltr biab brew to do soon too , I have been putting it off for a couple weeks because of being busy .. going to try an oktoberfest type brew but with the us-05 yeast ...

Cheers for the replies guys Spohaw