Coopers stout

I will be doing a coopers stout kit in the next few days. I plan on using 1lb dark dme and 1kg of dextrose. Will that be to much sugar i.e. make it to dry. Also does anyone have experience with the yeast that comes with the kit, only other yeast I have on hand is some washed us-05.

I wouldn't use any dextrose except for bottling carbonation. I would use only malt extract, especially for a stout. Dextrose lightens the taste and I think you want a rich malty taste in a stout. So invest the extra money in a kg of malt extract and the beer will taste way better.
I don't know anything about the yeast you have. One thing I can say is that my friend and I brewed a Dark Brown Ale recently. He splurged for the liquid ale yeast and his tasted far better.

i agree with others, avoid the dextrose. In my last coopers stout kit, I used the kit with 2lbs for Dark DME and 1lb of light brown sugar. Next time, I plan to use molasses instead of the brown sugar. I didn't have any on hand at the time of brewing so I used the sugar instead. It came out good, but a bit too dry.

Alright that is all very good to know, I'm definitely going to be using my washed us-05, unfortunately DME is about $8 a pound here and I'm not putting that much more into this cheap coopers kit. How is brown sugar in comparison to dextrose and table sugar what kind of flavor profiles does it leave?

Canrinus said:

Alright that is all very good to know, I'm definitely going to be using my washed us-05, unfortunately DME is about $8 a pound here and I'm not putting that much more into this cheap coopers kit. How is brown sugar in comparison to dextrose and table sugar what kind of flavor profiles does it leave?

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I hear you on the price of malt extract. Locally I have 3 options (all prices Canadian):

1.5kg can of Black Rock LME - $20.55
0.5kg bag of Munton's DME - $9.20
1kg bag of Munton's Beer Kit Enhancer (50%DME, 50% dextrose) - $9.20

The last time I did a Cooper's stout I added a bag of Beer Kit enhancer and a bag of DME. It turned out pretty good and while I don't remember what the ABV was I'm pretty sure it was above 5% (this was a 23 litre batch).

My current batch is a mini-mash (my first) that uses a Cooper's stout kit for the LME and bittering. I mashed 5lbs of 2 row and some specialty grain BIAB style and then did a 60 minute boil without any hop additions. In the last 10 minutes I added the (pre-bittered) stout kit. I'm a week away from bottling and a month away from sampling but I really hope this works out. It was more time consuming and involved but it was fun and saved me a few bucks eventhough I think I used more grain than I needed to make up for the amount of malt extract I would have been willing to buy.

Yeah I agree the Canadian prices for some brew supplies is absolutely ridiculous. If I used a coopers kit and 1kg of DME, I would just be better off spending the same money and getting a Festa Brew Kit which is all grain wort in a bag and comes with good yeast such as US-05. That being said I really should start getting some grains and doing BIAB partial mashes all a matter of time and money I guess. Main reason I'm doing these kits right now is to just get a cheap pipe line built the summer had a real heavy toll on my stock

Wow those prices are crazy. I live in Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada) and 3 LB containers of Liquid malt extract only costs 8$ or 5.99 a KG in bulk at the local brew shop. I dont know why prices are like that where you are at. I have made the coopers stout kit many times -- Last time I used 3LBS of dark liquid malt extract and 1 pound of dextrose and turned out really nice. I have used brown sugar before in the cooper dark ale turned out nice. As for the yeast I have always used the yeast under the cap -- I never rehydrate it just sprinkle er right on top. The ole Coopers yest has never let me down yet.

I think prices are so high in the valley do to the lhbs catering mainly to wine. A noble grape has just opened up so hopefully I can get some stuff there for a better price.

Yes you should be fine. I get all my stuff from Noble Grape and the prices are very reasonable. You mentioned that you wanted to get into some more advanced kits -- the Noble Grape has some boxed extract kits with the grains, hops, malt and everything you need to an extract beer -- might be worth checking out. Cheers

Thanks I think I might go check that out today.