Coopers stout

[TBK]

Hi All,

First of all, I am kida new to brewing, and dont have much experience in brewing. I have done a cooper pale ale and amber ale previously and they turned out ok.

I am thinking of doing a cooper stout next and what I got is.

1.) Stout kit

2.) Coopers 1kg BE#2

3.) Coopers 1kg BE#3

4.) Cooper 500g light dry malt

 

My question is this.

Do I use BE#2 with 500g LDM?

Do I use the BE#3 alone?

Do I use BE#3 +500g LDM?

 

Which combination will make a better stout?

 

Also, do I add 1 carbonation drop per 750ml for stout or should I continue using 2 per 750ml.

 

Rgds,

T

[Shamus O'Sean]

Hi @TBK, It depends on how you like your stout.  For me I would use the BE3 and the 500g of LDM.  This will get you a stout around 4.8% ABV.  If you leave out the 500g of LDM it will be around 4.0% ABV.  

BE3 has more LDM in it than BE2 which has a higher proportion of dextrose which is more fermentable than LDM, but not by a lot.  You might notice a tiny bit more dryness with the BE2 and a bit more fuller taste with the BE3.

[ben 10]

Throw it ALL in

[Shamus O'Sean]

14 minutes ago, Ben 10 said:

Throw it ALL in

I was gonna hit the "Laugh" emoji, but changed it to the "Like" emoji.  Because you are right, chuck it all in.

[TBK]

Thanks Guys for the advice. I go with BE3 and LDM for now.

About Carbonation. Should 1 drop be sufficient per 750ml or shoud I stick to 2 drop for stouts.

[YeastyBoy]

No idea what is in BE2 & BE3. Think it is posted in here somewhere?

Try Coopers Stout Extract plus a kilo of dry dark malt with 500g of dextrose. Go short and brew to 21L at 18C. Use SO4 yeast. Expect it to stay in the FV for a while. Great brew with an ABV around 6%. Think about steeping a few Malts when you feel like stepping it up a tad, go with a choc or roasted malt.

Stay with 2 drops in a long neck.

Cheers YB

[Shamus O'Sean]

For me 1 or 2 drops per long-neck depends on how long you intend to keep them for.  If you think you will drink them in a shorter time-frame then use 2 drops.  If you intend to age some bottles then just use one drop in those.  Maybe mix it up a bit and put one in some and two in the others, give them a try a couple of weeks after bottling and see what you prefer.

[TBK]

Thank you all for your responses and advice.

I am changing it up a bit using the advice and also I was thinking of making a milk stout instead  to add more creamyness.

1x coopers stout kit

1.5kg Dark Malt Extract

500g lactose

1x 7g kit yeast

 

Will 7g of yeast be enough or should I use 2 x 7g Kit yeast.

[Shamus O'Sean]

One would be enough if you rehydrated it.  If you cannot be bothered doing that, then just use two packets.  The lactose is not fermentable, otherwise, if you were adding 2 kg of fermentables I would definitely say use two yeasts

[Farlow]

On 4/23/2020 at 7:40 AM, Shamus O'Sean said:

Hi @TBK, It depends on how you like your stout.  For me I would use the BE3 and the 500g of LDM.  This will get you a stout around 4.8% ABV.  If you leave out the 500g of LDM it will be around 4.0% ABV.  

BE3 has more LDM in it than BE2 which has a higher proportion of dextrose which is more fermentable than LDM, but not by a lot.  You might notice a tiny bit more dryness with the BE2 and a bit more fuller taste with the BE3.

Ive just read this thread, thought it sounds like a good idea and raced up to Dans (only place open on a sunday). They didnt have any BE3, so I grabbed Stout tin, BE2, LDM and some Dex. If i add 250 or 500g of dex will it push it over 5% mark and will it affect the flavour?

I only have the tin yeast.

I also have a 12g pack of galaxy finishing hops, should i chuck that in on day 4 or keep that for a pale/ipa?

 

Edited May 3, 2020 by Farlow

[Shamus O'Sean]

4 hours ago, Farlow said:

Ive just read this thread, thought it sounds like a good idea and raced up to Dans (only place open on a sunday). They didnt have any BE3, so I grabbed Stout tin, BE2, LDM and some Dex. If i add 250 or 500g of dex will it push it over 5% mark and will it affect the flavour?

I only have the tin yeast.

I also have a 12g pack of galaxy finishing hops, should i chuck that in on day 4 or keep that for a pale/ipa?

 

Stout tin, BE2, LDM should get you to 4.8%ABV.  250g extra Dex will get to 5.3%.  500g extra Dex will get you to 5.8%.  The extra Dex will only affect the flavour in that the higher alcohol levels will be noticeable, especially 500g extra.

If you only have the tin yeast it might struggle a bit if you dry pitch it.  You could rehydrate it to give it a better chance.  Sanitise a pyrex jug.  Put about 100ml of 30°C water in it.  Sprinkle the yeast on the surface of the water.  After 5 minutes, swirl the jug until the contents forms a cream.  Let it stand for 5 minutes then repeat twice.  After the third swirl you can pitch it into your wort.

Keep the Galaxy for a pale or ipa.

