Andris Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 Yesterday I could not resist buying one bottle of Dutch Dubbel - really expensive - about 7$ per 0.75l bottle... went home, chilled to serving temperatures stated on the label, got out really big red wine glass and poured... and was really surprised - I did not expect it to taste really close to Coopers Dark Ale I brewed about 4 months ago - maybe a little bit more aroma and body (tho I havent tasted my brew from that fancy glass). So, the recipe I had was 1x Dark Ale 1x Liquid Light Malt 1x 500g LME dryhopped after week (total waste tbh) and left in fermenter for total of 3 weeks. OG was 1.053, FG 1.009 Brew tasted awful for a month after bottling, but then it got better and better and now is really lovely drink and surprisingly like that expensive Duvel, especially the aroma and mouthfeel part. I think, next beer I will mix with Amber LME instead of light to get a bit different aroma and maybe will add some cane sugar or burned cane sugar along with DME for aroma. Does anyone have idea how to make it with a bit fuller body and ABV close to 7-8% (I think mine came out 6.3%-ish after bottling and priming)? All and all, experiment cost me 7$ to realize I have about half crate of something really similar in my garage :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 You could drop the total volume to 21 litres and add an extra 500g of sugar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andris Posted December 21, 2010 Author Share Posted December 21, 2010 Thank you Paul, maybe sugar and some more malty goodness? If I am correct, them mixing 1.7kg Dark Ale 1.5kg Amber Liquid Malt 0.5kg Light DME 0.5kg dextrose all mixed to 21 liter I should come up with OG 1.071 ish and FG 1.017ish making ABV 7.8% and I think a blow-off valve combined with some lid clamps are default equipment for this one - will be rocketing and foaming like crazy.... What do you think - will more DME spoil it? Say, if I add another 500g of light DME to this mix? What about hops? I dry hopped my last batch, but, I think German aroma hops was a poor choice and I was really glad when they were gone 3 months later. Any suggestions would be welcome as I just have free FV and my hands are itchy (And the tin of Dark Ale winks at me all the time) :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 You have heaps of malt in the recipe but you want the yeast to attenuate the brew or else it will finish out of balance (way too sweet). I think any further addition should be simple sugars. Being such a big beer, it wouldn't hurt to make a starter for the yeast or pitch at least one more sachet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andris Posted December 21, 2010 Author Share Posted December 21, 2010 Rite, no more malts it is then :-) one more question - I'm planning to use Coopers ale yeast for this, and suggestion making this one with at least 2 packs requires me to strip sachet of yeast from Pale Ale - wondering if its the same yeast string as in the Dark Ale kit. Alternative is mixing Dark Ale kit yeast with 11g of Safale US-05 (wondering what would that make)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andris Posted December 22, 2010 Author Share Posted December 22, 2010 Alright, its officially ON. for second batch I mixed following: 1x Coopers Dark Ale 1x Coopers Liquid Amber Malt 1x 500g Light DME 1x 500g brewing sugar mixed to 22l pitched 7g kit yeast and 11.5g Safale US-05 @ 25C - now this will be interesting! OG = 1.060 after temp correction (hmmm.. where did my previous calculations were off?) anyway wort tastes delicious - chocolaty and malty with very mild bitterness - can use as syrup for pancakes! well, fingers crossed, now 3 weeks of patience followed by 3 more months of patience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 That's a good amount of yeast for the task ahead [biggrin] Info on Coopers yeast here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andris Posted December 24, 2010 Author Share Posted December 24, 2010 Just an update on a brew progress - its day 3 and its still bubbling away. Was surprisingly little foam - about 20cm in blow-off tube. Could that be because I added rather long blow-off tube (a bit of additional resistance for CO2 to escape making foaming bit harder) combined with rather low ambient temp (about 19C)? For first 2 days, fermenting bucket took shape of ball - round and ready to blow off lid, but I got that covered with some clamps. Took sample yesterday (got spigot in FV), brew is down to 1.020 from 1.060 already (48h later). Taste was still sweet BUT oh my, if half of those notes end up there when its ready, it will be excellent brown ale, better than one I made up with light malts. Has anyone considered making deodorants out of fermenters? Whole room had that slight malty/chocolate smell lingering - very pleasant. