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I've not had a Coopers Sparkling in ages, I can only source COPA here. I tend to make brews at least 5%, it's the inner p*ss-head coming out in me... Either way, it's a lovely drop

One other point: last time I mistakenly ground up the oats and it kept clogging the circulation arm. I had to hover around the Grainfather during the entire mash (quite a long one, 2 and a quarter hours), blowing into the circulation pipe. Doh ! Yesterday I put them in whole, much better idea. Here's the recipe if you like. Guinness double batch - less roasted malt.pdf

I put in 4ml lactic acid for a cornie, and have also done the souring of the wort. Both work well IMHO. For the souring, I put aside about a pint of the wort before pitching. Over the course of the fermentation (I left it two weeks) the set-aside portion grew a fur coat and it had gone sweet. I binned that, and drew off a pint and left it to sour over the course of about three days. I then boiled it up to sterilise it and added it to the cornie. If I have a double batch I tend to do one cornie using each method to experiment. Since both are good, I reckon the lactic acid is less of a faff, and I have a litre of the stuff to use up... https://shop.theelectricbrewery.com/pages/dry-irish-stout#:~:text=A simpler solution is to,per 5 gallons of beer. After primary fermentation, put 3% (2.4 cups per 5 gallons) of the beer into a separate jug and pitch bacteria meant for producing sour beers such as Wyeast 5335 Lactobacillus or White Labs WLP677 Lactobacillus Delbrueckii. This will develop the sourness, but can take time (sometimes months). You can also simply leave the 3% of beer out on the counter and let it go sour for a few weeks from whatever bacteria it picks up in the air. (Make sure to boil for 10 minutes before adding back in). This natural method of souring is likely what Guinness used to do traditionally. A similar option that some may find easier is to purchase commercial Guinness a few weeks ahead of the brew day, sour it by leaving it out in a bowl, and then freeze it. Thaw it the night before brew day and add to the boil 10 minutes from the end. A simpler solution is to add 88% lactic acid to the beer after fermentation is done, before kegging. This is said to be what Guinness does today because it's cheaper, easier, and more efficient than relying on bacteria. All is takes is around 3-4 ml of acid per 5 gallons of beer. Go sparingly adding 0.5 ml at a time with a syringe (without needle) until the taste is to your liking. You can also use this method to do a trial run to see if you like the results: Once the beer is kegged and on tap, add one to two drops with an eye dropper to a 16 oz glass of beer and see what you think. One drop per 16 oz is equivalent to 2 ml in 5 gallons. Careful not to overdo it! The last option is to replace 3% of the base malt (the Maris Otter (2.5-4L) and flaked barley (1.4-1.5L)) with acidulated (sour) malt (1.7-2.8L). This will of course affect your mash pH as well so careful to not have it go too low.

@stquinto different parts of that brew look like breakfast and tea. You have done a few Guiness clones now. Got the lactic acid ratio for you're liking or still experimenting?

I knocked up the Guinness clone yesterday. I put 200g less roasted malt. I panicked as it seemed more brown than nearly black, so I threw in some black malt powder. For some reason my OG readings were really off, I don’t think the samples were thoroughly mixed. I boiled it for 90 minutes, and ended up adding 7 litres of water to get it to 1.048 That’ll be two cornies full . It seems a perfect beer for the second outing of my kegmenter, as it won’t fit in any fridge, although at a pinch I could fit it in the keezer if I had to. I got a new floating dip tube for it, and the evoline to upgrade my beer lines

@Shamus O'Sean what is the alcohol content of reds now? I remember they were always cheap growing up in tassie but could never say it was a bad beer. Yes we bag the mega swill but I can honestly say I still enjoy most of it. Nothing wrong with a hobby where we can make decent beer and still enjoy a mass produced Aussie Lager.

Nice. I have got 6 of the goblet version. Half litre fill line. Great glasses.

