Excited for toucan stout brew!

[mattdean4130]

Well i just put down a toucan stout brew, as per a recipe i found around somehwere

1 Coopers Dark Ale
1 Coopers Stout
500g brown sugar
250ml espresso (my own addition)

I have to say i think it's the most excited i've been about a new brew!

Initial wort taste was nice, fairly bitter. I wonder if the coffee made a difference in bitterness, i really should've taken a sample before adding it.

Anyway, it's looking good this morning. Already started a bit of krousen.

Winter's going to be gooooooooooood :chug:

 

[Econwatson]

Good luck mate, what yeast are you using?

 

[mattdean4130]

Good luck mate, what yeast are you using?

For this one, I used both kit yeasts i started in some dex a couple days ago (kind of for a baseline)

If it's good, next batch i might re-culture some yeast from Coopers Best Extra and see how that goes.

 

[sp0rk]

I'm very tempted to do a choc stout soon and let it sit in keg until late july to age a little
I need a little help emptying a keg though...

 

[mattdean4130]

I'm very tempted to do a choc stout soon and let it sit in keg until late july to age a little
I need a little help emptying a keg though...

Well, if you're offering :chug:

 

[sp0rk]

I'll have to hurry up and get my smoker finished and have a shindig for the local brewers

 

[joshF]

Really keen to see how this turns out! I might give it a try with the Nottingham and a bit less coffee. Keep us posted Matt

 

[mattdean4130]

Will do Josh! I found the recipe (minus coffee) on this forum somewhere, and the poster was very happy with the recipe (apologies i didn't take note of who it was, but full credit to them)
.
I really like the subtle coffee hint in Coopers Best Extra, so i thought i'g give it a go.

Admittedly, i have no idea how much coffee i should have used. I have a little espresso machine, so i used that and three panella fulls to 250ml (three double shot coffee's) - I figure that's pretty small in 23litres, but i guess it depends on how much it carries through.

Went home from work at lunchtime and i've got mount Vesuvius krousen going now!

Sp0rk. keep me posted. Even getting a few together down the Jetty or something could be cool, would be great to all try each others brew! I'll have a few ready in a month or two...

 

[Arghonaut]

Yeah organise a get together, be fun to share a few drinks and meet some other brewers from around here. I have a picnip tap and sodastream adaptor for portable keg shenanigans, can stick it in a bin of ice if no room in a fridge

Got a cube hopped APA, Irish Red, Dark Mild and Aussie Ale on tap at the moment

 

[mattdean4130]

Well, early days yet but this smells amazing under the lid. Will check gravity in a few days (day 5) and have a little taste...

 

[Josho]

I would say that the Kit yeast will serve you quite well on this the flavours should be lovely and bold,

Was it a 23ltr brew?

 

[mattdean4130]

I would say that the Kit yeast will serve you quite well on this the flavours should be lovely and bold,

Was it a 23ltr brew?

Yes it is indeed. I thought about dropping it down to 20ltr - but i thought it best i try it at 23 first!

I'm hoping for a big flavour, but hopefully reasonably smooth drinking like a best extra (which i'm enjoying right now actually, out on my balcony on this chilly mid north coast night

 

[sp0rk]

tis a bit chilly tonight
some good news, we're getting a new home brew shop!
there is a Country Brewer franchise opening up in the Hi Tech Drive Industrial Estate in Toormina
Their grand opening is the 15th of June
I work in Craft Cl, so no doubt they'll be seeing a lot of me

 

[mattdean4130]

tis a bit chilly tonight
some good news, we're getting a new home brew shop!
there is a Country Brewer franchise opening up in the Hi Tech Drive Industrial Estate in Toormina
Their grand opening is the 15th of June
I work in Craft Cl, so no doubt they'll be seeing a lot of me

Very cool.
Although i've just shown my face enough in there the last few weeks i'm at "conversation" status with Jeff (or Geoff, i don't know...)

Sp0rk, where abouts are you in Coffs? I'm at Jetty - right near the old hospital.

 

[bum]

kit yeasts i started in some dex a couple days ago

What's the reasoning here?

Cannot think of a single good aspect to this process.

 

[mattdean4130]

What's the reasoning here?

Cannot think of a single good aspect to this process.

Well, you're an encouraging one huh?

Would you like to elaborate on why it was such a bad idea in that case?

As for reasoning, well - everything i read seems to support getting the yeast started early before dumping them in the fermenter - so i'm just experimenting and having fun trying stuff. Sorry if it's incorrect.

 

[Arghonaut]

tis a bit chilly tonight
some good news, we're getting a new home brew shop!
there is a Country Brewer franchise opening up in the Hi Tech Drive Industrial Estate in Toormina
Their grand opening is the 15th of June
I work in Craft Cl, so no doubt they'll be seeing a lot of me

Interesting, a quick look at the website shows grains & liquid yeasts, be real happy if I can buy them locally.

 

[Lecterfan]

Yeast that multiplies in a starter made of simple sugars (like dextrose) are not going to be the healthy olympic level triathletes that you need them to be when it comes to fermenting more complex sugars like you get in a 'wort' made of malt - especially two cans of the stuff.

Glad you are excited for your brew, hope it works out for you. If you find something is lacking or not quite right then keep searching - you'll find an enormous wealth of info here to improve your brews. :icon_cheers:

 

[mattdean4130]

Yeast that multiplies in a starter made of simple sugars (like dextrose) are not going to be the healthy olympic level triathletes that you need them to be when it comes to fermenting more complex sugars like you get in a 'wort' made of malt - especially two cans of the stuff.

Glad you are excited for your brew, hope it works out for you. If you find something is lacking or not quite right then keep searching - you'll find an enormous wealth of info here to improve your brews. :icon_cheers:

Oh, okay.
Thanks for explaining that - i appreciate your feedback

What would be the better way of doing it?

If it's any consolation i had yeast activity and krousen within 12 hours (could've been earlier, but i was sleeping).

 

[fletcher]

for pitching yeast, a helpful tool i've found is at: http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

it'll show you the correct amount to add for beers, based on your OG and what type of yeast you're using. if you're using dry kit yeast then in some 'bigger' beers you might find you'll need more yeast to make sure they don't get stressed when fermenting (and start adding off flavours to your brew).

starters are one way of doing this (search the website/google for how to make starters) or even getting different/more yeast to suit the style you're brewing. your LHBS will come in handy for amazing styles of yeast to try.