Coopers Bitter

[Grasshopper]

I'm a rather new brewer and have only six kits under my belt. All are Coopers. So I've become accustomed to adding 300g dextrose and 500 LDME to most things. I'm wanting to branch out a little and I'm looking for ideas for tinkering with this basic Coopers Bitter kit.

The Coopers website has a recipe on their site that adds 1 kg Brew Enhancer 2 + 200g of molasses. Now molasses sounds interesting.

I've been reading a bit about Morgans stuff and have been interested in trying one of their Master Blend Extracts (perhaps a Dark Crystal Malt, Caramalt, or Chocolate Malt) but don't know if that is sensible. Would this be worth trying? Would this be a simple two-can?

Yet another idea was maybe to use this kit as an intro to dry-hopping. I have no idea how to do this so I would appreciate advice on how to do it. Is it even appropriate to dry-hop a bitter? Haven't the foggiest.

All said and done I'm hoping to add some new ingredient (or simple process) to my brewing repertoire and would appreciate some ideas.

Any suggestions?

 

[simpletotoro]

hi...
try this link for some good info...
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=14384
follow this thread for info on the hops ...
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=14166
***also you might find this hops guide useful ...i do ...thank a bloke called bconnery for it ....*** (this attachment is fantastic for new brewers like us...)
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...st&id=11412

also some other info links.....
try this site for heaps of info on all things brewing...(this site excellent)
http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

you may want to read this stuff as well on yeast starters
http://www.grumpys.com.au/m1.php3?manualid=9
http://www.grumpys.com.au/m1.php3?manualid=11

also this link may explain more on hopping
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=14069
maybe this stuff will help...i realise theres a lot of info here,<even stuff you didn't ask for....okay most of it you didn't ask for....> ...still take what you want from it and use it and keep the rest for future reference

cheers good luck...simpletotoro

 

[blackbock]

The Morgans Masterblends are really nice, the problem that I found with them is that 1kg of specialty grain extract is a little bit full-on for most kits. And they cost nearly as much as a 1.7kg can. Due to this, most homebrewers would throw the whole can in, and probably end up with a brew which is a bit out of whack somehow...1 kg of Dark Crystal extract is probably roughly equal to about 2kg of crystal grain, and no-one in their right mind would use that much in a bitter!

 

[haro]

All you have to do is add some finishing hops to your brew, try something like Hallertau or Saaz(personal favourites) using the 'tea-bags' that brewiser produce. Just let the bag sit in boiling hot water for a minimum of 10 minutes and then add it to your brew just before you add yeast.

 

[tarlox]

Have a go with Coopers BE1 + 500g light dry malt extract. I did a coopers bitter with this combo and it came out great. You could also try cutting back on the dry malt (say 300g) and add 150g of crystal.

As for hops I would try fuggles or goldings for a english style bitter. You could boil 12g for 10mins for flavour and then dry hop 12g for aroma.

 

[Brooksy]

I am waiting for my CB to mature now.

I used 2 cans to 23 litres (toucan brew) or you can used 1 can to 11.5 litres. No added sugar or dextrose, just 100g corn syrup. OG 1056, FG 1010.

Initial taste @ 7 days (to check gas) was pretty good. Now at 10 days in bottle it looks nice and clean (with a strong light), but I must wait another couple of week before another tester.

 

[bconnery]

The Morgans Masterblends are really nice, the problem that I found with them is that 1kg of specialty grain extract is a little bit full-on for most kits. And they cost nearly as much as a 1.7kg can. Due to this, most homebrewers would throw the whole can in, and probably end up with a brew which is a bit out of whack somehow...1 kg of Dark Crystal extract is probably roughly equal to about 2kg of crystal grain, and no-one in their right mind would use that much in a bitter!

Those figures are way out...

The master blends are made with a base malt extract and a specialty grain.

The morgans site gives the details of what goes into these, very useful for use in brewing calculators.

For example, the Daryk Crystal on mentioned is:

Contains 60% dark crystal malt grain and 40% Vienna malt grain, being 800g Dark Crystal and 550g Vienna malt grain.

 

[Grasshopper]

bconnery: to follow up to your response,

Would it be safe to start the Coopers Bitter and add one of the Masterblends? Most of my Coopers kits ask for about 800g to 1000g of extra something (sugar, LDME, dextrose, etc) but (to cite your example) the Dark Crystal is like adding another 1450g of "stuff" (800g Dark Crystal and 550g Vienna malt).

