I brewed up a Coopers Stout this afternoon as a quick alternative to what I normally do, full boil extract or AG. I figured it wouldn't hurt to have one under my belt. I did the stock kit with 3lbs of Bries dark DME. Brought a couple gallons of water to a boil, as the water was warming up I added the DME, when it boiled I added the Coopers LME and boiled it for a couple minutes. The biggest problem I had was cooling the wort, I poured it into the bucket and topped it off with more water and it was quite hot still so I put the bucket into a metal wash tub and filled it with cold water and let it sit in that while I cleaned up stirring it from time to time. It was still on the warm side when I pitched the yeast so I left it out in the cool garage for now to cool some more. I guess next time I should maybe get out the wort chiller. I am interested in seeing how it comes out.
Did my first Coopers Stout today.
- Thread starter NateG
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You do not need or shoiuld boil Coopers. They are prehopped.
My fav is
1 can sout
1 can dark ale
1 kilo dext.
All you need to do is heat the cans enough so they will pour that is it.
A VERY simple kit but a great beer
My fav is
1 can sout
1 can dark ale
1 kilo dext.
All you need to do is heat the cans enough so they will pour that is it.
A VERY simple kit but a great beer
SHBSJon
Well-Known Member
I like to put the pot in a sink with ice and water. It seems easier to drop the temp of a smaller quantity. Plus I would think the plastic would insulate more than the stainless steel. I did the same kit with 2 lbs dry malt, one vanilla bean and a small bottle of Carlson chocolate extract. Turned out great but next time I'll use 2 beans.
DaNewf
Well-Known Member
I ferment Coopers kits at 18C which is 64.4F. If it gets any cooler maybe try to insulate it but 64F should be fine.
Yeah, it got cooler back into the closet it went, poor yeast probably don't know what to think. If this stout comes out good I might have to start brewing a few of the others since I find it hard to find time to do full boils lately, it was a fluke the last time I brewed that I had a whole day to do two AG batches.
Same here (it's 18 in my sauna when it's not in use).
I'm fermenting my second batch of Coopers Stout at the moment, same recipe as I made the last time (approx 20 liters total volume, 500g muntons extra dark spray malt, 750ml dark molasses). Drop dead simple. The first batch was so good it just disappeared.
This kit is well known to ferment rather vigorously, even at optimum temperature. That said, I've got 20 litres in a 30 litre pail and haven't hit the lid yet.
I did a lot of Cooper's the first couple years,& noticed @ temps below 64F,the Cooper's ale yeast starts getting sluggish. 65-68F is a bit better from my observations. And rehydrating the little 7g yeast packets def helps. NB & Midwest also carry the 15g Cooper's ale yeast packets,which are usually fresher than the lil packets in the cans' false lids. It's a very active yeast though,& is highly flocculant. So it settles out well after FG is reached.
I've got a stout in bottles nearly 2 weeks now,but it's the Midwest PM Traditional Stout kit with bourbon soaked oak. Should be good come Christmas.
I've got a stout in bottles nearly 2 weeks now,but it's the Midwest PM Traditional Stout kit with bourbon soaked oak. Should be good come Christmas.
Probably didn't hurt that I tossed in some yeast nutrient too. It is happily farting away into the jar of Starsan. I might have to go back and get an IPA kit to get going too since I am completely out of beer and have a bunch of hops to use up.
I've been trying to use up my old frozen hop stash too. Just got some NZ stuff left for bittering & the like.
I ended up at the LHBS and got the IPA kit and a 3lb bag of gold DME. Worked alot better this time, I used a smaller pot on the stove with a gallon of water, got the water and DME up to a gentle boil, burner didn't want to do much more then that, and tossed in about 3oz of whole cascade hops from the backyard harvest this year. Cooled down the wort in the sink first like was previously recommended and poured it into the carboy with the LME and cool water. Capped to off and tossed it into the closet. I went to go check on the IPA the next day and the airlock had come off and was filling the closet with sweet malt aroma. I put the airlock back on and it was instantly bubbling so I think it is okay.
It should be fine,since initial fermentation was in full swing,keeping anything out with all the off gassing.
That's what I figured. I switched the stout back to a regular airlock a couple days ago because it looks like it has finished fermenting pretty quickly, which I have read is normal too. It might end up getting dumped into a keg when I keg the IPA and left to age.
Be careful. when the airlock action slows down or stops,it usually means only initial fermentation is done. It'll then slowly,uneventfully creep down to FG. So always use a hydrometer to be sure it's done by the numbers.
