Coopers Pilsner with a Christmas twist

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zippy84

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Going to start an Xmas brew in the next day or 2 (cutting it bit late though) I was thinking of maybe just using a coopers pilsner and adding maybe some muscovado sugar, orange peel, throwing in a cinnamon stick and a pinch of cloves for an extra wintry feel. Can anyone here with more experience foresee a conflict of flavors/styles or recommend a better kit beer to use? I was thinking; let the beer ferment out with the muscovado sugar for 2 weeks.. with about 2 days to go, make a 'tea' boiling some water with the cinnamon, cloves, orange peel for about 10 mins and add it to beer. Then after a day or 2 bottle condition and bottle..

Thoughts? Would I be better just using an ale or a bitter for the wintry feel?
 
The cooper's English bitter (International Series) should be great with those additions. Put'em in a hop sack,& chuck'em in the last 10 minutes of the boil. If you're not using additional plain DME to do the boil as I do,then put the sack of spices/zest in when the water starts boiling for 10 minutes,maybe 15. Depends on what strength winds up working for you.
I've done this for "hop teas" in the beginning of a short boil before taking off the heat to add the cooper's can. Then I started adding plain DME's to the equation.
 
I've had the English bitter before... so I was thinking of trying a new one, I did enjoy the bitter though, but I'm trying to get through as many different types as possible. Maybe you're right though, may be more suited to that style, plus it would probably mature quicker.
 
It seemed to mature about as fast as the cooper's OS lager did,which is actually a light pale ale. 4 weeks at room temp,then 1-2 weeks in the fridge. I've found that 2 weeks fridge time gives thicker head,& longer lasting carbonation.
The extra maltiness of the bitter will def lend itself well to spices & zest with it's bigger malt backbone. Come to think of it,my wife's first batch used zest & spices,& 15 minutes boil time was a bit light. Maybe 20 minutes looking back...
 
It seemed to mature about as fast as the cooper's OS lager did,which is actually a light pale ale. 4 weeks at room temp,then 1-2 weeks in the fridge. I've found that 2 weeks fridge time gives thicker head,& longer lasting carbonation.
The extra maltiness of the bitter will def lend itself well to spices & zest with it's bigger malt backbone. Come to think of it,my wife's first batch used zest & spices,& 15 minutes boil time was a bit light. Maybe 20 minutes looking back...

Maybe I'll do the bitter again so... unless someone can convince me something else... with the dme (dark?) and some extra muscovado, and maybe a little maple syrup. You would boil the additions along with the dme in water for 20 mins?
 
I wouldn't use darker than plain amber DME in a EB. Depends on how much DME you're adding. More than a pound,say 3lbs (about 1.4kg) would need some hops at 20 minutes as well,about 1oz (28g). And def spices & zest at 20 minutes.
 
I wouldn't use darker than plain amber DME in a EB. Depends on how much DME you're adding. More than a pound,say 3lbs (about 1.4kg) would need some hops at 20 minutes as well,about 1oz (28g). And def spices & zest at 20 minutes.

I'm guessing the standard call from coopers is for 1kg of dextrose for their bitter kit (and these kits are pre-hopped).. so if I do 500g of dme and 500 of muscovado along with 200-300g maple syrup, do you think I'll need extra hop additions? My taste doesn't necessarily require a stringent bitter finish, but I do like a little bitter.

Thanks for suggestions.
 
I'd take it easy on the maple syrup,as it adds fermentables as well. But some English hops would be nice,maybe 1/2oz,or about 14g.
 
Ok so adding maple syrup takes longer to ferment out is that what you mean... because it is more complex and contains different sugars and impurities?
Maybe I'll leave it out. But why do you suggest more hops? Think the last time I brewed the Coopers EB was with plain sugar and it was pretty bitter on it's own hops. Does adding dme mellow the bitterness or do you just personally rather extra bitterness?
 
