Can I boil Coopers DIY kit malt extract?

[JimInCollie]

Hi, I'm Jim Elliott (display name: JimInCollie) and I am new to Coopers kits and this forum.  I have been brewing all-grain beers until now but I am currently trying the differing Coopers DIY products. Most of the ordinary kits say to:

• Mix the ingredients (water, extract, Brew Enhancer, etc)
• Add yeast when at the right temperature
• Ferment
• Bottle, condition, and enjoy.

The instructions say nothing about boiling.  However, I have a Digiboil which I bought for my All-Grain recipes, and was wondering if there is any harm in boiling the Coopers ingredients for, say, 15 minutes?

Why do I want to do this?

1. I can add a Whirlfloc tablet just before the end of the boil
2. Everything becomes sterilised - less chance of infection with bacteria or wild yeast.

Is there anything wrong with a short boil before cooling and adding to a sanitised fermenter?

Many thanks, Jim

[iBooz2]

Hi Jim @JimInCollieand welcome to our forum.

No - short answer is DO NOT BOIL COOPERS KITS.  If you do it will make it much more darker and more importantly much more bitter.  (Sort of like boiling your bittering hops for twice as long as you should have when doing AG).

You do not need to add Whirlfloc as this has already been taken care of in the kit extract, you just need to add your brew enhancer / dry or liquid malts / sugars etc then the appropriate amount of water.

My process is (or was as I mainly do AG now):-

• Sanitize everything, FV, spoon can opener, scissors for yeast packs and the kit can itself (I remove as much of the label as I can) and spray whole can with sanitizer.  You know this drill from AG so nothing new there.
• Fill your kettle with chlorine free tap water and boil, you need about 2 L of boiling water only.
• Put about 2 L of chlorine free tap water into the FV first so that the following addition of boiling water does not damage the FV. 
• Then tip in about 1.7 L of the boiling water, add the dry ingredients swirl around the FV to dissolve and mix it into the hot water. 
• Once that has dissolved, open your Coopers kit can and empty the contents into the FV.  Scrape out remainder and add about half a litre to the kit can to get the last of the goop out and tip into the FV.
• Then just top it up to the required volume with chlorine free cold tap water and this should bring you up to about the correct pitching temp for your yeast (presume ALE yeast here 18 - 20 C) depending on the ambient temp of your tap water.
• If you want to brew lagers (10 - 14 C) then what I used to do was put a 15 L cube of chlorine free water into my fridge the night before brew day.  When it comes time to top up your FV to get it to pitching temps for lager, use the chilled cube of water and it will end up about perfect for lager yeast say 10 C.

Because you have a DigiBoil and I presume you do BIAB you are well placed to do partial mashes to improve the kits.  IMO the Coopers kits need 250 g carapils/carafoam either cold steeped in 3 L cold water overnight or mashed with say 150 g wheat malt in 5 L total of water at 65 - 69 C for 30 ".   Boil this part only for 15" to kill any bugs then add the liquid to your FV in place of the boiling water addition mentioned above.  Again IMO this should be mandatory for Coopers kits to get any proper head formation and head retention.

Good luck with your brews Jim, will look forward to seeing some pics.  Cheers - AL

Edited January 29, 2022 by iBooz2

[Aussiekraut]

I see where you are coming from but don't worry. The goo in the can is boiled down wort, so it has been boiled and kettle fined and is sterilised. If you are worried about the BE or DME you are putting in, you can dissolve it in 2l of boiling water to kill off any potential nasties. That war liquid will also help dissolve the goo. It's been a while since I've made a k&k but some things never change  

[Shamus O'Sean]

11 hours ago, JimInCollie said:

Is there anything wrong with a short boil before cooling and adding to a sanitised fermenter?

Hi Jim and welcome to the Forum

I generally agree with the comments above.  Although boiling will sterilise everything, you do not need to treat the brew with Whirlfloc.  You will get some cold break in the bottom of your fermenter, but it is usually quite minimal.

The other thing with many of the Coopers kits (or any hopped extract kit) is they have late hop additions for flavour and aroma.  If you boil the kit you will boil off much of the effects of these additions.  Some of those chemicals are very volatile and only need a few minutes at boiling temperatures to boil off.

[Bribie G]

Quite apart from liquid malt extract and kits, if you use light dried malt extract / brew enhancer from Coopers there's no need to boil that either, it should be pretty well sterile.  On the other hand if it came repackaged from a local home brew shop, whilst you should rarely have a problem, there's always the possibility that someone could have sneezed into the pack while filling it from the bulk sack or had to fish a cockroach out.

Most unlikely, but the other thing is that most "mystery" LDME is produced for confectionery and baking and not necessarily aimed at home brewers. In my Kit and Kilo days the generic LDME often gave me some wicked chill hazes. Stick with the Coopers.. made at the brewery for brewers.

[Cee]

G'day @JimInCollie

Welcome to the forums

Nothing to add to these guys, so just a G'day

[JimInCollie]

On 2/1/2022 at 7:21 PM, Cee said:

G'day @JimInCollie

Welcome to the forums

Nothing to add to these guys, so just a G'day

Thanks for your kind welcome, Cee

[JimInCollie]

iBooz2 - Thanks for your excellent advice which I will follow carefully when I brew my next Coopers kit beer.  I feel a lot more confident about using Coopers malt extract after reading your reply, and also after researching Coopers themselves.  I think I have always regarded brew kits as a bit like being 'backyard' brewing, if you gather my meaning, but after reading about the company, their new malting works, and Dr Cooper's status in the international brewing community, I now hold their products in much higher esteem.  I will still be doing all-grain brewing, and experimental brewing, but I see the Coopers kits as a quick and easy way of filling up my keezer with good beer to share with friends when stocks get low.  I have attached a couple of snapshots of my home made keezer (not quite finished, but very functional) for you to look at.  Once again, many thanks for taking the time to write such an excellent reply. Regards,  Jim.

Aussiekraut, Shamus O'Sean, and Bribie G - Thanks to the thee of you too for replying with helpful information.  As I said in my reply to iBooz2, above, when you are new to something it is very reassuring to be able to get advice from experienced users of the products.  Many thanks, Jim.

 

[iBooz2]

27 minutes ago, JimInCollie said:

iBooz2 - Thanks for your excellent advice which I will follow carefully when I brew my next Coopers kit beer.   Once again, many thanks for taking the time to write such an excellent reply. Regards,  Jim.

Aussiekraut, Shamus O'Sean, and Bribie G - Thanks to the thee of you too for replying with helpful information.  As I said in my reply to iBooz2, above, when you are new to something it is very reassuring to be able to get advice from experienced users of the products.  Many thanks, Jim.

@JimInCollie , its a pleasure Jim.  There are a lot of very experienced brewers in this forum so you are in good company.

I have coined a saying for new brewers that arrive in our forum  - "Ask Twice, Brew Once, Tip Never".   Good luck with all your brews.

BTW I like the "gunslinger" Pluto gun setup on your keezer. ha ha

[DavidM]

1 hour ago, JimInCollie said:

I think I have always regarded brew kits as a bit like being 'backyard' brewing,

That's me, did someone call Me..

Jokes aside, Love the setup, and it's on wheels..

Do you take it outside??

[JimInCollie]

On 2/6/2022 at 4:03 PM, DavidM said:

That's me, did someone call Me..

Jokes aside, Love the setup, and it's on wheels..

Do you take it outside??

Yes, the keezer is on wheels so I can take it outside onto our brick patio on fine days, and bring it inside on wet, rainy days.  Thanks for the reply David (DavidM)

@JimInCollie