Ideas for a leftover Coopers Draught kit?

[Gr390ry]

Hi everyone,

My first post on the forums! I'm newish to brewing (currently on my second brew) and have a left over Coopers Draught kit and was wondering if anyone had a recipe that they would suggest? (I'm happy to buy some extras if I don't have them)

I was thinking of trying the Irish Ale listed on the coopers site, but thought I would go to the experts for suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Yob]

Those kits are pretty easy to pump up, grab a kilo of dry malt extract, half kilo of wheat malt extract, maybe steep some Crystal for a bit of extra colour, do a 5 lt boil (with 450g of the DME and the grain liquor) and Chuck in some hops at 20, 10 and a bunch at 0, strain or just dump into FV and top up to 20l.

Can make a pretty decent beer like this. Good luck

Don't boil the grains, strain them out..

Cheers

 

[Gr390ry]

Thanks Yob, I'll put this on my list!

 

[Gr390ry]

Tasted my first batch of beer and was extremely surprise how good it has turned out, hoping it keeps getting better in the bottle. It's got me keen to make some even better beer!

I've got Yob's recipe ready to put down this Sunday night, I got a 100g pack of cascade hops for it. Any recommendation on how much to put in at the boil times/all together? I'm a newbie using hops and this will be my first boil.

Also I'm planning my next brew and am thinking of using some Kentucky whiskey wood chips to give the beer a whiskey sort of aroma/flavour, I've tried to find a recipe for either a K&K or extract but haven't come across anything. Anyone have any suggestions? I was thinking a IPA style beer. Any help would be great!

 

[Scottye]

I'd say you've got enough hops for two brews.
So why not go
15g at 20 minutes
15g at 10 minutes
20g dry hopped on day 4

 

[Gr390ry]

Those kits are pretty easy to pump up, grab a kilo of dry malt extract, half kilo of wheat malt extract, maybe steep some Crystal for a bit of extra colour, do a 5 lt boil (with 450g of the DME and the grain liquor) and Chuck in some hops at 20, 10 and a bunch at 0, strain or just dump into FV and top up to 20l.

Can make a pretty decent beer like this. Good luck

Don't boil the grains, strain them out..

Cheers


Only just getting to this draught can tomorrow night as I got called into work on Sunday. Just wanted to clarify some things before going ahead (sorry to ask so many questions, I'm a newbie on using any grain and DME).

1. I got some crystal grain to steep. Do I do a 6.5L boil (what temp am I going for before adding the grains?) I add the grain. Steep for an hour and take it off the boil?

2. Yob said to get 1kg of DME and 500g of Wheat extract which I got. Do I put all of this in after I have brought the wort back to boil?

3. I have some dextrose I was going to add (roughly 200g) to boost the brew. Should I not worry about this?

4. What kind of beer am I going to produce with this recipe? I'm still a total newb on how the different ingredients change the style and Beersmith confuses the crap out of me.

Once again sorry about all the questions, I don't want to be annoying but I wanted to make sure I get it right.

 

[manson81]

Don't boil or put the crystal into boiling water mate.

Get the 250 odd grams of the grain and chuck it into a litre of hot water, not boiling. Hot tap water is fine but if you can be arsed, make the water 68 degrees then put the grain in. Steep for 30 mins in that water, not on the stove (doesn't matter if it gets a few degrees cooler).

You'll then want to strain it into your pot with a sieve and rinse the sieve into the pot with another litre of hot water. Don't get any grain into the pot.

Then you do as Yob said, add more water to make up 5 or 6l, add the Malt, bring to the boil and add some hops.

Remember that your can of draught is already hop bittered so you are just looking to add flavour mostly. So add lower AA hops and around the schedule Yob and Von Scott mentioned.

 

[manson81]

Oh and probably ditch the dextrose. Although in saying that, I did put 300g into the brew I made last night, to try and dry it out a bit.

Add 500g of the light Malt before you start boiling, then just add the rest at the end of the boil, when you put the wort into the fermenter.

 

[Gr390ry]

Ahh now it all makes sense. Thanks for the clear up Manson. I'll go into this brew far more prepared than I was if I didn't get those questions answered!

 

[rheffera]

The boys are right. you can turn a spare kit into something tasty rather easily. Im drinking the following now:

Coopers Lager
Coopers tin Light malt
Brew enhancer #2 (got it for nothing)
220g med crystal
24G cascade @ 30
24G cascade @ 20
24G cascade @ 15
24G Cascade @ 10
32G Cascade Dry
US-05

One of my first brews and 4 months and 7 more batches later is still a beautiful drop. I'd easily make it again.

