First Dark Ale

[Takasonfletcher]

Hi team,

I'm a first time brewer, just bought my kit today (Coopers Kit) I have a couple of questions for you seasoned brewers before I make my first attempt. I recently went to a Home Brew Store and got 3 cans of Tooheys Dark Ale on sale 3 cans for $20, so I will be using this to start with before using the Lager kit in the box for summer time once I've experimented a bit , I've been drinking Russian Imperial Stouts and Guinness extra Stout this winter in the lead up to this so I'm happy with a full bodied dark ale

1. I've seen videos where people use 2 cans of beer kit and the Beer enhancer to get a lot of flavor (from research this will be approx 6% strength beer +/-, is this about right or should I just start with the 1 can as per normal, I've been drinking Russian Imperial Stouts (roughly 9%) this winter so a strong flavoured high alcohol content doesn't bother.
2. I've seen varying posts about the ideal temperature to ferment the wort for this type of beer, about 18 degrees, is this right, I have been relegated to brewing this in the garage so i have bought a heat belt (is this necessary)
3. The kit suggests to let this ferment for 7-10 days, Ive seen on some forums people suggest that the wort left to ferment for a month up to 2 in some cases before bottling, hoping to get some clarification on this from the forum im looking for quality more than anything so Im happy to wait to get a perfect brew.

I look forward to any tips for a first timer !!

Cheers

Taka

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

1. Called a Toucan. Good cheap way to make a cheap big beer. Lots of brewers make great beer using this method

2. 18*c or less. 18*c would be considered the upper temp limit. If you can keep it below this then your beer should be better

3. Ok...lots will say no...rack it off after 7ish days...others will say let it sit. You can let it sit as long as it doesnt get infected.

 

[petesbrew]

1. Called a Toucan. Good cheap way to make a cheap big beer. Lots of brewers make great beer using this method

2. 18*c or less. 18*c would be considered the upper temp limit. If you can keep it below this then your beer should be better

3. Ok...lots will say no...rack it off after 7ish days...others will say let it sit. You can let it sit as long as it doesnt get infected.

Welcome aboard Taka,
Be honest, how's the use by dates on those cans? Sounds like a good bargain if they're in date.

+1 for everything Ducati Stu said.
Look up the toucan thread. Plenty of variations - it's all about experimenting.

I usually leave them in the fermenter for 2-3 weeks. It's not a race.

 

[Dunkelbrau]

I've left brews in primary for 4-5 weeks.. I find it actually cleans up more off flavours.. Then again, I think I've been MASSIVELY under pitching, starter gear and aerator pump came today!

I thought ales were 18-20?

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

You can do them at 18-20.

But a lower temp can be better. I try to stick to 18.

Some ale yeast will go down to 13 . But that is not the norm.

 

[Trough Lolly]

Hi Taka,
Further to the good advice, if you've picked up some bargain priced kits, they may be a tad old. Keep a close eye on the ferment - if it stalls, you may need some fresher yeast to get the brew bubbling. A sachet or two of fresh US-05 dry yeast will do the trick...

Cheers,
TL

 

[Takasonfletcher]

Thanks team, will let you know how this weekend goes!!!

 

[Takasonfletcher]

Hi guys just checked the Best Before date on the cans and its December 2014 so Im assuming should all be fine

any other tips please feel free to share before I start on Sunday

 

[petesbrew]

You scored!
Plenty of experimenting to do with those 3 kits.
You could:
make them a massive 3 can imperial thingy
add cascade hops & US05 yeast for an American dark ale
add fuggles/goldings & S04 yeast for an English dark ale

 

[RobboMC]

While your objectives of making RIS and other great big dark beers are great ( I luv them too ) could I add a note of caution and suggest that you actually learn to brew first. Coopers include the lager kit for a reason, it's almsot impossible to stuff up. All brewers remember how poorly they created their first brew and all the unforgivable mistakes they made in that first batch.

