Coopers Stout

[tucker76]

Hey all, i am about to brew up a Coopers Stout. As you will all be aware it is starting to heat up here in Queensland. I will be brewing this in my Wine Cooler which stays around the 19 degree mark What i need to know is-

a - is 19 degrees an ok brewing temp?
b- will i need to buy some kinda special yeast if it is ok to brew at 19

c- i will be using the coopers fermenter without the collar as i am restricted height wise in the wine cooler, will this be ok as i have seen the foam go kinda ape shit on some of these stouts.



Cheers any advice will be gratefully received

 

[Mayor of Mildura]

a. yes.
b. no
c. yes.

Even though the kit yeast will work I'm not a massive fan of the flavour and reckon a really easy way to improve a kit is to swap out for a better yeast. Try nottingham, so4 or us05 dry yeast (i have listed them in my order of preference).

Cheers

:edited cause i am stoopid.

 

[Mayor of Mildura]

hang on a minute I have just read c again. Are you proposing to leave the fermenter open? Possibly not such a great plan. you run the risk of something falling in.

 

[thedragon]

Tucker, I've had success with this one by replacing the kit yeast with US05. A mate of mine swears by the yeast which comes with the tin - and it tastes fine - I just prefer the US05 and find it worth the extra $5.

Do yourself a favour and add a little licorice extract to the primary before you pitch the yeast. From memory a teaspoon did the trick. If I've got it wrong, please correct me.

19 degrees should be fine.

Dunno about the foam, I've not had any problems.

Hey all, i am about to brew up a Coopers Stout. As you will all be aware it is starting to heat up here in Queensland. I will be brewing this in my Wine Cooler which stays around the 19 degree mark What i need to know is-

a - is 19 degrees an ok brewing temp?
b- will i need to buy some kinda special yeast if it is ok to brew at 19

c- i will be using the coopers fermenter without the collar as i am restricted height wise in the wine cooler, will this be ok as i have seen the foam go kinda ape shit on some of these stouts.



Cheers any advice will be gratefully received

 

[tucker76]

hang on a minute I have just read c again. Are you proposing to leave the fermenter open? Possibly not such a great plan. you run the risk of something falling in.

Thanks for the advice squire.


No i will be puuting the lid on like, i was talking about the removable collar thingy

 

[tucker76]

Tucker, I've had success with this one by replacing the kit yeast with US05. A mate of mine swears by the yeast which comes with the tin - and it tastes fine - I just prefer the US05 and find it worth the extra $5.

Do yourself a favour and add a little licorice extract to the primary before you pitch the yeast. From memory a teaspoon did the trick. If I've got it wrong, please correct me.

19 degrees should be fine.

Dunno about the foam, I've not had any problems.

Where do i pick up the licorice extract

 

[tucker76]

Will dextrose be ok in this shit

 

[thedragon]

Where do i pick up the licorice extract

I got mine from Grain and Grape in Melbourne.

http://www.grainandgrape.com.au/advanced_s...amp;x=0&y=0

There was enough in the little container for about 5 brews.

Your local brew shop should have it too. You'll be fine without it, I just found that on the one time I used it, the stout had a better head and a
slightly stronger flavour. The guy at your brew shop should be able to give you more definite advice on how much to use (well better than my "about a teaspoon"). Or someone here may be able to help.

 

[petesbrew]

Are you talking about the new coopers fermenter? Not sure what you mean by the collar thingy (I'm an old coopers fermenter... screw on lid, air lock dude).

19 deg will be fine.
As well as yeast, What's your list of ingredients? List and accept some constructive criticism. :icon_cheers:

Jumping out of the airlock, I'm thinking you've seen the toucan thread where they've thrown in 2 yeast packs. (been there done that and it tastes great)

 

[tucker76]

Are you talking about the new coopers fermenter? Not sure what you mean by the collar thingy (I'm an old coopers fermenter... screw on lid, air lock dude).

19 deg will be fine.
As well as yeast, What's your list of ingredients? List and accept some constructive criticism. :icon_cheers:

Jumping out of the airlock, I'm thinking you've seen the toucan thread where they've thrown in 2 yeast packs. (been there done that and it tastes great)

Ingredients as per the tin with a bag a dextrose.


Criticise at will

 

[dkaos]

Ingredients as per the tin with a bag a dextrose.


Criticise at will

A kg of dex? I don't think that is a good idea for a stout. You want some body! Would be using a bag of malt instead.

 

[petesbrew]

Ingredients as per the tin with a bag a dextrose.


Criticise at will

Swap your dextrose for 1kg dark dried malt extract (DDME), or a 1.5kg dark liquid malt extract (DLME).'
It'll make the beer more full-bodied n awesome-like.

If you've got a coffee plunger, look into trying some steeping grain (about 150-200g roast barley)
Try some goldings or fuggles hops. (about 10g - a hopbag's worth) in the fermente

Think of it like going from Promite to Vegemite.
Yeastwise, go for Windsor (get it from Craftbrewer), or S-04, or the kit yeast at the last resort.

Save your dextrose for priming bottles.
:drinks:
Cheers
Pete

 

[tucker76]

A kg of dex? I don't think that is a good idea for a stout. You want some body! Would be using a bag of malt instead.

So you reckon i go with whats in the tin and 1kg of Dark Malt Extract?

 

[petesbrew]

So you reckon i go with whats in the tin and 1kg of Dark Malt Extract?

For sure.
Dextrose will make it taste really thin. even if you can't get the malt, use a brew enhancer 1 or 2 at least (for a bit of body at least)

 

[tucker76]

For sure.
Dextrose will make it taste really thin. even if you can't get the malt, use a brew enhancer 1 or 2 at least (for a bit of body at least)

Think i will go wi the malt extract.


Thanks for the advice

 

[Samuel Adams]

I made a simple stout for my Dad and he and his visitors loved it.

Coopers stout
LHBS stout mix (500g brown sugar, 250g DDME, 250g dex)
kit yeast

So simple & easy and it has been my best recieved brew to date.

 

[mickos]

I've heard with stouts that you can prime the bottle with a black jelly bean to get the licorice flavour. Not sure how true it is, but sounds simple enough. I would use the DDME, just put some in with a draught kit and taste great, with good mouthfeel and body. All the best on the stout, thinking I might do one soon too.

 

[thedragon]

To make it easy, if you don't have a home brew shop near you, just go with the kit plus 1 kg of coopers brew enhancer 2. You can get BE at many large supermarkets.

If you have a brew shop near you, get the dark malt extract recommended by Pete (it'll cost you $10 - 15 if you just want 1kg, much cheaper if more), licorice extract and yeast to suit; in Melb the US05 is fine inc. for a stout.

If you sanitise properly and control the temp you should be relatively happy which ever way you go. The second option will get you a better tasting beer, but it requires slightly more effort (i.e. going to the shop). The first option will also be fine.

Good luck and let us know how you go.

edit: typo

 

[Feldon]

If you after a licorice/aniseed flavour plus some body use the Coopers stout tin that you have, but chuck in a Coopers Dark Ale tin as well, and you can even throw a kilo of Dex over the top of that. Use both packs of kit yeast, light the blue touch paper and retire. She could go volcano on you (a staff member on the Coopers site recommends making up to only 18 litres to give you more head space. Then, when the foam subsides, top up to the 23 lire mark with cooled boiled water).

 

[enuun]

I am reading this thread with interest. I have a coopers stout and some out of date pilsner cans. Do you reckon I can do a toucan with the stout and pilsner? I am not too sure if the hops will go together.