Toucan Stout/dark Ale Side By Side Brew Test

[Darken]

well ive been thinking about putting on a coopers lager / 3kg ESB special stout using 1kg brown sugar and the esb yeast What does everyone think about this combo? what should i expect from this combo?

 

[RdeVjun]

well ive been thinking about putting on a coopers lager / 3kg ESB special stout using 1kg brown sugar and the esb yeast What does everyone think about this combo? what should i expect from this combo?

Haven't tried that combo, but other correspondents do rave about that particular lager tin as a base in toucans.
They recommend WLP004 Irish Ale, is that the one you wanted to use though? Or the DCL that the kits seem to come with? (Their website is ambiguous. And badly in need of splelcheckinf.) Never used either, Nottingham is my latest breed under test, used plenty of S-04 and a few other ale yeasts in the past and often found the kit ones wanting.
And the sugar, well sure, in that quantity it'll get you really pissed (that's 4.7kg of goo to start with, then you're adding the sugar), but could taste a bit rugged- it has its place though and, IIRC Guiness (the target with the ESB kit) has a fairly small amount of it as a component? :unsure: I could be mistaken, I may've just seen it in a clone recipe somewhere. I'd be more inclined to just use some steeped roasted barley rather than more sugar, or at least that much of it, and some aroma hops, but the hops would be departing from the style.
See how you go with it, am surprised there haven't been any other responses. Oh well, these forums can be finicky things sometimes, that's the way the cookie crumbles...

Edit: To clarify- Am not suggesting that the Roasted Barley is a substitute for sugar, it contributes very little if anything to the fermentables, particularly in commonly used quantities (usually <200g). I just wouldn't use the 1kg of sugar at all, if it were me I'd just "kit & bits" it with the steeped RB and aroma hops. You could balance it a bit with varying quantities from the toucans and if its too bitter, substitute some of the kit goo with LME. Doing that gets fairly complex pretty quickly though, and is not really in the often rough & ready spirit or standard measures of k&b or k&k (i.e. 1.0, 1.7 or 3.0kg tins- full). Cheers, RdeV.