[YeastyBoy]

3 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

If you only have the tin yeast it might struggle a bit if you dry pitch it.  You could rehydrate it to give it a better chance.  Sanitise a pyrex jug.  Put about 100ml of 30°C water in it.  Sprinkle the yeast on the surface of the water.  After 5 minutes, swirl the jug until the contents forms a cream.  Let it stand for 5 minutes then repeat twice.  After the third swirl you can pitch it into your wort.

Keep the Galaxy for a pale or ipa.

SOS has nailed it. Just remember to cover the jug with cling wrap or some cover while waiting for the dry yeast to rehydrate.

You could also proof the yeast at the end of the process by dropping a little sugar (half tsp) into the yeast. It will react fairly quickly (Froth up) if it is all good.

Plus two on saving your Galaxy for another Brew.

[Stevie Bhoy]

Using a tin of Coopers Stout and the attached yeast, what do I need to add to brew this to around 7-8% abv?

[UncleStavvy]

Local brew shop sold me a light and dark malt pack with extra dextrose so it was like 1.2kg abouts. Put in some extra malt powder or a can of extract and make it up to 20l should go close. I've made this to about 6.3% ABV but it does need 4-6 weeks in the bottle to be really nice.

[Shamus O'Sean]

4 hours ago, Stevie Bhoy said:

Using a tin of Coopers Stout and the attached yeast, what do I need to add to brew this to around 7-8% abv?

Several options for a 23L brew:

• 3kg Dry Malt Extract
• 3kg Liquid Extract and 500g Dextrose
• 1.7kg Coopers Lager, 1kg Dextrose; 500g Dry Malt Extract

I would get at least one more packet of yeast though.

[Journeyman]

5 hours ago, Stevie Bhoy said:

Using a tin of Coopers Stout and the attached yeast, what do I need to add to brew this to around 7-8% abv?

A tin of Coopers Dark Ale goes nicely with the stout.

 

[Stevie Bhoy]

Thanks for the replies. Can you add more sugar after the brew had started? My stout is 6 days into it. 

[Journeyman]

1 hour ago, Stevie Bhoy said:

Thanks for the replies. Can you add more sugar after the brew had started? My stout is 6 days into it. 

You can - it will start up fermenting again and don't be surprised if it foams up a bit.

[Stevie Bhoy]

2 hours ago, Journeyman said:

You can - it will start up fermenting again and don't be surprised if it foams up a bit.

Okay, thanks for that. I might leave it this time but good to know for the future.  

Should you give the bottom a mix if you add extra late in this way? 

[Shamus O'Sean]

5 hours ago, Journeyman said:

You can - it will start up fermenting again and don't be surprised if it foams up a bit.

Not casting aspersions JM, but will it actually be okay?  I have no idea on this so I am just asking.  Given the life-cycle of yeast and that at 6 days it would be pretty close to have finished fermenting a basic kit 'n' kilo, would it be okay to rouse it up with a kilo of fermentables?  It does not sound like ideal practice.  100g or so of sugar for priming is one thing, but 1kg might throw some unexpected flavours.  Might be perfectly fine too for all I know.

I would just be doing some more research before I put it into practice.

[Journeyman]

11 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Not casting aspersions JM, but will it actually be okay?  I have no idea on this so I am just asking.  Given the life-cycle of yeast and that at 6 days it would be pretty close to have finished fermenting a basic kit 'n' kilo, would it be okay to rouse it up with a kilo of fermentables?  It does not sound like ideal practice.  100g or so of sugar for priming is one thing, but 1kg might throw some unexpected flavours.  Might be perfectly fine too for all I know.

I would just be doing some more research before I put it into practice.

I see it as being just a really big starter. The way most people do them is to let it finish fermenting all the sugars then chuck in some LDME to make their next batch. This seems no different, although, thinking about it, it might be wise to use a mixer on the sugar (obviously in water) to aerate it. I dont think you'd want to aerate the brew, but some O2 in the addition could help the yeast multiply.

[Journeyman]

14 hours ago, Stevie Bhoy said:

Okay, thanks for that. I might leave it this time but good to know for the future.  

Should you give the bottom a mix if you add extra late in this way? 

I have no idea.  My instinct (such as it is) is no but I cant think of why (given proper sanitation) it would be bad. It might even be a good idea - there's probably a lot of expired yeast in there that could be used by the active yeast as nutrients.

And if you look at my previous reply, if it IS like a big starter, stirring it all up to get some O2 in there could be beneficial.

But I don't know if anyone has ever done it so could be a good experiment if you can risk a brew.

Edited May 12, 2020 by Journeyman

[UncleStavvy]

I say go for it but hang a webcam on the FV so we can watch live what happens!!!

[Rising_Power]

HI, thought I'd give this a bump and get some advice for a fairly simple Coopers stout.

I've previously made a nice drop using the 1.7kg stout can + 1.5kg liquid dark malt extract + 500g dextrose. Possibly the Best Extra recipe?

Anyway, I have a 1.7kg stout can, a 1kg bag of dark dry malt extract and 1kg of dextrose.  Intending to just use the supplied yeast as well.

I haven't used dry malt extract before and I'm not sure how that would convert to an equivalent volume of the liquid extract... so I'm open to any suggestions on what amounts of each ingredient to use. Any advice would be much appreciated!

Cheers

[Marvin]

I don't think that one coopers yeast sachet is enough.
1kg dry malt = about 1.2kg liquid malt.
The toucan stout uses stout + dark and both yeasts and optional dextrose.