Batch 4 - Coopers Draught + stuff

Inspired by a light period at work and some posts here I have ordered my next batch.

1.7Kg Coopers Draught LME Tin
1Kg Light DME
500g Crystal Malt 80-140EBC (roughly a 60L I think)
100g Challenge Hops
(Some additonal sugar)

I was hoping to get Coopers Real Ale, but... Only draught was in stock unless I split the order between suppliers.

The hops I just picked because they seemed the most "general purpose" and the most multi-purpose. I can always replace them with a small order.

Not sure how much of the sugar to add... 1 lb/500g? Less?

Also bought a second fermentation bin. Getting serious now!

Yeast... I don't know if I should just use the coopers yeast or order some thing else.

Paul

To be honest I was/am tempted to swap the crystal (or half and half it) with golden syrup... based on a tip I found elsewhere of making it more like Irish Ale. Don't know if that holds any ground.

And the process... (be gentle I'm learning...)

Melt/mix/dissolve the DME into as much water as I dare to put in the pot I have. Bring to the boil, lower to just under the boil, add the hops (2oz/50g?) add the crystal if I'm using it and/or the syrup and maintain the temp below boil over for what? 60mins?

Take off the heat, tip into the bin through a strainer, add the coopers tin, add any extra sugar, add a kettle of boiling water to aid mixing/disolving then fill with cold water to 23lt.

I'm positive I have lot of that completely wrong

venquessa said:

And the process... (be gentle I'm learning...)

Melt/mix/dissolve the DME into as much water as I dare to put in the pot I have. Bring to the boil, lower to just under the boil, add the hops (2oz/50g?) add the crystal if I'm using it and/or the syrup and maintain the temp below boil over for what? 60mins?

Take off the heat, tip into the bin through a strainer, add the coopers tin, add any extra sugar, add a kettle of boiling water to aid mixing/disolving then fill with cold water to 23lt.

I'm positive I have lot of that completely wrong

Click to expand...

I use a 5 gallon (19L) ss stock pot. I typically boil 2.5-3 gallons of water for the boil (something like 10L I think). Use a floating thermometer in the pot,tied to the pot's handle. Put you grains in a grain sack,tied to the handle as well,or put a cake cooling rack in the bottom of the pot that'll fit. This keeps the grains/sack from burning on the bottom.
Get the grains/water up to between 150-160F (you'll have to convert temps).
Maintain this temp range & steep for about 30 mins. At the end of that time,you can prop a strainer over the pot,put the grain bag in it,a pour a teapot full of hot water over the grains,but no more than 170F water.
Then raise temp,take out thermometer. Bring to a boil. As it comes close to boiling,you'll get a foamy hot break,so keep a spray bottle of water & your spoon handy. The spray mist & stiring will help keep the foam down for the 3 minutes or so it'll last.
Then add the DME & do your hop additions. Since the cooper's can is pre-hopped with bittering only,you can just boil the hops for 25 minutes. In other words,1oz @ 25,minutes,the 2nd ounce at 12-15 minutes from the end.
At flame out,add the remaining fermentables & stir very well to make sure non is sitting on the bottom. Allow to steep,covered,for 10-15 minutes. Then chill down to pitch temp. Pour through fine mesh strainer into the fermenter,dito with top off water. The strainer will not only get the grainy bits out,but aerate all pretty well. Look for 3-5 inches of foam at this point.
Then stir roughly for 5 solid minutes to mix well,& aerate further. Take hydrometer sample for OG. Pitch yeast & seal fermenter. Hope this makes things clearer.

Okay. Makes more sense, thanks.

Only one thing. Is there anyway to do this with a smaller pot... like a pot just capable of boiling a single gallon? If I add the coopers tin and sugar to the fermentation bin after the boil?

I expect you'll say no here. Trying to put off purchasing that stock pot

Okay, suppose I have to order the pot then LOL

Is a 1 gallon strainer bag big enough? It's a paint strainer, but claims to be suitable for jams, tea and other food grade uses.