 

[Gr390ry]

I'm hoping mine turns out good, just waiting on the kids bedtime before starting my brew. I'm pretty pumped haha.

I picked up some Citra hops today as well so might chuck some in, anyone know if they complement the cascade? I'll let you guys know how I go. Wish me luck!

EDIT: iPhone autocorrecting me.

 

[rheffera]

Funny you should mention that.

My last IPA i made with leftover hops was a mix of cascade and citra.

It was:

Pride of ringwood for bittering
14g cascade @ 15
14g cascade @ 10
36g citra @ 5
28g cascade dry hop.


I would describe cascade as floral with some citrus and Citra as Citrusy with some floral,

They work great together, As for how much and when... Well, its a bit like cooking. the possibilities are endless

 

[Scottye]

Yeah
They work together, just avoid dry hopping with Citra until you get a feel for it

 

[Gr390ry]

All went well with the brew last night (I hope). I ended up getting a app on my iPad and plug in all my ingredients, I was almost spot on with the estimated gravity, app said I should be at 1.054 and I hit 1.052 OG. The temp is sitting on roughy 18 degrees.

Hopefully she turns out nice, taste out of the FV was nice. Keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks for all your help and advice guys!

 

[pat86]

Good work Greg, I've got a pimped can fermenting too and pretty excited to see how it turns out as well, different ingredients but same method by the looks. Temperature controlling has been the hardest thing for me yet, if you can keep it at 18C that is awesome.

My first brew was pitched at about 28C and I think fermented between 25-30C and I'm pretty sure that is the main reason it doesn't taste quite right... That and forgetting to prime a couple of bottles.

 

[Gr390ry]

Temp control for me is the hardest thing as well as I have no fridge to store the FV in. I've just gone with a swamp style cooling system. Ice bath for the FV and regular changing the ice bottles I have in there have helped keep the temps down a lot, also have a wet towel dropped over the FV to keep it cool. I pitched at about 22.

Good luck with your brew Pat, let me know how it goes I'd be interested to hear. What was your hop bill like? I'm hoping I didn't over hop, but it didn't taste to bitter from first taste I had.

 

[Gr390ry]

So I'm at 24 hours with no signs of fermentation in the bubble lock, a bit if condensation on the FV lid. I know it can sometimes take a while, just wondering on any signs to look out for in the next few days to see if my yeast isn't active?

My temp is sitting at 18 degrees if that makes any difference.

 

[Shonkzy]

I am currently enjoying a coopers draught hybrid much similar to what yob stated. I added 1.5 kg of wheat malt though.

Ended up at 1.059 sg finished at 1.013 using us-05

I wouldn't worry too much about a lagging fermentation mate. just try not to open the vessel and look!
Its not recommended but if I have a slow start I just give the fermenter a bit of a swirl every couple of hours for the first few days until I see some sort of krausen forming.

Did you make a yeast starter? Or rehydrate the yeast before pitching?

 

[Gr390ry]

I'm not too worried as I have read that it can take a few days to get started sometimes. I didn't, was contemplating rehydrating but ended up pitching dry. I'll give it a bit of a swirl when I get home, hopefully it starts bubbling away soon.

what's the advantages of rehydrating? Just to make sure the yeast is active and get fermenting started quicker?

 

[Shonkzy]

Rehydrating the yeast dissolves the yeast particles into a slurry and activates the yeast if it is at the right temp.

I try to make a starter the day before I brew, pretty easy and you get much faster yeast activity after pitching

(Ghetto style) works none the less.

* get an empty jam jar and drill a the same size hole as the one that the grommet fits in your FM(fermentation vessel) think its 1/2 inch.

* boil your jar in water for 15 mins

*fill half the jar with your boiled water then add a couple tbsp. of ldme or sugar

*fit the lid with grommet and airlock and tighten lid.

*wait for it to cool down to fermenting temp then dissolve the yeast in the sugary mix. (can use fridge to aid in cooling)

*replace lid with airlock and grommet in place

*Leave overnight then use the next day when pitching.( just move your grommet and airlock over to the FV when required)

Many of people have different opinions of ways to start yeast. This is the best way I have found with the resourses I got on hand.

Have a look around the forum mate theres a wealth of info on how to get your yeast a good kick start!

Good luck with it mate!