So just below what AK is saying he fills to. Interesting topic as not much headspace seems to be a factor. I think it was a topic once before head space in keg vs surface area. I think the head space can be a factor and if AK tries the same thing with a litre less might be surprised.

At the risk of absolute ridicule: Red Bitter. I have not had these for a while. Always liked them. Went back to them because I am almost a pub with no beer. Well, just a half keg of Mexican Cerveza. No second brew fridge, plus supplying 3 other drinkers, plus doing a few lagers lately (which take longer to ferment) has been a drain on supplies. So I needed a commercial top-up. Strong floral aroma with malty notes Fairly malty flavour with a dry finish Reasonable bitterness Nice head and good lacing (maybe chemical additions) If nothing lese, I would like to know what this is hopped with. Online, some folks have said Pride of Ringwood. However, having done a few COPA and CSA brews, the flavour and aroma of those are nothing like the Red Bitter.

I only use the Coopers plastic spoon and try to avoid touching but sometimes fail. One fermenter that is old and doesn't look the best still produces good brews.

For the record @Aussiekraut, @RDT2 and @Uhtred Of Beddanburg, I fill my kegs until the condensation level just hits that weld mark around the top of the keg below the black rubber handle molding so about 20 mm below the black rubber bit on a KL sold keg.

Yeah but mine never gets a chance to age.

I can honestly say the stouts I have made so far have been bloody awesome after even just two weeks, so there is zero chance they will still be around in 10 months! I still got a couple of cans of Coopers Stout in the cupboard, and one already brewed in the bottle to get me through this winter, when it really kicks off.

Did a Nut Brown Ale (sort of). Instead of the Coopers kit I used Lion Dark Ale kit that I have. I've got an idea to maybe do a Toucan with one of these and a can of Coopers Stout, but first I want to see how it tastes on it's own. I'm guessing the big difference will be the hops, Lion use Green Bullet and Pacific Gem in their kits. Lion Dark Ale (1.7kg) Light Crystal Malt (250g) Maltexo (1.5kg) 22L, OG 1.042

Yep, my dad unintentionally ruined a few good FV's by rattling his steel mixing wand around the inside edges of his FV's whilst mixing up his favorite brews, which was the Coopers Real Ale. Those FV's are still in his brewing shed and he still wants me to have them but I said "Yeah - Nah" thanks.

Yes, and I have you to thank for that @ben 10 for introducing me to those Charcuterie Books. Just you wait till I weld up my home made smoker box out of a couple of old gas bottles and really get into smoking foods. Thanks @jennyss. And now for my next pizza masterpiece (after I copied your hamburger with the lot pizza idea) I am going to transition my own famous Filipino BBQ pork skewer recipe into a Filipino pork pizza so stay tuned to this channel. YUM!

It doesn’t matter when you brew it, you just have to hide some bottles. I still have some bottles of a 10 month old Stout left, and this dark, thick, syrupy Beast with its 9.6% is just too strong to be drunk too quickly. 8 month old and aging nicely like a good wine.

I always say I'm gonna brew a stout way before winter to age, never happens!

Just the weather for this lovely stuff, I hope the one I am kegging on Friday is almost as good. Yum & Yum. 

not the only one mine has some minor scratches from it. So far so good

I should mention that I am aware of that too, but over the years I have seen many home brewers using even metal/wooden spoons. It is important to keep the spoon away from the sides & bottom.

Love the gold rim and the decoration on the stem of the glass.

@iBooz2, You are raising the bar very high! I will have to try mixing my brew without touching the sides of the FV, but the cat is already out of the bag.

New glass seems to work fine. It is a nice glass to drink out of too.

@Aussiekraut We don't have a 1st Choice in Dubbo; but I googled Dan Murphy's and BWS and both seem to stock Boon or Timmerman's Kriek Lambic in cases of 24. Whether I can buy one singly I will have to find out. My taste buds want to experience the sweet and sour cherry flavour!