I was thinking of tieing it closed and dumping it in the middle (on a metal rack), but thinking about it, it would just roll off onto the bottom and burn. I'm sure I can rig a hanger for it.

Floating thermometers are looking expensive circa $30 (£18). Is a non-contact laser pointer thermometer a good enough tool?

Well, I did this brew today.
1.7Kg Coopers Draught can,
1Kg Light DME,
500g Crystal Malts
56g Challenger hops.

I followed the process that unionrdr gave me above, but I just boil the whole 2oz/56g of hops for 15 minutes.

One mistake was my water for sparging the grains and hops was a bit hotter than 170F, more like 190F/200F, as it was a near boilt kettle. Oops.

I didn't get much of a hot break, I kept stirring it and a creamy smooth foam appeared all over, then slowly cleared as it started to churn. After than it was foam free.

I cooled The 2 gallon wort by placing it in the sink of cold water and running very cold water from the tap continuously at a rate which the overflow could cope, this kept the water cold in the sink. It cooled in about 5 minutes to 43C at which point I tipped it into the FV and added cold water. Bingo right on the money (pure luck) wort was 20C!

With no sugar added I got an OG reading of 1.042. Good enough, in went the coopers yeast and on when the lid.

2 weeks till first FG sample.

Immediately I noticed a difference in the flavour of the wort, an obvious bitter taste from the hops. I hope that tones down just a tad.

It's only been in the barrel now for about 20 minutes and the trub/cake is a good inch thick, that's the thickest I've seen it, is that cause I have used strained grains and hops in the mix this time?

Oh and the laser pointer thermometer works fine for me. I put it on MAX setting and scan the whole top of the wort, then look at the reading.

Steeping was at 65-70C. Boil happened about 78-80C and I only once, by accident let it rise to 86C.

Let us know how it turns out.. ok?

It was interesting to watch this one kick off. After the first night the stuff at the bottom had thinned out to a normal 1/2" and another 1/3" of stuff on top.

After 24 hours nothing much more had happened. I peeked in and it looked like porridge on the top, with finger nail size clumps of yeast floating around. Literally 2 hours of TV later and those chunks of yeast were now 2 inches across.

This morning, ~40 hours in and the head space is full of foam and yeast scum on the underside of the lid.

We have lift off.

Temp is currently 21C and that's about as low as I can get it to go. Window is open, radiator off.

Batch 3, out of interest, still gurgles the odd bubble from the airlock after 8 days, so I didn't bother taking a sample, I'll leave it until there is no visible activity and then take an FG sample. Aiming to bottle it after 2 weeks in the FV, assuming the FG samples are okay.

... and again, Coopers yeast, 5 days in FG 1.018, 8 days FG 1.018. I'm hoping for lower than that.

I've moved it somewhere warmer to see if anything will happen this week. Aiming to bring it up to 24C/75F and then move it back to 22C ambient. If nothing happens, I'll just bottle it on Saturday anyway at 1018

Have you tried giving it a "swirl"? I know some folks say "no" to trying to rouse your yeast, but if you've got time, that's all it might take to get things going again. You'll need to give it time to let things settle out again, but it beats the risks of off flavours you might get if you raise the temperatures too much.

Okay, might have overdone the swirling. I rotated the bucket one way for a whlie, then th other and when I looked there was no longer a cake.... ooops.

Well it's certainly not settled out anymore. Hopefully most of that will fall back out before the weekend.... and hopefully I can get another few points off the FG.

I had my Friday night sample (beer just under 1 week in bottle).

OMFG, it tasted so much like (I thought) Smithwicks tasted like I went out and bought a six pack of Smithwicks and had a can straight after I finished the bottle of my red ale.

Pretty damn close, mine has the same caramel tone, the same basic body, it's slightly lighter in colour, but... Smithwicks has a much fuller hop flavour.

Still can't wait for batch 5, which should get bottled today.

I might also start boiling my hops longer than 30mins.