Coopers Draught Kit

[Econwatson]

Hi guys,

After my debacle towards the end of my first batch, I've decided to make a simple Coopers Draught Kit to improve my technique so I can make a better job of my next partial.

Could you guys help me out with a couple of questions?
My first is an easy one. I was wondering where you guys get your pots for brewing the big 20+ litre batches? The biggest one I could get at Big W was 19 litres I think. Do you split the batch?
Alternatively, the instructions on the kit say to add 20l of cool water to the 2 litres containing the kit and brew enhancer. Can I just do that in the fermenter once I have cooled the 2 litres?

My second is about the yeast packet they provide. I'm heading to Liqourcraft today and I was wondering if you would recommend me picking up another type of yeast other than the one in the packet?

Lastly, is there anything I can do to jazz up the draught apart from adding brew enhancer? I know it's just a draught so it's not ever gonna be the most exciting beer in the world, but any suggestions or things you guys might have done would be really appreciated! It feels so simple after my first brew!

Thanks for your help again guys, apologies for all the new topics

 

[carniebrew]

I'm a little confused. Are you wanting to add your own bittering hops to this kit? If not, why bother doing a boil at all? That kit is designed to be added to two litres of boiled hot water inside your fermenter, and then topped up with cold water from the tap to around 18 litres...then check the temps and add more cold or hot water so that you end up with 23 litres at around 23 degrees.

If you want to change it up a bit, grab a Fermentis US-05 yeast, and add 500 grams of light dried malt (DME) to the mix. Only top up your fermenter to 21 litres and you'll end up with a pretty good beer at around 5% abv.
EDIT: 21 litres if it's Coopers Brew Enhancer 2, go to 22 litres if it's Brew Enhancer 1.

 

[Econwatson]

Thanks for the response.

Wow, I am amazed at how easy this is compared to my first brew! I think I have some DME left over from my first batch. Would I put it in with the two litres of boiling water?

 

[carniebrew]

Thanks for the response.

Wow, I am amazed at how easy this is compared to my first brew! I think I have some DME left over from my first batch. Would I put it in with the two litres of boiling water?

What was your first batch? (EDIT: Just had a look at your topics, I assume you're referring to the bottle capping debacle? That is a huge shame for your first brew! What was the recipe though, did it include a boil and hop additions?)

Yes on the DME, put the two litres of just boiled water into your fermenter, add the DME and pick your fermenter up and swirl it around until all the DME is dissolved. It may take a while, the DME being a very fine powder tends to clump a lot. DON'T be tempted to stir it, it'll make it worse...just keep swirling 'til it's all gone, should take a good few minutes.

 

[NewtownClown]

Yes.
Dump the DME into your clean and sanitised fermenter. Pour the majority of your boiled water on top. Pick up the fermenter and swirl until the DME has dissovled (it can be troublesome but it will dissolve).
Add the Brew Enhancer and swirl to dissolve, pour in the can contents and stir/swirl. Pour the remainder of your boiled water to the can to get the rest of the goo.
Mix it all up then add your top up water.

You could trick it out with some dry hopping.

 

[bignath]

DON'T be tempted to stir it, it'll make it worse...just keep swirling 'til it's all gone, should take a good few minutes.

Rubbish...

Dump the DME into your clean and sanitised fermenter. Pour the majority of your boiled water on top. Pick up the fermenter and swirl until the DME has dissovled (it can be troublesome but it will dissolve).

Whilst these two methods will work, an even easier way is to put your boiling water into a big salad bowl if you have one. Any large bowl will work. Add your DME to the bowl and stir with a whisk.

mutter the magical phrase "Clumps - Be Gone" and you're done. Way easier.

And not trying to nitpick, but saying that stirring in the DME makes it clump more is just crap.

Stir it in gradually and life's all sunshiney and happiness things..

EDIT: Forgot to add, make sure you leave some boiling water behind from the DME addition. It's useful for pouring into the goo can to get the last little bits hiding in the seal out and into your fermenter.

 

[Silvern]

And not trying to nitpick, but saying that stirring in the DME makes it clump more is just crap.

Stir it in gradually and life's all sunshiney and happiness things..

+1. DME pretty much melts anyway! I added a coopers brew enhancer 2 that was two years past its use by date. Hard as a freaking rock. 5 minutes in a saucepan full of water on the stove and the whole lot had disolved. Added to my boil for 10min, no worries.

With your straight DME, one thing the OP should try and avoid is adding it slowly to a pot, saucepan, anything with steam. Pouring it slowly just allows steam and moisture to get inside the bag and you'll see the DME particles stick to each other. I've always just poured in to a whirlpool of water and let it sort itself out

 

[Bribie G]

Use the BE2, a "cleaner" yeast such as US-05 and ferment under 20, and you should get a very drinkable brew. When I had been doing AG for a while a buddy wanted to know about getting into brewing with kits, so I bought the ingredients and he came round for a demo. Being a tightarse I kept the beer (gave him a few bottles left over after kegging ) and just drank it on tap after a couple of weeks. No complaints, went down well. It was Coopers Real Ale IIRC and I don't recall dry hopping or anything.

