Two Cans without Dextrose?

[younghusband]

I was thinking of making a small batch of Coopers Stout + Dark Ale (Classic) But don't want a huge abv (like nothing over 6%)

How would it work if I added minimal or no Dextrose to the mix and maybe less water?

Never done it before with out fermentables.

Thanks for your time.

 

[badbrew]

you don't have unhopped malt extract to add?

 

[greenthumbed]

G'day Mate,

I am planning to put down another Toucan Stout this weekend or next. I too am planning to leave out the dex. I have a couple of bottles left of a batch i made a year ago. It is very nice after a year in the bottle but I do find it too strong 7.8%AVB.

The recipe I put down last year was:
1 can Cooper's OS Stout
1 can Cooper's OS Dark Ale
1Kg Dex
23L
14g Cooper's yeast
OG 1.067 FG 1.013 ABV7.8%

Without the dextrose the OG would be 1.050, FG 1.013 ABV5.4%

So, I say the body would still be the same (FG 1.013) flavour would be the same. Maybe the beer wouldn't be as dry and the Alc.% would be a lot more reasonable. I'd also say it would be drinkable way earlier.

 

[xpandnz]

In my one time experience with a Toucan and my mate doing the same thing, we found that when using 2 hopped extracts as you do with Toucans, the longer you leave it in a bottle (if your doing bottle conditioning), the better. The earlier we drank it, the more rubbish it tasted.

You can, and I'm sure you already know, replace the second can of hopped extract with just a malt extract. Also, you can add some DME if you want or replace the LME with DME.

Regardless, good luck. Hope it tastes great!

 

[unionrdr]

You could go ahead & brew it without the dextrose. The dark ale can will give it a bit of a creamy quality,which I think would be good with the stout. I've also brewed the OS dark ale with a 3lb bag of plain amber DME & some English hops & got a nice clear dark ale with a ruby tint to it when the light shines through it.

 

[younghusband]

Maybe the beer wouldn't be as dry and the Alc.% would be a lot more reasonable. I'd also say it would be drinkable way earlier.

That's what I was going for Mate. Exactly.
I'm gonna try this asap. Ive just done a stout at 12 litres with no Dex kind of as a test run to see how the flavours come out.

 

[Fid]

The cans of extract are the fermentables. I would say the best practice would always be to leave the dextrose out of these kits. If you want to boost your ABV you should really be using additions of extra LME (the stuff thats inside the Coopers cans) or DME (the dried version of that stuff). Doing this will give you the alcohol boost without causing your beer to ferment out to a dry, thin beer with alot of unwanted alcohol taste.