Coopers Bootlegger Pale Ale

[LachieS]

Hey Guys,

so this is my second proper attempt at using the DIY coopers kit. I did an Australian Pale Ale and that worked pretty well. Slightly on the sweeter side. Now I’m trying the bootlegger Pale Ale and it’s on day 7. I just saw that most people suggested 18-22° for fermentation but I followed the instructions and let it sit at 26°. It now has a sweet smell to it but looks and tastes fine. I was just wondering if I may have ruined it or if it will be fine?

 

also, I wonder if there’s a reason that the coopers home brew kits have sweeter tastes to them or if it’s something I’m doing wrong?

 

thank

[Classic Brewing Co]

10 minutes ago, LachieS said:

Hey Guys,

so this is my second proper attempt at using the DIY coopers kit. I did an Australian Pale Ale and that worked pretty well. Slightly on the sweeter side. Now I’m trying the bootlegger Pale Ale and it’s on day 7. I just saw that most people suggested 18-22° for fermentation but I followed the instructions and let it sit at 26°. It now has a sweet smell to it but looks and tastes fine. I was just wondering if I may have ruined it or if it will be fine?

 

also, I wonder if there’s a reason that the coopers home brew kits have sweeter tastes to them or if it’s something I’m doing wrong?

 

thank

Welcome to the forum @LachieS

The basic Coopers are really just a starting point, to get a bitterness profile you need to be adding hops, for example Coopers use Pride of Ringwood in their commercial Pale Ale, you could add some extra and/or a different one as well, the sweeter taste is possibly due to the beer not matured enough to level out & develop flavours. Also the temperature range is another factor, so try to keep within the recommended guidelines.

[Pints]

35 minutes ago, LachieS said:

Hey Guys,

so this is my second proper attempt at using the DIY coopers kit. I did an Australian Pale Ale and that worked pretty well. Slightly on the sweeter side. Now I’m trying the bootlegger Pale Ale and it’s on day 7. I just saw that most people suggested 18-22° for fermentation but I followed the instructions and let it sit at 26°. It now has a sweet smell to it but looks and tastes fine. I was just wondering if I may have ruined it or if it will be fine?

 

also, I wonder if there’s a reason that the coopers home brew kits have sweeter tastes to them or if it’s something I’m doing wrong?

 

thank

Mine regularly get up to 26 mate don't worry should be fine. The Bootmaker will be more bitter than the pale ale tin, but I do tend to agree, a lot of them are sweet. Aging the brew sometimes helps with mellowing out the flavour. But I almost always add a small hop boil for some extra bitterness. 10 or 15g for 10 or 15 mins goes a long way✌  Check the IBU of each tin and then take it from there

Edited February 15, 2022 by PintsAtMeLocal

[LachieS]

Thanks for the reply.

so when using hops do I just mix them into the beer with the other ingredients?

[Pints]

6 minutes ago, LachieS said:

Thanks for the reply.

so when using hops do I just mix them into the beer with the other ingredients?

If u looking for bitterness, you will need to boil them in a litre or 3 of water for a certain time. Longer boil means more bitterness. Then cool the liquid , strain hop bits, and add to the FV with your extract tin etc when making the beer

[Classic Brewing Co]

Just now, LachieS said:

Thanks for the reply.

so when using hops do I just mix them into the beer with the other ingredients?

That is a whole topic on it's own, everyone has a different method & the variations are endless. It would depend on your brewing experience & what suits you best but a simple way to start is to empty the hops into up to a litre of boiled water (better in the little muslin bags that are supplied with some hops) let them steep like a teabag for 15-20 minutes & chuck them in before adding the yeast. As long as you sterilsie all of the equipment you will be fine.

[Pints]

1 minute ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

That is a whole topic on it's own, everyone has a different method & the variations are endless. It would depend on your brewing experience & what suits you best but a simple way to start is to empty the hops into up to a litre of boiled water (better in the little muslin bags that are supplied with some hops) let them steep like a teabag for 15-20 minutes & chuck them in before adding the yeast. As long as you sterilsie all of the equipment you will be fine.

I love how we both say essentially the same thing, just slightly different methods. Meaning there is many ways to do it, as long as the fundamentals are grasped

[Classic Brewing Co]

4 minutes ago, PintsAtMeLocal said:

I love how we both say essentially the same thing, just slightly different methods. Meaning there is many ways to do it, as long as the fundamentals are grasped

Well as you know there are true & tried methods however as a brewer gains more knowledge he/she will go down many paths & to find what suits them best, also listening & learning along the way. I for one like to vary my brews with different hopping methods, so far to me the simplest & effective way is a simple infusion, I still get enough hop kick to suit my taste.

 

[Pints]

1 minute ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Well as you know there are true & tried methods however as a brewer gains more knowledge he/she will go down many paths & to find what suits them best, also listening & learning along the way. I for one like to vary my brews with different hopping methods, so far to me the simplest & effective way is a simple infusion, I still get enough hop kick to suit my taste.

