HostelAussie Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Hi fellow EB Fans! Just about to put down my first batch of the Coopers English Bitter - IS series. Any news on tips and traps for newbies on this style is welcome. The plans for the first run are to keep it stock and use: 1.7 Kg Can Coopers EB Supplied Yeast 500g Light Dry malt Speak soon and good brewing! [whistling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilboBaggins Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Good choice Kyle, it's one of my favourites for sure. I make mine with 1kg LDM and 250g Dextrose, with some East Kent Golding hops. The head on the bastard is unstoppable and it's nice to drink even from an early age. Have fun dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Hi fellow EB Fans! Just about to put down my first batch of the Coopers English Bitter - IS series. Any news on tips and traps for newbies on this style is welcome. The plans for the first run are to keep it stock and use: 1.7 Kg Can Coopers EB Supplied Yeast 500g Light Dry malt Speak soon and good brewing! [whistling If you are filling to 23L then this recipe will give you a beer at about 3.8% ABV . If you did what PhilboBaggins suggests then it will come out at about 5.2% ABV. Up to you how strong you want your beer. [rightful] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HostelAussie Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Many thanks, Philbo & BillK, great to know about the extra LDM and Dextrose if I need to fire up batch 2. I'm pretty new making my own, what will the East Kent Golding hops do to the brew? Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freestyler Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 I really like this one. I made it to the Extra Smooth Bitter recipe on this site with the molasses and added an extra 250g LDM to it. It ended up at 5.6% ABV and was a fantastic thick, dark beer. Not as dark as the stout but a really great, dark beer. Just finihsed off the last few bottles the other day and will be making another one asap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 what will the East Kent Golding hops do to the brew? Short answer: make it delicious. I've made the English Bitter twice, once without adding any hops and once with East Kent Goldings. The hops made such a big difference I couldn't but laugh with joy when I tasted it. [love] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilboBaggins Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 The hops made such a big difference I couldn't but laugh with joy when I tasted it. True for all brews I reckon. I started to add hops to my brews not long ago and without fail, every one has been far superior to earlier ones. I reckon the EKG hops are used in the EB kits anyway, but adding them yourself at brew time gives an entirely different flavour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Sorry mate im sure that all coopers kits are bittered with Pride Of Ringwood and the TC Draught had Cascade aromatic hops and the International English Bitter and Indian Pale Ale have Styrian Goldings aromatic hops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyG4 Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 what will the East Kent Golding hops do to the brew? Short answer: make it delicious. I've made the English Bitter twice, once without adding any hops and once with East Kent Goldings. The hops made such a big difference I couldn't but laugh with joy when I tasted it. [love] i love that post, because i get the same reaction. after my initial attempts at homebrewing years ago yielding rubbish results, there are three things that i've changed - better temperature control - using more malt instead of sugars. - adding hops to brew. i absolutely know that feeling of cracking your first of a batch and literally laughing at how well you've done with it. it's a great feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 damn tootin... I love (*kit) brewing, and I also love adding to them.. as is probably quite well known [lol] I think Coopers do a wonderful job getting us into a wonderful hobby and I also believe that we, as home brewers, can make such wonderful beers based on a 'base' recipe such that is provided by them.. [love] Coopers Pale Ale base was / is my fave and Ive made many a different flavour with additions of hops and grain, both spec grain and base malt with fantastic results (insert - keep meticulous notes).. ..at the end of the day.. we end up with so much freedom to tailor our beers to our own taste it's almost a thing of magic that we can do so very easily [love][beer] Brewin [lol] If you had to explain it you wouldn't have time to do it [ninja] *kit - feck it I love Brewin gimme can or gimme grain a clean ferment and 12 weeks to chill sweet nectar to the brain [lol] Yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 How many have you had today, Yob? [wink] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Not as many as i should have [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossm Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 ...while we are on the subject of English Bitter, I posted....in the wrong section..