No,maple syrup isn't more complex,it's just adding a lot of simple fermentables that don't add anything-or little-to the flavor or body,just ABV. The DME adds to the beer's color & body. Sugars add ABV,unless they have some flavor components. Then you'd get a bit more complexity.
And when I use hops,DME,& a cooper's can,the hops go in about 20 minutes from the end of the boil. More flavor,less bittering to add a bit more balance to the brew. Cooper's cans,the OS series,& the EB have some bittering only with Pride of Ringwood hops,but just a little. To my tastes,anyway.
I like malt flavor,but I like it balanced between malt,hops,& carbonation level. Less co2 volume accents the malt profile,where more seems to accent the hops. But that balance also depends on the yeast.
 
Learning. So I'm now thinking 500gms dme and 600-700 muscovado? Maybe some extra hops. You mention adding the hops about 20 minutes "from the end of the boil". Surely if it's an extract kit with dme there's no need to do an extended boil.. unless adding grains, right? The only reason to boil in the first place is to sterilize the dme and help with dissolving the sugars.. or so I thought. In the case of adding hops you need more time, as you say 20 mins, but is 20 minutes not all that's required here.
 
Hops give flavor in that amount of time,but little in the way of bittering. And DME needs boiling water to dissolve properly. It doesn't caramelize in the boil like LME does. So I use 1.5lbs of plain DME in the boil,for,in my case,flavor/aroma additions. I don't add the cooper's can till flame out after adding the remaining 1.5lbs of DME. Boiling the pre-hopped cans drives off hop profile. It's still plenty hot enough to dissolve the malts. Stir in completely,then put a lid on it for 10-15 minutes while sanitizing fermenter & the like.
Then put it in the sink for a cold water bath to bring the initial temp down. Drain,replug,then add ice to the top in the empty space around the kettle. Top off that with cold water. I use a floating thermometer to get it down to 67-70F (about 19-21C). Then pour through a fine mesh strainer into FV & top off. The strainer not only strains gunk out,but aerates good as well.
 
Thanks for all the tips, didn't realize hops didn't add bitterness at 20mins. I'm after reading around a bit. One website talks about winter warmers/ales. It says that in the The Beer Judge Certification Program there were 8 winners in it's history that were winter ale styles (not that many) - 4 of the recipes use maple syrup, maybe it's not so bad? Quote: "Lyle’s Golden Syrup is often used to add another flavor dimension". They also mention using honey to condition. They say the reason for the different syrups and sugars is to create "Flavors typical of English Christmas puddings". "Many examples have a flavor similar to Christmas cooking. Spices should be noticeable but not overpowering." John Zelazny (winner) said “choose a beer style that is malt-oriented; hops are not the king here.”
Quote: The brewers also agreed that residual sweetness is important to the character, and that the best examples often suggest desserts. Dean Priebe described his Sleigh Fuel as “thick on the tongue and sweet” and “resembling Christmas cookies.” Ben VanderMeer credits his wife Elly with coming up with the idea for a hearty match for homemade mincemeat pies and gingerbread, and to be used as Christmas presents. He said “the FG can be high to balance the aggressive spicing; I used a lot more crystal malt than I normally would to add sweetness and depth.”

Just thought I'd add a few quotes from that website: food for thought (no pun intended)
 
The maple syrup addition is ok as long as you don't add too much simple sugars on top of that. a couple pounds of sugar & a bunch of honey /maple syrup can dry it out. Maybe too much. Moderation & a big malt profile are keys to those recipes. Look at the OG's,for instance.
I took a stab at the 19th century #3 Burton ale,as it's the direct ancestor to pale ales. But being a lighter OG version of their top Burton,an English barley wine,it was still a little sweet. But good malt character,some hop flavor,but no dry hop. I did an all extract version,which I just got into bottles last night after a 5 week primary. Well know at Christmas.
Anyway,it used 10.5lbs of 3 different malts,& 3oz of English style hops. Should be a little sweet,malty with some little toastiness,& some earthy spice from the hops. The Willamette giving some floral,nectar like qualities as well. Just on the back.
 
Ok I think I'll go with the Bitter kit then with 1kg of this stuff. It's comes hopped too so bonus. Plus 200-300gms of the muscovado. And then I'll boil the spices and stuff for 15-20 mins, strain em and add to wort. Bottle condition using honey or the syrup.
 
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