Coopers selling full kit & bits recipe packs with free postage.

[brzt6060]

I have a fascination with raspberries at the moment so I'm going to be racking 4L or so off after a week or two and adding 300g of raspberries.

I will probably also dry hop after 5 or 6 days with EKG or something similar.

I put my grains on to steep Saturday afternoon and then had a few drinks... Plus a few more... Long story short I forgot to put my 14l of water in the cold crash fridge to chill ready for brewing on Sunday...

I was hung over as all hell on Sunday but didn't want to bottle up the steeped goodness and make the brew next weekend nor did I want a FV sitting empty all week.

I ended up brewing it up Sunday evening and going with the no chill method over night due to the lack of chilled water. Transferred over to FV this morning and pitched the yeast at 18c.

I ended up subbing the 250g white sugar with 100g of Dex and 150g of brown sugar, I also decided to do an in the cube hop addition with 16g of Cascade. I was playing with the idea of dry hoping as well but we will see how I go.

 

[menoetes]

Sounds fine sir. Chilling +10lts of water in the fridge does help kit and extract brewing (drops the temp of the wort quickly stopping any further bittering etc.) I do it myself, but in a pinch cool tap water works just as well.

It sounds like you might be making extra work for yourself with the cubing there sir. You don't have to cube and/or no-chill timing if you don't have the iced water on hand, you can pour the boil straight into the fermenter and top it up with water from the cold tap. Once you're at 20+ liters the temp should be below 60'c and you won't be 'boiling' your hops anymore nor bittering your beer any further.

You might have to seal up the fermenter and leave it overnight to cool down to pitching temp though, but it sounds like you're doing that in the cube anyhow...

 

[ScubaSteve15]

I'm thinking of adding vanilla to the secondary, what type and how much for a mild taste.

 

[menoetes]

I've never used Vanilla Extract in my beers before though I have added vanilla beans to the boil for porters and darks. I only added 3 vanilla beans though and it gave the barest hint of vanilla in the brew which was good. Beware, vanilla can be very overpowering, especially in beer.

I can't be a lot of help with the extract bit if I have any advice to give, it is this; start small.

Add maybe a teaspoon to start, give it a day or two to diffuse into the brew and taste it. If it's not enough for your liking then add a little more and repeat, I'd stop once you can barely just taste it. Remember some flavors (like vanilla) can grow stronger as the beer ages in the bottle and as the brew itself mellows out, leaving the vanilla in the foreground of the taste.

Take notes though and let us know how you go, if in a month or two when you're drinking it, you decide there wasn't enough vanilla (or there was too much), you'll be able to look back at your notes and adjust for next time + let us all your beer-ific findings

 

[brzt6060]

Does anyone know when the next ROTM is due?

Despite my recent move to BIAB I actually don't mind these kits, they are quick and easily and the beer is drinkable.

 

[crowmanz]

around the 19-22 of the month is when the last 3 or 4 ROTMs have been

 

[menoetes]

In the next week or two sir. They come out after the 20th of the month generally but not at any set date.

 

[clauddr]

Woohoo, I'm first to announce the Cooper ROTM for Aug...
...drum roll...
Coopers Extra Strong Vintage Ale!
Just got mine in, what great value!

 

[menoetes]

Give the man credit, he's on the ball. I haven't even got my email from Coopers yet.

It's the 2014 edition of the Extra Strong Vintage Ale. They've done this one before (maybe a year or more ago?) but with all 'C' hops, coopers yeast and twice the dextrose.

I think I like the look of this one more but I am in love with Australian hops and both Ella and Galaxy are our own home-grown strains. It's going to be a lot more fragrant and full of flavour; which is good because it's going to need it to combat that toucan bitterness! Mind you, only the Galaxy hops go in the boil, the Ella and Bravo are both dry hopped...

They're using Nottingham yeast too this time, it's going to be working hard to get through two cans of concentrated malt and 500g of dextrose in a 21 liter batch. The estimated ABV is 7.5%! This monster is beginning to look a little scary to a weekend drinker like me... :blink:

 

[GNU]

Question regarding postage.

Do you get get free shipping on the recipe pack and some extras you order? Or just the kit?

 

[indica86]

It states "free shipping only applicable on ROTM pack".
They sometimes have general free shipping too.

 

[menoetes]

They currently have free shipping on all orders over $60 Australia wide, so if your recipe kit (which is something like $47) and extras come to more than that, then you should be golden.

The Celebration Ale recipe kit is still up there too, it's a nice lil' golden ale.

 

[GNU]

Thanks, didn't see they dropped the free shipping threshold

 

[clauddr]

Has anoyone else bought this? Would be cool to compare notes on delivery, brewing and tasting.

Still waiting on delivery, surprised it's taken this long - although I'm based in Perth...

I did a little calculation and the entire kit actually costs $0.50 more than it would from my LHBS - pretty impressed with my lil shop! And I quite like going in, having a chat to the guys who've got WAY more knowlege (and 1 way more stoned...haha) than me and ogle at all the cool **** on offer!

 

[brzt6060]

My last one took a little under a week to arrive in Perth as it was sent via road transport not air.

Mind if I ask who / where your local shop is? I'm still trying to find one I like that is close.

 

[clauddr]

Yeah, Los like it'll be similar. Says shipped bit who knows how long it'll be on the rd.
I live NOR so I use Brewmart in Bayswater, google them. Really cool people and prices seem to be on par with coopers online

 

[brzt6060]

Brewmart is my perfered shop as well, just looking for something abit closer. I love the fact you can order online with them then go pick it up. I'm nor but only just our side the CBD.

 

[clauddr]

Hmm, not aware of any others - Other than Brewcraft in Osbourne Park (but I've never used them). The young dude with the curly hair is a riot...horizontal in his laidback'ness!

 

[clauddr]

Ok I take back all my bad-mouthing...my kit came through yesterday. Just in time to throw on a Sunday batch

 

[Alex.Tas]

Nothing personal but if the price is that comparable, you really should support your local home brew shop. paying 50c for advice is well worth it.
I'll admit that I do buy supplies online, but only when i can't source them locally. Support the businesses that support the hobby.