[pinched] ...about my last batch of EB which tasted like...well I explained it before, I am happy to say I had one last night at the 3 month mark and there is a marked improvement, in fact ther is no sign of the origional off taste, now I don't know if it is time or just that I had a couple of crap bottles!...anyway, I will leave it a couple more weeks and have another go, but it looks like I might salvage the batch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 I rekon brew often taste the best at 3 months amd this is the benchmark i aim for... Dont always get there but thats something im working on now.. I aim to have a 3 month supply 12-16 crates full at any given time.. I think i have 10 atm with 2 brew in CC and 2 ready to ferment.. I think im running out of bottles [crying] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrockOhopter Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Time to get Kegging Yob! [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HostelAussie Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Hi all, Thanks for the advice on hops - It'll be in the next batch for sure. Just thought I'd give a quick update on how the first Batch of EB is going - being the first time I've put down a darker coloured brew I've included some links to photos from day 3 and 5. I used: 1.7 Kg Can Coopers EB Supplied Yeast 500g Light Dry malt OG was 1026 The temp of the wort when the yeast was added was 26 -28. The temp thats its been at over the last 5 days is somewhere around 24-26 during the day and less overnight. Its been sitting underneath some internal stairs outta the sun. At this stage im thinking So far... so good. It bubbled up quite nicely (See day 3 image). Day 3 image - http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc463/lawnman4/EDDay3-1-.jpg The KC was removed on day 4 due to there being still a bit of foam around. This might just be what happens when EB is brewed, however my concern now is that it might be contaiminated in some way? (see images from day 5). As there is still a bit of foam around (day 5 image 1) as well as bit of brownish for lack of a better term sludge on part of the edges (See image 2). Day 5 - 1- http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc463/lawnman4/EBDay5-1-.jpg Day 5 -2- http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc463/lawnman4/EBDay5-2-.jpg Overall it smells fine - just like warm beer. Look forward to hearing the forum opinion on this one Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Looks fine to me. However, I would suggest brewing at around 18-20C as 24-26C is too high imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HostelAussie Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Thanks for taking a look BillK - It's good to know it's doing ok. Does 18 -20 C provide better conditions for brewing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Does 18 -20 C provide better conditions for brewing? Yup, it will result in a cleaner tasting beer. The reason for this is that the yeast tends to produce more esters as a by-product in higher temperatures. To quote John Palmer: "Ales are supposed to be slightly fruity, and Belgian and German wheat beers are expected to have banana flavor components, but sometimes a beer comes along that could flag down a troop of monkeys. Esters are produced by the yeast and different yeast strains will produce different amounts and types. In general, higher fermentation temperatures produce more esters. Next batch, contrive to lower the fermentation temperature by a few degrees." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HostelAussie Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Thanks Jimmy, that's some really great info. At the moment I store the fermenter and bottles under the internal stairs. This small room is a few degrees cooler than the external temp, around the 24 to 26 C mark, and less overnight 20-22 C. What things can be done to lower the temp while brewing in the warmer months? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swanstar Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Sounds about right, The brews I've done over the last coupla months have been very estery (is that even a word?? Lol). My brew fridge blew up so I've been at the mercy of the elements. Although it's been very wet here the temps have been highish ( mid 20s to mid to high 30s) and I've found the beers to be very high in esters. Not they they taste bad, they just have that alcohol bite.[roll] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swanstar Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Hey Muddy, Love the Coopers English Bitter [biggrin] Best one to date was as follows. Can Coopers IS English Bitter 750g LME 500g BE2 150g Maltidextrin WYEAST 1768 yeast (not sure if this is a seasonal yeast or not, been making a starter out of the previous yeastcake. No probs yet [happy] ) 20g EKG dry hopped Nice, recommended by me and the 3 fools who helped me empty the keg [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HostelAussie Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Hey Swanny, I'm hearing you on the estery taste - the EB I just brewed had that going on! Didn't stop me getting through it all quick as! I had a look at your recipe can I ask what the 20g EKG dry hopped is? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 can I ask what the 20g EKG dry hopped is? That would be East Kent Goldings hops (presumably pellets), dry hopped meaning that the hops were added into the FV after a few days of fermentation to give the beer a hoppy aroma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 What things can be done to lower the temp while brewing in the warmer months? If you can get a temp controlled fridge that's the easiest way. Of course it requires space as well. I don't have the space for one, so I just sit my fermenter in a big saucer, propped up so the tap sits over the edge, and wrap a towel around it. Then I tip cold water over the towel and fill the saucer with some extra water and ice. I then usually pour cold water over it each morning before work. Seems to keep it reasonably cool. Cheers, Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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