Gloves Are Off And Bribie G Reaches For Can Opener

[Bribie G]

Apart from Tuesday ( Germanic type lager Hallertau) I hadn't brewed for over a month, moving house. Tonight not one but two kegs blew on me about seven o'clock. The other one is very light. Oh no not a fortnight on Oettinger.
So I did a double brew day in 50 minutes

I already had the makin's of a toucan Coopers stout with two cans of stout, obviously, a kilo of LDME and a kilo of dex. So I dragged out the stockpot and spoon and the tinnie opener - two fermenters already on Starsan so ready to go, and in just 50 minutes (watching Masterchef in the breaks and Fiona was bumped out so I'll cry myself to sleep tonight and never watch the thing again)

1 Can Coopers Stout
500 LDME
500 Dex
500 Sugaz

Kit yeasts. They are flexible. I need flexible.

I already had an ex fresh wort kit cube of icy water in the fridge. Perfect.

For each brew, Mixed up and brought the goods to the boil in the stockpot, poured into fermenter, brought up to level with tap and iced water. Pitched immediately. Done.

I can't believe I've just done a double brew day in less than an hour. With a dry hop addition of Styrians or something after a few days it should turn out nice and drinkable - always count on Coopers Stout.

Fermentation temperature? Ambient. Actually it's no business of yours what temperature I ferment at. Are you going to drink it? Ha


:super:

 

[kelbygreen]

haha I been putting down some kits of the late just simply cheaper and easier plus brew on weekends and not sure if HBS is open. I should really plan ahead but just brew when I can afford it ATM.

 

[peas_and_corn]

That's hilarious, I almost thought you were serious.

Kit yeast? heh.

 

[haysie]

They are flexible. I need flexible.

I already had an ex fresh wort kit cube of icy water in the fridge. Perfect.

For each brew, Mixed up and brought the goods to the boil in the stockpot, poured into fermenter, brought up to level with tap and iced water. Pitched immediately. Done.

I can't believe I've just done a double brew day in less than an hour. With a dry hop addition of Styrians or something after a few days it should turn out nice and drinkable - always count on Coopers Stout.

Fermentation temperature? Ambient. Actually it's no business of yours what temperature I ferment at. Are you going to drink it? Ha


:super:

reading post 6 and 7, faaerk, here we go again, kits vrs a/g. done to death, find another thread


Maybe you should be playing the violin, all those cubes you didnt fill before moving Ferment it hot just to piss yourself off even more.
Never takes long to get every fermenter and keg filled, its more so what with

 

[RdeVjun]

Ahhh, happy K&B days BribieG! I'd give my left testicle to get even a single batch through that quickly nowadays! Well maybe...

 

[Pennywise]

Nothin' wrong with a kit if you know what to do with it

 

[Adam Howard]

(watching Masterchef in the breaks and Fiona was bumped out so I'll cry myself to sleep tonight and never watch the thing again)

I was convinced they'd keep her on because she was so good to look at.

Can't beat kits for speed, got a dark ale in the fermenter at the moment, aside from steeping some carafa the whole lot took 15 minutes....krausen was on within 2 hours.

 

[MarkBastard]

Bribie most blokes that get to your age start drinking mid strength or light beers mate just a heads up hehehehehe.

 

[theMISSIONARY]

Yeah thats what i like to see!

I have a Coopers Irish stout to do and a Dark ale you have given me Evil thoughts B)

 

[Bribie G]

Bribie most blokes that get to your age start drinking mid strength or light beers mate just a heads up hehehehehe.

Life's too short to drink lite beers young Mark.

Haysie is dead right, that's why I went the stout, at least you can count on it - if I'd had to brew a Tooheys or Brigalow I think I'd have headed for an AA meeting instead <_<

 

[Phoney]

I gotta say, that headbanger stout of yours is AWESOME. (with 100g of choc, 100g roast barley, 20g of fuggles in a hop tea and nottingham yeast)

Im still kicking myself I didnt grab those cans of Coopers stout from Coles I saw on special for $4ea, I went back the next day and they were all gone.

 

[redunderthebed]

Brigalow

They're sugar is half the price of coopers and does a good job. h34r:

Welcome aboard.