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andris Posted December 26, 2010 Author Share Posted December 26, 2010 Five days later SG is down to 1.012, aroma is delicious sweet chocolaty with hint of spices (US-05?) and slightly flowery/fruity (Coopers ale yeast?), very pleasant. Color is somewhat on the light side of brown (muddy bear? :D), but yeast is probably messing with it making it lighter anyway. After Cesu "Winter" Porter, this "muddy bear" tastes really sweet and surprisingly light - no hint of any alcohol/fusel aromas, tho its already has at least 6.4% ABV. I think this one will end up around 1.010-1.009ish within 2 weeks. Still plenty yeast in suspension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andris Posted January 1, 2011 Author Share Posted January 1, 2011 Rite, an update (last one this year!). Just took sample reading - 't says 1.009. still bit cloudy, I think it will clear within week. By my calculation, this one already has 6.8% ABV. Aroma is very nice - sweet chocolate/malty dominates with some fruity hints (plums perhaps?). Tastes very green :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andris Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 Rite, just wanted to post pics of "zee original" - my first batch of Coopers Dark Ale... I bet some of you dont know what the hell I am talking here about hence I hope this would be great illustration. And, on the second batch - its hanging at 1.009, probably will cold crash within few days and then bottle... btw, this is the stuff I was having @ xmass and NY! I have to admit, this is one of my best extract brews so far, so guys, if you are into dark ales, give this one a try! cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andris Posted January 8, 2011 Author Share Posted January 8, 2011 It's day 18th, SG 1.009, yeast mostly dropped out of suspension. I dont think keeping it for few more days in primary will benefit it any longer and gravity reading is 1 point below planned - I thought I will end up somewhere 1.010-12 range. Moving brew to garage (10C) to cold crash it for a day to drop remaining yeast out of suspension, planning to bottle tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andris Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Well, its been couple of months - just a heads up - brew turned out to bet.... FANTASTIC! seriously, guys, if you like a rich to the earth (oh well, I am big Jim Butcher's Dresden files fan, and this one MUST be within the MacAnally's pub's highest standarts or else I would not brew it!) bready-chocolaty-bit-yeasty-nutty taste of a real mahogany nectar... then Coopers Dark Ale is the way to go. while my brew turned out to be somewhat on the strong side - about 7.3% ABV after carbonation, its really really good just after 2 months in the bottles... this will probably sound odd, but I find out that it goes really really well with the deserts like cheese cakes and this brew have beaten my top 1 desert drink spot - I love a glass of a really late harvest chardonnay wine - after the grapes have frozen - just a glass or two after the really hard day by computer... have to say, that Dark Ale have taken this spot - just superb drink. highly recommended! Btw, take2 recipe is far superior to the take 1.. duno why, but taste is way more complex (Hmm.. maybe its me being nublet with the first brew, drinking it all cold and over carbed!) PS2. ..... .... ...... it is that good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeH10 Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Sounds like a delicious beer. I just bottled my first attempt at a brew. Coopers Stout. One night the fermenting jub got above 30, so I am a little nervous about it.... Will know more in 2 wks. Anyhow... I am a fan of High Gravity beers. In one of the earlier post in your saga someone mentioned just using less water initially to raise the ABV. You also added more sugars to that as well, right? Thanks for your time. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andris Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Sounds like a delicious beer. I just bottled my first attempt at a brew. Coopers Stout. One night the fermenting jub got above 30, so I am a little nervous about it.... Will know more in 2 wks. Anyhow... I am a fan of High Gravity beers. In one of the earlier post in your saga someone mentioned just using less water initially to raise the ABV. You also added more sugars to that as well, right? Thanks for your time. Mike from my personal experience, 30 is a tad on extreme level. worst case scenario - you will end up with beer that will have a pear and raspberry smell to it, but, it usually goes away in couple of months, if not, it will still be very pleasant drink! As for high gravity beers - Coopers Dark Ale is a great source for experiments - seriously, my latest batch beat most Belgium (and Dutch) made Dubbel's in the best beer saloons we have here - it is that good. And, you can still mess with it to improve - its totally up to your creativity! