Got extract for Christmas

BetterSense · 12-25-2011, 04:17 PM

I only brew all-grain, but I got a Cooper's Stout can and 2lb of light DME for Christmas from well-meaning relatives.

I already have some regular stout in the pipeline, but I've been wanting to try a coffee stout. Can anyone suggest how I can brew up my Cooper's Stout can plus 2lb of DME into a coffee stout?

I really haven't brewed from extract. The directions on the can say to mix it with room-temp water and sugar, so I guess I could mix the Cooper's can and the DME together with water until I get a 1.043 or so, but I don't know when to add the coffee or what kind or how much. I want a dry, bitter stout with some coffee flavor.

**david_42** · 12-25-2011, 04:22 PM

Many ways of adding coffee. I prefer soaking ground coffee post-ferment. I use a half-pound of coarsely ground french-roast and give it a week.

**unionrdr** · 12-25-2011, 04:37 PM

1.043 is close to what you'll get with the cooper's can & 2lb of DME. Just keep an eye on the top off water level. My wife did a cooper's can with 2lb of DME & got a 1.042OG @ 6 gallons. Just for reference....besides the cooper's being designed for 6G,or 23L. But I think hers was closer to 5.5 gallons. Had to guess at the 6 gallon mark on the BB ale pale.

BetterSense · 12-25-2011, 05:07 PM

This is all pretty weird. So I don't have to boil it, and it already has enough hops in it to be bitter enough to be called stout?

That's really easy.

McGarnigle · 12-25-2011, 11:00 PM

I think you are supposed to bring water to the boil, kill the heat and add the extract. The residual heat sanitizes the extract.

**HbgBill** · 12-25-2011, 11:39 PM

The Coopers kits I've done.. you heat the LME in a hot water bath. In another pot.. boil up ~1-2 gals of water and pour in the FV. Add the DME and stir in well. Then add the LME and stir in well. Top off with water to the desired amount. As unionrdr mentioned.. the kits are designed for 23 L.. but, you aren't using their Enhancer.. you are using your own fermentables. These are all added in the FV rather than the BK.

But, you don't have to boil the wort.. just the water you add to it unless you want to add more hops. I'd guess you can add those as you would a normal brew.. but you can do that with just the water and add the extracts as above after you turn off the heat.

badlee · 12-26-2011, 03:35 AM

I would boil half a gallon of water with half of the DME for 15-0 mins with some Fuggel or EKG,then use that to disolve the kit and remaining DME with.
I like to add 5ml of VERY strong coffee to the bottles(630ml) individually.

BetterSense · 01-25-2012, 04:31 PM

This beer turned out so bad that I dumped it. I have no idea what I did...I mixed the DME and cooper's can together to the proper OG and let it ferment the same as all my other batches...it was watery, not very dark, and tasted very disappointing. I don't know how to describe the taste, but it wasn't good.

On the other hand the all-grain Guiness clone I brewed the same weekend (for half the price!) seems to be turning out fine, if a little sweet.

**unionrdr** · 01-25-2012, 05:04 PM

Well,stouts do take some time to mature flavor wise. I boil 2.5-3 gallons of water in my 5G BK. Add half a 3lb bag of plain DME for hop additions. At flame out,take BK off heat to add remaining DME & all the cooper's can of LME. Or if you're using plain LME as well. Put the lid on to steep at least a couple minutes. Though I'm finding a 10 minute steep also allows the temp to come down more than 2-3 minute steep. Makes the ice bath go faster according to my findings.
And when I brewed my dark ale recipe for the whiskely ale,I used plain amber DME. So the light DME was likely too light for the stout,giving a lighter color & throwing off the stout's flavor profile,ime.