So can I suggest that if you like dark ale just make a single can brew with one kg of brew enhancer and just work out how all the equipment works. If you like strongish beer then only add water to 19 litres of so instead of the usual 23 litres. That should get you a nice dark ale of around 5% to enjoy. When you have all the mixing, fermenting, hydrometering, and bottling all worked out, then go for it with multiple cans. It's not difficult, but practice does help. I also suggest if you use 2 cans of 'kit' then also use 2 kg of brew enhancer or malt to balance the bitterness.

My latest effort was this:

1 can Nut Brown Ale
1 can Yorkshire Bitter
1.5 kg Amber liquid malt
1 kg Brew Enhancer 2
0.4 kg Brown Sugar
50 g Golding Hops boiled ( 25g for 15 min, 25 g for 5 min )

made up to 26 litres - 6.9% abv

Not quite RIS, but a truly strong dark ale.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

But don't forget, that Dark Ales hide kit twang and other imperfections better than most lighter coloured brews. And being a first timer, you'll stuff something up. By all means, toucan away. Rehydrating one can versus two isn't the massive jump in expertise that it's made out to be. BribieG (an experienced AG brewer) still does a toucan stout for this very reason.

Coopers also include instructions that it should be brewed in the mid-high 20's degrees C. Based on that alone I'd put the reasons for including a lager in the kit with a grain of salt.

The big issue that hasn't been much dealt with is - what type of yeast are you using? How long it sits on the yeast will be contingent on (among other things) the yeast variety. If I used Nottingham - done and dusted in 4 days tops, and leave it to the end of the week before bottling. If it's US05, it can drag on for 2 weeks (if I don't rehydrate).

I'd go Notto BTW. But i prefer a dry stout.

 

[Takasonfletcher]

Thanks for the tips guys!!

 

[Trough Lolly]

So, how did you go?

Cheers,
TL

 

[Takasonfletcher]

I decided to start off with the Lager kit that came with the whole pack, just bottled it on sunday and stored away in a dark room for a couple of weeks,

Im waiting for my mate to pull his head in and get his old kit with bottles to me so I can start on the next brew which will be the Dark Ales and for my tax return so I can head straight to my local HBS h34r:

 

[Takasonfletcher]

Guys I just started batch 2

Tooheys Dark Ale
Tooheys Dark Ale
1kg Beer enhancer 2
45g Goldings @25 mins
Nottingham yeast reactivayed

Was a bit high in temp pitched the yeast at 25 then put the fermenter in a tub of ice water to bring temp down now sitting around 15. Planning to ferment for about 2 weeks before bottling.

OG was 1060, had a taste it was sweet with a kick of bitterness after but tatsed HEAPS better than my first batch which is conditioning in bottles for the past week so I'm thinking my first batch of Coopers lager will be pretty average expecting ABV of a whopping 3.2% , will keep u guys posted!!!!

Chuuuuur

 

[slcmorro]

Hi mate,

I just plugged your stats into Ianh's spreadsheet (http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/29655-kit-and-extract-beer-spreadsheet/) and got the following: (I presumed a batch size of 23L and the beer enchancer to be 50/50 LDME and Dextrose)

6.6% ALCVOL
OG 1061
FG 1013
IBU 54.2
Bottled with 100gm of Dextrose bulk primed

 

[Takasonfletcher]

Guys I just had a sickening thought when rehydrating the yeast I don't think I sanitized the cup that I used to rehydrate the Nottingham, I checked the wort this morning expecting to see massive action given the notoriety of it being an aggressive fermenter, when I checked this morning there a very small layer of froth, regardless of that I am now convinced that I have contaminated my wort, any way of checking this over the next couple of days?

 

[adryargument]

Foams good, just yeast doing its job.

I dot believe I have ever sanitised a yeast cup...

 

[NewtownClown]

I am convinced you haven't contaminated your wort. Relax.

Foams good, just yeast doing its job.

I dot believe I have ever sanitised a yeast cup...

spontaneous fermentation from bacteria or wild yeast will also produce a krausen...
just because you have never sanitised your vessel for rehydrating yeast doesn't mean it is best practise.

 

[syl]

Important: RDWHAHB. Relax, don't worry, have a home brew!