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeonardC2 Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Isn't dubbel dutch the thing with 2 jump ropes?lolz. Anyway,I was planning to try the Cooper's dark ale kit with some amber malt myself. Felt the dark malt would be more for a stout or something. This sounds really good. I was thinking of using it to make what was called "whiskely" in colonial times. Simply stated,a whiskey beer. Hmmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeH10 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 The double dutch reference made me chuckle. =) I live in Holland MI so it seems to relate even more. Thanks for the advice on my stout. I was bummed when it hit 30. I had used a small heater to keep the basement a bit warmer while I was at work. It overheated... =( Next Wed is the 20 day mark. I am anxious to see what I have made. When I bought the kit it came with a pale ale as well. I am thinking of starting it as well, but I am bottle less... I have several growlers that I fill at my local pub. Are there dangers when putting fresh brew in a growler? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weggl Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Andris, did you use Dex or Coopers brewing sugar? Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Assuming the growler has a swing-top, it should be fine for bottling into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weggl Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Andris, From reading you posts I thought you took Paul's advice to use 500g DEX, your final recipe says 500 "brew sugar", just wanted to clear up. Which one? Because brew sugar is not all sugar.[innocent] Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeonardC2 Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 I assumed he was referring to the same one Cooper's gave me. It had a blue stripe around the top,& just said "brewing sugar". It's different than BE1 or BE2. It's 80% dex,20% maltodextrine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andris Posted March 13, 2011 Author Share Posted March 13, 2011 Andris, did you use Dex or Coopers brewing sugar? Warren Brewing sugar! and not the Coopers one - just plain Youngs brewing sugar. MikeH10 - yea, I know what you feel - have same thing when people talkiing about Baltic Porter LOL... but, neverhteless, we have a very expensive Dutch dark ale (written on the bottle - Dubbel) - 0.7l, chapagne style cork and all 9 yards including the price. That was the kicker cause Dark Ale I brewed tasted really really close to that one, especially, the candy notes, little dry sour ending. Later on, I discovered that a lot of Belgian dark ales taste really close to that one and, oddly enough, if you go for a strong one, Coopers version, seasoned, is better - milder and not so harsh alcohol bite. So, judging by the price I had to pay for it - close to EUR5 while I can get a bottle of Fullers London Porter at EUR2... you know.. :D So, try it out, its really delicious! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeH10 Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 You've sold me... Shopping for some dark ale as soon as I finish this post. =) My stout reached it's 20 day mark and has been tested. I am pretty sure the 30 degree day did not help it. I think it has a bit of a smoky or burned taste. It has not stopped me from drinking it though. =) I started the second batch that came with my kit Tuesday. It is the Lager. I was watching online videos and a fella brewed the same stuff with plain old brown sugar and raved about it. I had the sugar that came with it, but added a cup of brown sugar as a extra fermentable. Temperature has stayed at 23-24. =) Lesson learned... =) My growlwers are screw top ones... Less safe than the clamp lid ones? I did not get much carbobation on my stout, but that may be because of the high temp I put the yeast through too... right? Thanks for all the tips! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartF2 Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Andris, Excellent post and what a delicious sounding beer!! My mouth is watering after reading your descriptions!! [joyful] I'm definitely going to give this one a go, maybe have it for christmas [biggrin] Do you think you will you be re-visiting this recipe? If so have you though about adding hops to it at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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