Coopers stout additions

[rogerroger123]

Hello

I am thinking of brewing a stout starting with the Coopers Stout tin, I have some extra ingredients that I am looking to add but not sure on when/not to add or if needed to boil malt?


I have got:

Coopers Stout
500g Dark malt powder
250g lactose
1kg Dex
500g Light dry malt
Choc cream essence
10/15ml liqourice extract

Regards

 

[Kent88]

Is it this? I can't find any instructions for it, so I am going to guess that it is like the Mr Beer kits I used to make. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Edit: Some quick searching suggests to me that these kits are different from the ones I'm familiar with, so the following probably isn't a great set of instructions.

I would recommend that you brew the stout as the instructions tell you too if you're still pretty new to this. But if you really want to, I think you should be able to add your dry malt extract to a 6 gallon batch. You can save your dextrose for bottling. You can make it a sweet stout by adding the lactose, too.

I am unfamiliar with how these kits are hopped, hopefully someone else can come along and advise you on whether you would need to add hops.

But I would suggest that you mix the dry malt extract with your water, boil that mixture, the wort, for 45-60 minutes. Add the lactose when there are about 5-10 minutes of boiling remaining. Add the coopers can with under 5 minutes of boiling to go, stirring like crazy. After you finish stirring the coopers can in, get it off the heat, chill it, and get it in your fermentation vessel. Top it up with boiled, cooled water if you need to, add plenty of good, healthy yeast, and give it some time.

 

[rogerroger123]

Thank you for the reply. Its a similar kit to the one you linked. I was thinking boiling the malt and lactose would be the way to go. Would light and dark malt be a good mix or just the one on its own. If I was to add the choc essence and licorice extract when would be the best time to add? To the boil or to the start of fermentation/ few days in?

 

[rogerroger123]

Is it this? I can't find any instructions for it, so I am going to guess that it is like the Mr Beer kits I used to make. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Edit: Some quick searching suggests to me that these kits are different from the ones I'm familiar with, so the following probably isn't a great set of instructions.

I would recommend that you brew the stout as the instructions tell you too if you're still pretty new to this. But if you really want to, I think you should be able to add your dry malt extract to a 6 gallon batch. You can save your dextrose for bottling. You can make it a sweet stout by adding the lactose, too.

I am unfamiliar with how these kits are hopped, hopefully someone else can come along and advise you on whether you would need to add hops.

But I would suggest that you mix the dry malt extract with your water, boil that mixture, the wort, for 45-60 minutes. Add the lactose when there are about 5-10 minutes of boiling remaining. Add the coopers can with under 5 minutes of boiling to go, stirring like crazy. After you finish stirring the coopers can in, get it off the heat, chill it, and get it in your fermentation vessel. Top it up with boiled, cooled water if you need to, add plenty of good, healthy yeast, and give it some time.

Thank you for the reply. Its a similar kit to the one you linked. I was thinking boiling the malt and lactose would be the way to go. Would light and dark malt be a good mix or just the one on its own. If I was to add the choc essence and licorice extract when would be the best time to add? To the boil or to the start of fermentation/ few days in?

 

[IslandLizard]

Here are the (edited) instructions for using these cans of hopped malt extract from the Adventures in Homebrewing web page @Kent88 mentioned.
The instructions are all the way on the top, above the product pictures. I've edited them for clarity:

Flavored Extract Cans

• These flavored extract cans contain liquid malt extract with hop flavor
• Comes with a packet of dry brewing yeast
• Simply pour the can plus 2 pounds of sugar* into 2 gallons of boiling water
• Cool with three gallons of very cold water
• Pitch your yeast

* Preferably use dry malt extract instead of sugar.

As with all pre-hopped malt extracts, do not boil them! The boiling water you start out with helps to dissolve the extracts as well as the sugar (or dry malt extract if you choose to use those instead of the sugar, or some of the sugar).

After adding the can, you can pour some of that hot water with the dissolved extract back into the can to rinse it out. Don't leave any of that good extract behind! Soaking the still sealed can for 15 minutes in a small tub or bucket with some hot water will make it easier to pour.

These directions, although sufficient, are still not the best. John Palmer gives better instructions in his book How to Brew.
The most important are to use a fresh package of yeast, not the one under the lid, since no-one knows how old it is, and hasn't been stored cold. To properly rehydrate the yeast. And to wait with pitching yeast until the dissolved extract (wort) has cooled to around 66-68F.

If you want hoppier and maltier beer using pre-hopped extract, first dissolve the unhopped malt extract, either using dry powder (DME) or liquid (LME), in 2 gallons of boiling water. Add bittering hops, boil for 30-60 minutes, add some more hops if you want at 10' before flameout, some more at flameout (0') or once the wort has cooled down to around 180F letting the hops steep for 15-30', stirring occasionally. Then dissolve your can of hopped extract in that wort. Add cold water, chill to pitching temps and pitch properly rehydrated yeast.

 

[Kent88]

Excellent @IslandLizard . Charlie P also writes about BetterBrew in one of his books, which is aimed at small tweaks to improve kits. Very similar to what Palmer suggests.