And is blackbock's comment still valid about that being too much, nonetheless? I think his point was that the Masterblend just adds too much "stuff".

PS: I start off brewing 23L per batch and lose a bit after the frothing, racking, and bottling.

tarlox: when one dryhops, does that just mean I'd add 12g of the hops after racking? Do you just drop them in "plop plop" or is there some sort of process? Do you have to fish them out before bottling or do they just stay behind with the dead yeast? I'm worried about clogging the transfer hose.

haro: so a finishing hop differs from a dryhop in that finishing hops are ones you would add to the last part of the boil before dumping into the primary?

Kegdrainer: so you just doubled up on the kit? That sounds really easy. Can you do that with any style? You double up the yeast too, correct?

Simpletotoro: I'm going to check your references - thank you.

Thanks everyone...

 

[petesbrew]

bconnery: to follow up to your response,

Would it be safe to start the Coopers Bitter and add one of the Masterblends? Most of my Coopers kits ask for about 800g to 1000g of extra something (sugar, LDME, dextrose, etc) but (to cite your example) the Dark Crystal is like adding another 1450g of "stuff" (800g Dark Crystal and 550g Vienna malt).

And is blackbock's comment still valid about that being too much, nonetheless? I think his point was that the Masterblend just adds too much "stuff".

PS: I start off brewing 23L per batch and lose a bit after the frothing, racking, and bottling.

tarlox: when one dryhops, does that just mean I'd add 12g of the hops after racking? Do you just drop them in "plop plop" or is there some sort of process? Do you have to fish them out before bottling or do they just stay behind with the dead yeast? I'm worried about clogging the transfer hose.

haro: so a finishing hop differs from a dryhop in that finishing hops are ones you would add to the last part of the boil before dumping into the primary?

Kegdrainer: so you just doubled up on the kit? That sounds really easy. Can you do that with any style? You double up the yeast too, correct?

Simpletotoro: I'm going to check your references - thank you.

Thanks everyone...

hi Grasshopper,

I made that Coopers recipe (with the molasses) a month ago, but added about 150g choc malt (steeped in a coffee plunger for 30min, then sparged) and about 15g goldings. In hindsight I should've left out the choc, as I can't tell how the molasses tastes! Too many flavours from everywhere else. I guess it gives a smooth edge on the bitter taste.

With the hops I've either just banged em straight in the fermenter, or thrown em in a mug with boilng water for about 10 min, then poured the whole lot in the fermenter. I've never had to worry about it clogging the hose. Both give a great finishing flavour.

But this is just my experience as an amatuer. Others here definitely have a bit more know-how.
Good luck with it! :beer:
Pete

 

[bconnery]

I used the master blends for a few recipes before I really got into grains.

For the most part I would say now that they don't add much you can't get from steeping grains, except perhaps for the ones that are all base malt, and they do use some base malts so they are kind of like different extracts.

I think that for lighter coloured and lighter OG beers you are definitely better off with grains.

In the case of a bitter the point I responded to probably does stand true, the amounts are a little over the top and you would be better off just using grains. In the case of some other beers I think they can be quite good, but I have still preferred the results from using grains.

Here's a couple of examples of where I have used them in the past:

Porter
1.5kg Morgans Dark Unhopped LME. 1kg Morgans Chocolate Malt. 1kg Morgans Dark Crystal Malt. 250g dark dry malt extract. 50g Cascade Hop pellets. Small amount of tettnager hop cones. SAFALE S-04 Yeast

Bock

2.5kg Light DME. 500g Dark DME. 1kg Morgans Chocolate Malt. 50g Hallertau hop pellets. 50g Saaz hop pellets. Morgans Lager Yeast

 

[Brooksy]

Kegdrainer: so you just doubled up on the kit? That sounds really easy. Can you do that with any style? You double up the yeast too, correct?

I think it would be prudent to try them first mate.
For me (a pensioner), it is simply a matter of an ecomonic solution to get a better beer. Where else can you buy LME for about $6.00 a kilo? As far as I'm personally concerned, toucan cheapies are by far better than a single can + kilo, 2 kilo or any combination of additives.

I've only done a couple of 'Pemium Blends', and then results of the toucan probably is a bit better, but the cost is greater. My next will prob be a toucan homebrand + hops, but I've got to do more winter ales. Haven't got enough to last yet, & by the preliminary results of the CB, I'll be doing another one or two of them.

Yeast - I doubled my yeast because I used the kit sachet + cheap commercial. A third party yeast should be strong enough to handle the full malt brew.

Do a search on toucan. There's some good information.