 

Variety is the spice of life I do the same,  something less bitter like the Aus pale ale will get a longer boil, where as the IPA tin has more than double the IBUs I think, so I will just do a dry hop. @MUZZY mentioned the other day that he likes to steep his teas for a few hours in cooler water. I am definitely interested in trying this as an alternative to dry hop

[Tone boy]

Bootlegger is a better name!!

[Malter White]

21 minutes ago, PintsAtMeLocal said:

 @MUZZY mentioned the other day that he likes to steep his teas for a few hours in cooler water. I am definitely interested in trying this as an alternative to dry hop

Hi Pints. I also mentioned I'm not sure if it's the most effective use of hops but I guess you'll make your own summations on that if you give it a go. Personally I've been satisfied with results because I was trying to add hops flavour more than bitterness and it seems to work ok.

[Pints]

12 minutes ago, MUZZY said:

Hi Pints. I also mentioned I'm not sure if it's the most effective use of hops but I guess you'll make your own summations on that if you give it a go. Personally I've been satisfied with results because I was trying to add hops flavour more than bitterness and it seems to work ok.

Gotcha Muzz thanks for that. Yeah I'm sure it will work a treat with a dry hop too 50/50 split or something similar 

[Aussiekraut]

1 hour ago, LachieS said:

Hey Guys,

so this is my second proper attempt at using the DIY coopers kit. I did an Australian Pale Ale and that worked pretty well. Slightly on the sweeter side. Now I’m trying the bootlegger Pale Ale and it’s on day 7. I just saw that most people suggested 18-22° for fermentation but I followed the instructions and let it sit at 26°. It now has a sweet smell to it but looks and tastes fine. I was just wondering if I may have ruined it or if it will be fine?

26 is a little high. I know Coopers do give you a temp range that makes most of us shiver but they do it to make things as easy as possible and maybe some of their yeasts are more suited to higher temps. Ideally, 18-21 is the sweet spot for most ale yeasts. 24 is still safe but I wouldn't go over that if you can avoid it as yeast starts throwing some off tastes if things get too warm. Most of us use an old fridge and a temperature controller to keep things where we want them to be but don't worry about that just yet. First and foremost, you need to figure out if brewing is your thing before you run out and spend money. You can keep things a little cooler if you drape the fermentor in a wet towel and maybe a fan blowing on it. It's called a swamp cooler and many of us did this before we decided to descend into the rabbit hole and start spending money on gear. 

The main thing is that you like what you make. You aren't brewing for others but for yourself, so whatever makes you happy is good. 

The sweetness in kits is possibly because the beer didn't ferment out completely. Or it is perceived sweet because it doesn't have enough hops to balance things out a little. You may want to think about adding extra hops. When you are brewing, boil some hops in water (preferably with some DME in it) for maybe 15 minutes and add this to the fermentor when you add all other ingredients. This will add some bitterness to the end product and help offset the sweetness. 

Generally, I recommend you employ the KISS method...keep it simple stupid. Don't jump into all sorts of elaborate brews yet, just stick with the basics and find your ground. establish a base line and then work in things as you get more experienced. 

Welcome to the forum and to the wonderful world of brewing. 

 

[jennyss]

@LachieS, I was busy on Tuesday when you posted, mixing up my second brew. My first brew was a Coopers Lager that came with my brew box , all  done according to the Coopers pamphlet. I was bleeting to the Coopers Community here that it tasted too 'toffeeish' after two weeks in the bottle. But after three weeks in the bottle it tastes much better.  As you are finding, the support from the Coopers Community is awesome!

My second brew is a Coopers Australian Pale Ale; again done according to Coopers instructions. With an outside temp of 35, I have been fussing around with air con, wet towels, fan, ice-bricks and kept the temp to 22deg.

I like the tips you are getting about basic use of hops for flavour and bitterness.  I think I will try this soon.  However,  as a total brewing newbie, I am also following the advice of @Aussiekrautand others to follow the KISS principle. I see it is now 5pm EST; time to open the bar!

Best wishes from jennyss

[Tricky Micky]

On 2/15/2022 at 6:10 PM, MUZZY said:

Hi Pints. I also mentioned I'm not sure if it's the most effective use of hops but I guess you'll make your own summations on that if you give it a go. Personally I've been satisfied with results because I was trying to add hops flavour more than bitterness and it seems to work ok.

This is interesting Muzzy, I've not done it this way before, but what I have been doing is steeping hops pellets at cooler temps than recommended. To see what aroma or flavours are imparted in those temp ranges compared to say the Coopers Eclipse Ale where they suggest steeping hop pellets at 80 degrees C for 30 minutes...I'm more inclined to do this between 65deg and 70 degrees C and for just a tad longer.... so far I've been happy with the results.