My partials career was fairly short, from July to November 2008 and after all the steeping, mashing, sparging etc I decided it was little extra effort to go BIAB so I bought an Urn

 

[glenwal]

Yes.
Dump the DME into your clean and sanitised fermenter. Pour the majority of your boiled water on top. Pick up the fermenter and swirl until the DME has dissovled (it can be troublesome but it will dissolve).

You'll have less trouble if you add the water first, and then the DME.

 

[Black Devil Dog]

If you use a 1.5kg can of LME instead of 1 kg bag of DME you won't have clumps of any thing.

Add 250g of dextrose and add water stir vigorously whilst filling with water.

Boil some water, pour 250ml into a jug, chuck in your hops bag, leave for 15mins, empty the lot into F.V, throw in shiploads of ice to get temp to 18 deg +/- a couple.

Add yeast, (Coopers is fine IMO). Set and forget.

K.I.S.S.

 

[sp0rk]

If you use a 1.5kg can of LME instead of 1 kg bag of DME you won't have clumps of any thing.

Add 250g of dextrose and add water stir vigorously whilst filling with water.

Boil some water, pour 250ml into a jug, chuck in your hops bag, leave for 15mins, empty the lot into F.V, throw in shiploads of ice to get temp to 18 deg +/- a couple.

Add yeast, (Coopers is fine IMO). Set and forget.

K.I.S.S.

DON'T THROW IN ICE
you don't want anything non sterile in there at this point
If anything, make an ice bath in your laundry sink and sit the fermenter in there
remember to douse the fermenter tap liberally with no rinse sanitizer once you pull it out of the ice bath

 

[Black Devil Dog]

I always throw in ice, works perfectly. I will continue to do it.

If you are concerned, boil the water first and sanitise you ice cubey thing.

IMHO it is better than having your brew sitting around in a bathtub for an hour or two waiting for the temp to drop from high twenties to high teens, potentially catching all the micro nasties floating around.

Each to their own though.

 

[sp0rk]

Gladwrap stops those nasties getting in

 

[Diesel80]

Gladwrap stops those nasties getting in

This.

Also, I don't think that there is anything wrong with pitching yeast in a few degrees over temp. As long as you are able to bring the temp down soon after to where you need it.

1st phase involves the yeast multiplying to sufficient numbers to handle the task at hand, this can take a number of hours to complete. This is fast tracked at slightly warmer temps if not mistaken.

I pitch anywhere up to 28 degrees, but do have a fridge that will drop this to 18-20 in a few hours. This is for an ale yeast mind you.
I dont brew with lager yeast yet.

Happy to be corrected if this is actually sh1tcanning my beers.

Cheers,
D80

 

[Econwatson]

Wow! Thanks guys! What I really love about this hobby is how passionate everybody I meet is about the subject! It's great to see it! I will do as you have suggested

I have a side question, related to my bottling debacle! I've bought some carb drops and some proper caps this time and I am going to re-prime. I was wondering though, how long should I wait until re-priming. It has been 8 days since I primed them now. I just don't want any glass explosions!

 

[Black Devil Dog]

That seems like a pretty scary thing to do to be honest.

Are you going to recarbonate beer in glass bottles?

Even though the caps didn't seal properly the first time around, I would have thought that there would still be some carbonation happening. Maybe I'm wrong.

Call me chicken ****, but the risk of having a battery of glass bombs going off in my house would seem to outweigh any benefit of saving a batch of home brew.

 

[bignath]

I agree with BDD.

8 days is barely enough time for the fastest carbonation to take place. I'd put em away for a month or so, forget about them, and then revisit this idea then.

 

[Econwatson]

Thanks for the advice guys! If that was the case, could I recap them and expect to see any carbonation as they are?

 

[Black Devil Dog]

I think you might still get some carbonation, how much though is anyone's guess.

If you recap them as they are, you might get flat beer.

If you recarbonate and recap them, you might get glass bombs.

Plastic bottles are the best option for home brewing and for good reason.

 

[yum beer]

Dont **** with anything that may result in bottle bombs....scary ****.



Never had an actual 'bomb' but did have 3 bottles fall from a carton, about 20 cm to the ground, 1 went off like a bomb,

glass everywhere, under the fridge, in milk crates, in my leg.......other 2 bottles sat under an esky for 5 days before I moved them...shitting a little the whole
time I was playing with them, straight in the wheelie bin with head turned.......I never want something thats gonna randomly go 'kaboom' any where near me.

Recap the first batch and see how they go....if no good its only 1 batch.