Bladeca Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 Currently I'm drinking a batch of the Mild Ale made as per the recipe on the site. I'm enjoying it really well and the ABV came out spot on 3.5% which i was after. However from what I can tell it seems to occur with most kits made to mid strengths is that the head retention is not the greatest. So on my next brew I want to try and improve it. After reading alot of other threads I've came up with the below recipe to try and I'm interested in others feedback. 1.7kg Australian Pale Ale 500g Coopers Light Dry Malt 200g Carapils (steeped for 30min at 65C)?? 12g Saaz hops (steeped for 15-20mins) Windsor Ale Yeast I bottle into mainly 450/500ml swingtops and use dex to prime. Now in the first brew I used a MJ Saz 12g finishing hop teabag and went as per instructions, but I'm not sure whether I got the best out of it. Would I be better off getting pellets and doing a 20min boil with them and the DME?? Thanks Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 Wheat definitely helps, as does rye and also hops. Make sure the carapils is milled and boiled after the steep - drained and boiled. And yes, much better off buying 100g of saaz from someone with a fridge and doing a short boil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morrie Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 If it were me and I wanted to improve beer foam qualities, I would try: 1.7kg Australian Pale Ale http://store.coopers.com.au/thomas-coopers-wheat-malt-extract-1-5kg.html 12g Saaz hops (steeped for 15-20mins) Windsor Ale Yeast The full can of wheat which is a mix of wheat and barley would most likely take it over your desired 3.5% ABV so it may need some reduction. I've used this with a Bootmaker kit and it does as advertised, ie; improves head and mouthfeel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bladeca Posted October 22, 2017 Author Share Posted October 22, 2017 Thanks. I'll try both the wheat and carapils in different brews. Still want the lower ABV so will have to just go with a smaller amount of the extract to get it. Actually I'll have to find who has the coopers wheat malt around here as I wanted to try a summer ale with wheat as a reasonable percentage of the mix. cheers Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocean's of Ale- Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 The coopers mild ale is a great session brew - but iam just wondering, i find th Saaz hops a little too sharp any suggestions or alternative hop recommendations? -I was thinking prehaps giving Simcoe a try or galaxy- any sage hop advice from the forum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil_McGlass Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 The coopers mild ale is a great session brew - but iam just wondering' date=' i find th Saaz hops a little too sharp any suggestions or alternative hop recommendations?-I was thinking prehaps giving Simcoe a try or galaxy- any sage hop advice from the forum?[/quote'] You could go for a more English mild and use Goldings and/or Fuggles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 You could go for a more English mild and use Goldings and/or Fuggles. Yep, what he said. EKG would be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocean's of Ale- Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 Cheers guys, ill be trying those combo's for sure. (Thanks for your quick response) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSands Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 My personal experience with carapils is that it does little to nothing. Though hotly debated this observation was validated by some studies which suggest the same thing, that it's contribution to good foam performance is less than zero: In fact' date=' these results align with studies performed at UC Davis demonstrating Cara- and Crystal malts generally aren’t foam positive. I wonder if using maltodextrin would give you a better result? It is after all what Coopers include in their brew enhancers. Wheat malt may help though it's not typically found in mild ale, but if you're not too worried about conforming to any particular style and just want a light refreshing low ABV beer then worth a try. It does tend to cloud up the beer though...depending on quantity used. I like Ben's suggestion of rye malt actually. A few hundred g's of that held at 65ºC for 30 - 45mins would be worth a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prost Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 Hi all, this is my first post and fourth brew so please be gentle. I just put in some Coopers Mild Ale and followed the recipe on the website. I have pitched both the kit yeast and the commercial yeast, and now I'm wondering if I should have used both? any thoughts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Jones Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 I wouldn't be to concerned. I have done the same without any problems. This is all part of the learning curve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prost Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 9 minutes ago, Pickles Jones said: I wouldn't be to concerned. I have done the same without any problems. This is all part of the learning curve. thanks for your quick reply, so I should have left out the kit yeast, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Jones Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 No, mine turned out fine. Some of my best brews have been made by not sticking exactly to the recipe by mistake or intention. If it turns out to your satisfaction it is a good brew! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prost Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 Cheers, looking forward to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naughty Corner Brewing Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 Hi Prost. Should be all good although you might find it a little underwhelming in taste as an over pitch can sometimes do that with ales. The recipe only lists the commercial yeast, but it shouldn’t do any real harm. If the CCA yeast was already active it probably got up and boogied while the packet yeast was still waking up! Cheers! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prost Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 6 minutes ago, NewBrews said: Hi Prost. Should be all good although you might find it a little underwhelming in taste as an over pitch can sometimes do that with ales. The recipe only lists the commercial yeast, but it shouldn’t do any real harm. If the CCA yeast was already active it probably got up and boogied while the packet yeast was still waking up! Cheers! Thanks for the encouragement. The CCA yeast didn't look overly active at any stage, just like a few other comments on this forum. (only frothy when shaken, quiet gassy, nice smell) Sure it'll be fine to drink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naughty Corner Brewing Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 The CCA yeast doesn’t appear very active compared to US05 and others, but it keeps on keeping on. Just keep it at temperature and it’ll keep chugging away. It’s a damn good yeast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prost Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 13 minutes ago, NewBrews said: The CCA yeast doesn’t appear very active compared to US05 and others, but it keeps on keeping on. Just keep it at temperature and it’ll keep chugging away. It’s a damn good yeast. Ok, thanks for that. Unfortunately I can't control the temperature since I am just starting up. At the moment the VF's temp strip shows between 20-22 degrees. Come summer I'll have to look at something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prost Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 Oh one more question: what FG should I expect from this brew? cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naughty Corner Brewing Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 1 hour ago, Prost said: Ok, thanks for that. Unfortunately I can't control the temperature since I am just starting up. At the moment the VF's temp strip shows between 20-22 degrees. Come summer I'll have to look at something. If you wrap a damp towel or something around it that should drop it a degree or two. But 20-22 isn’t too bad for it. 51 minutes ago, Prost said: Oh one more question: what FG should I expect from this brew? cheers I’d be thinking around 1.010 to 1.012 for that one. That’s just a guess but you might get it down to 1.008 at the outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prost Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 thanks for all the info, gold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glazertmonster Posted August 4, 2020 Share Posted August 4, 2020 I've found liquid malt rather that LDME can improve head retention. Only my experience though, not scientific! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris! Posted August 4, 2020 Share Posted August 4, 2020 On 10/21/2017 at 3:56 AM, Bladeca said: Currently I'm drinking a batch of the Mild Ale made as per the recipe on the site. I'm enjoying it really well and the ABV came out spot on 3.5% which i was after. However from what I can tell it seems to occur with most kits made to mid strengths is that the head retention is not the greatest. So on my next brew I want to try and improve it. After reading alot of other threads I've came up with the below recipe to try and I'm interested in others feedback. 1.7kg Australian Pale Ale 500g Coopers Light Dry Malt 200g Carapils (steeped for 30min at 65C)?? 12g Saaz hops (steeped for 15-20mins) Windsor Ale Yeast I bottle into mainly 450/500ml swingtops and use dex to prime. Now in the first brew I used a MJ Saz 12g finishing hop teabag and went as per instructions, but I'm not sure whether I got the best out of it. Would I be better off getting pellets and doing a 20min boil with them and the DME?? Thanks Glenn I would have half the dry malt be wheat malt extract if you can get it to go with the carapils and that will increase the head retention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prost Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 Just bottled mine yesterday after 9 days with a fg of 1004 from the og1030. sounds right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Instigator Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 Mine was OG: 1031, FG 1005, so that sounds about right, @Prost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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