Mornings

[user 346120]

Hello all
Just started on this journey by brewing a coopers stout and Google keeps bringing back here for Answers to my questions so I thought I'd register and do it correctly...

Why do I find myself sitting watching the bubbles come up through the air lock so therapeutic lol..
(Yes I googled how to spell therapeutic haha)

Hope to learn and have fun on this journey xxx

 

[fluketamer]

welcome to the forum.

canned hopped malt extract stout is what convinced me that i could make beer.

that was over 30 years ago.

coopers stout is my favorite kit. canned stout is very forgiving. it will hide a lot of off flavors. the roasty bitterness makes up for any lack of hops.

using dextrose will make a surprisingly good dry stout. using DME will make it nice and malty and a little sweet.

it is very easy to add flavors to it as a base.

adding 4 oz of very good dry cocoa powder boiled in a little water and cooled and added to primary makes a great chocolate stout.

bottling with flavors ( vanilla, amaretto, oak spirals soaked in rum ) works well also.

always brew to 4 to 5 gallons not 5 to 6 to improve beer kits.

the most important things in kit brewing is to switch out the yeast, use bottled water( tap water has chlorine in it.) sanitize, brew to smaller size (4 gallons) , use less dextrose (try to substitute this with DME). and most important temperature control.

hi temps and fluctuating temps will result in phenolic esters that make homebrew taste like homebrew and not good beer.

keep that under 70 degrees to err on the side of caution. maybe 72 at most.

higher than that will give you that twang that will take a long time to age out in the bottle.

this is a thread on "pimping " that kit :


https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/coopers-original-stout-review.17817/

good luck