 

[Fourstar]

Nothin' wrong with a kit if you know what to do with it

1. Take AG recipe, cut your base malt in 1/2
2. Take hop additions, delete anything before 20 mins.
3. Brew all grain batch as normal.
4. Take tin, remove lid and dump into boiling wort.
5. Chill, ferment and drink.

Now thats a kit beer if i ever did see one!

 

[barneyb]

I can't believe I've just done a double brew day in less than an hour. With a dry hop addition of Styrians or something after a few days it should turn out nice and drinkable - always count on Coopers Stout.

Ok kind of unrelated but not...

My girlfriend loves Guinness, not because she loves dark beer but because she loves the creamy head it gives. I was thinking about putting down some sort of dark beer for her but seeing as I don't really drink dark beer myself (yet) I don't know much about them, and even less about making them.

If I put down a Coopers Stout kit can you get that creamy head? Or is this from some other brewing process I'm not familiar with?

 

[WarmBeer]

1. Take AG recipe, cut your base malt in 1/2
2. Take hop additions, delete anything before 20 mins.
3. Brew all grain batch as normal.
4. Take tin, remove lid and dump into boiling wort.
5. Chill, ferment and drink.

Now thats a kit beer if i ever did see one!

But you would have to ask...why?

Bribie's original post was predicated on the basis of producing a double batch of beer in a total of 50 minutes.

For your idea, you still have to mash for an hour, you still have to boil for an hour, you're still spending ~80-90% of the gas (less wort volume takes less gas to boil), all for the sake of saving about $6 in grain and a buck or two in early hops. Then you lose all that by spending $10.49 at the supermarket on a tin of Coopers.

I understand what you are saying, you can make a great beer from a tin. But I think you would do this solely for the sake of using up a can, and in this case there are much quicker ways to "Pimp My Kit".

Edit: Post sounded more critical of 4* than was intended. Here's a smiley to compensate, mate

 

[Bribie G]

Ok kind of unrelated but not...

My girlfriend loves Guinness, not because she loves dark beer but because she loves the creamy head it gives. I was thinking about putting down some sort of dark beer for her but seeing as I don't really drink dark beer myself (yet) I don't know much about them, and even less about making them.

If I put down a Coopers Stout kit can you get that creamy head? Or is this from some other brewing process I'm not familiar with?

Yes I'd do a Coopers can, a pack of BE II and also steep 300g of Carapils, boil the runnings briefly to sanitise, and tip them in as well. I remember seeing Carapils used in a dark beer somewhere ... Fourstar's maybe?

 

[Fourstar]

Edit: Post sounded more critical of 4* than was intended. Here's a smiley to compensate, mate

That post was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek of the best way to use a kit if you know what todo with it! Not to be taken *seriously! :lol:


*Although i did use this method for brewing my 'get your kit off' beer for the internal Melbourne Brewers Comp.

 

[Fourstar]

Yes I'd do a Coopers can, a pack of BE II and also steep 300g of Carapils, boil the runnings briefly to sanitise, and tip them in as well. I remember seeing Carapils used in a dark beer somewhere ... Fourstar's maybe?

Yep!

Thats correct. I dont know about this creaminess with just a stout kit though, i find them to be rather acrid and heavily roasty. To obtain the Guinness palate, I'd be more partial to using a draught tin and steeping a low amount of roast barley just to get the colour up there, ruby garnet highlights etc. After all Guinness isnt overtly roasty. Maybe close to 30SRM? So lets just say 300g of RB (4%~) and equal amounts of carapils should suffice for the dextrin count. As for the creaminess, id look at probably using a low attenuative yeast to increase viscosity/FG of the beer, must boil some hops for head formation, maybe 30g of EKG for 5-10 mins for some hop oils and carb to a low volume to keep fine bubbles.

Without nitrogen though, the mouthfeel will never be draught like, just not possible. (besides a low carbed sparkler method).

 

[barneyb]

Cheers for the help. I just read up on it a bit and they do attribute the creamy head mostly to the nitrogen but I think I'll give it a shot anyway. Always wanted to get into stouts!

 

[benno1973]

...because she loves the creamy head it gives....

Wow, my girlfriend also loves creamy head!

Sorry, what forum is this?

BTW - for what it's worth, I'd go a highly attenuative yeast for a stout. Guiness, while creamy, is also dry if that makes sense. There's no residual sweetness, just a creamy mouthfeel. Hard to achieve without mashing/steeping and/or using nitrogen