[Malter White]

13 minutes ago, Mickep said:

This is interesting Muzzy, I've not done it this way before, but what I have been doing is steeping hops pellets at cooler temps than recommended. To see what aroma or flavours are imparted in those temp ranges compared to say the Coopers Eclipse Ale where they suggest steeping hop pellets at 80 degrees C for 30 minutes...I'm more inclined to do this between 65deg and 70 degrees C and for just a tad longer.... so far I've been happy with the results.

Hi Mick. I'm fairly ad hoc with my hops additions. I don't even measure temperature of water. I just go by cold, tepid, warm or hot and steep for longer the colder the water is. It seems to work ok for me.

[Tricky Micky]

1 hour ago, MUZZY said:

Hi Mick. I'm fairly ad hoc with my hops additions. I don't even measure temperature of water. I just go by cold, tepid, warm or hot and steep for longer the colder the water is. It seems to work ok for me.

I think you're right Muzzy.

I'm only being overly cautious because I don't like "bitter" not a fan. I remember when I first started I was adding hops to near boiling temps and I didn't like the results as it gave my beers a bitterness that to my mouth wasn't pleasant. Bit gun shy now. Same with specialty grain steeps -  tend to do them cold in the fridge O/N I think from what I've read it removes the chance of excessive tannins causing a perceived bitterness. I might give your hop method a go mate, seems to me there's a good chance you might have another method to patent. 

[Malter White]

10 minutes ago, Mickep said:

I think you're right Muzzy.

I'm only being overly cautious because I don't like "bitter" not a fan. I remember when I first started I was adding hops to near boiling temps and I didn't like the results as it gave my beers a bitterness that to my mouth wasn't pleasant. Bit gun shy now. Same with specialty grain steeps -  tend to do them cold in the fridge O/N I think from what I've read it removes the chance of excessive tannins causing a perceived bitterness. I might give your hop method a go mate, seems to me there's a good chance you might have another method to patent. 

I can't take credit for cold steeps. I pinched that idea from someone else on these forums. I can't remember who it was unfortunately.

[RDT2]

On 2/19/2022 at 6:19 AM, Mickep said:

I think you're right Muzzy.

I'm only being overly cautious because I don't like "bitter" not a fan. I remember when I first started I was adding hops to near boiling temps and I didn't like the results as it gave my beers a bitterness that to my mouth wasn't pleasant. Bit gun shy now. Same with specialty grain steeps -  tend to do them cold in the fridge O/N I think from what I've read it removes the chance of excessive tannins causing a perceived bitterness. I might give your hop method a go mate, seems to me there's a good chance you might have another method to patent. 

What hops you use can also effect how much bitterness is given off for example  a hop like Galaxy can give a harsh bitterness if too much is used or boiled for too long. It also has a high alpha acid level. But if you used something like Saaz say in a Pilsner/lager it has a much lower alpha acid level and a larger zone for error. That’s larger not lager even though it’s in a lager  not a larger

What did you use out of interest?

Edited February 25, 2022 by RDT2

[Tricky Micky]

6 hours ago, RDT2 said:

What hops you use can also effect how much bitterness is given off for example  a hop like Galaxy can give a harsh bitterness if too much is used or boiled for too long. It also has a high alpha acid level. But if you used something like Saaz say in a Pilsner/lager it has a much lower alpha acid level and a larger zone for error. That’s larger not lager even though it’s in a lager  not a larger

What did you use out of interest?

@RDT2, I have used Eclipse, Galaxy and Cascade mainly in Pale's. In the lagers Super Pride, POR, Sazz, and Tettnanger. Others as well......

I've come to the conclusion I don't like SP...I've really only dry hopped the Galaxy so I'm not sure that's where the bitterness would come from. Although I do use a fair bit in the dry hop - I'd been doing a dry hop of Galaxy and Cascade 2:1 ratio mostly around 40,/20g give or take. 

[RDT2]

4 hours ago, Mickep said:

@RDT2, I have used Eclipse, Galaxy and Cascade mainly in Pale's. In the lagers Super Pride, POR, Sazz, and Tettnanger. Others as well......

I've come to the conclusion I don't like SP...I've really only dry hopped the Galaxy so I'm not sure that's where the bitterness would come from. Although I do use a fair bit in the dry hop - I'd been doing a dry hop of Galaxy and Cascade 2:1 ratio mostly around 40,/20g give or take. 

Yeah as we discussed before super pride is pretty harsh and you don’t even need much for a full batch of unhopped beer/wort and on top of an already hopped can you would need very very little and there would be a small margin of error. I did it with Galaxy in a pacific ale. I was meant to only add 2.6 grams at 30minutes but thought that not very much so added more it wasn’t great. It was drinkable but just too bitter.

Eclipse hops again beautiful hop but has an extremely high alpha acid 15 - 18.7 so a good hop for very late or in the whirlpool.

Cascade is a good one as as well very low in alpha so you can add more