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Toucan - dark ale + stout


SteveL

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Hi All

 

Just a question on the toucan recipe being discussed in this thread. If i fill only to 15 litres (to allow room for the krausen to expand - filling to 23 after the krausen subsides) i will not be able to get an accurate OG reading will I?

 

In that case I would need to go by Ian H's spreadsheet for a guide to what the OG would have been?

 

Cheers

 

Simon

Go by the spreadsheet mate. You're right, you can't get an accurate reading because obviously at the start the volume is lessened and by the time the krausen goes away, most of the sugars have been fermented so the SG will be lower.
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi guys

So have put a toucan in my FV following the recipe in this forum as a base

 

1x stout

1x dark ale

1kg dextrose

 

so hit a FG? of 1012 and have the temp sitting at 18° but will up it to 21° for a few days to help finish it off.

 

Ideas that I wanna run past people using this recipe.

Cold crushing it? yes/no no no don't do that/not necessary

bulk prime? how much (thinking 5g)? seen further back 6-8g was talked about.

 

thank you in advance

Gully

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Yes, re-hydrate both yeasts - give them the best chance to survive and ferment well. It pretty much is that simple, other than a decent stirring.

 

Gully, you can cold crash it if you like. It won't really make any difference to the clarity of the beer, but it will still drop out unwanted yeast and other sediment.

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Doing this this weekend. Gonna chuck in the kilo of dex

 

Should i rehydrate both yeasts ?

And is it as simple as emptying both tins and dex into fv and topping up with cold water

?

 

Toucan with a kilo of dextrose could get going a bit.tenor.gif?itemid=8869210

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Yeah, nice for a couple but a bit impractical I reckon. I've brewed heaps of beer above 7% and it's the stuff that gets drank the slowest. Taking up precious space in my 'cellar'

 

Thinking of doing this one without the dex, I still think it'll be a nice brew.

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I was thinking more of a volcanic ferment, than a strong brew to be honest.

 

The one I've got going at the moment has a kilo of dextrose in.

The krausen was quite big but didn't escape the FV.

I've only ever had one that's gone like this. This isn't mine by the way.

 

I always use

Dark Ale

Stout

then varies a bit.

250-400 grams of Choc Malt Grain

500g -1kg dextrose

 

p1060624-jpg.12903

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It's unlikely to reach 8%.. I did one ages ago and it came out at 7% bottled, still high but not in imperial territory. The Toucan Stout recipe is supposed to be a home brew approximation of the Best Extra Stout which is 6.8% ABV.

 

I reckon it would turn out pretty nice without the dextrose as well, after all it doesn't add anything to the beer except alcohol, which could influence the flavor I guess but without doing a side by side tasting of one brewed with and one without it's hard to really know how much difference it would make.

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I'm not sure if I using the spreadsheet properly.

But if I put in

 

Dark Ale

Stout

1 kg Dextrose

400 grams Choc Malt 600 (It's Mangrove Jack's Chock Malt.)

 

It tells me my brew should be 7%.

Could anyone confirm that please. This is the first time I've looked at the spreadsheet so I could be wrong.

 

I didn't take a hydrometer reading when I started it as I added 500grams of dextose after fermentation had been going for a few days. Not that I generally take a reading anyway.biggrin

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Sounds about right. The choc malt won't really do anything in terms of ABV because most of what's extracted from it is unfermentable.

 

OK, thanks. Maybe I'll have to make the Imperial Russian stout, but I'll still want to add choc to that. I think it just gives it a bit better flavour.

 

 

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so just trying mine now...3 weeks in the bottle (1 week in the fridge)

 

im getting strong...if i said banana-ish flavours from the first sip...but then a coffee aftertaste as it finishes.

 

Is this right with what i should be tasting? Im assuming the banana-ish flavour is from the 2 kit yeasts?

Recipe was

1 x coopers stout

1 x coopers dark ale

1 x 750g dextrose

both can yeasts

23 ltrs

 

first time doing a stout...and only 5th ish time ive actually tried a stout

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so just trying mine now...3 weeks in the bottle (1 week in the fridge)

 

im getting strong...if i said banana-ish flavours from the first sip...but then a coffee aftertaste as it finishes.

 

Is this right with what i should be tasting? Im assuming the banana-ish flavour is from the 2 kit yeasts?

Recipe was

1 x coopers stout

1 x coopers dark ale

1 x 750g dextrose

both can yeasts

23 ltrs

 

first time doing a stout...and only 5th ish time ive actually tried a stout

 

Is it nice? This bannarishness is it pleasing?

I've done 12 batches of toucan, a couple of them using Irish stout.

I've only tried maybe ten bottles to check that I like them.

This brew is a long term investment, you need a mix in your portfolio.

Anyway, winter is coming.

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FINALLY got around to this last night. my replacement tap arrived. really like the o-ring design

did the two cnas with a kilo of dex. rehydrated the yeast and pitched it. was my first time rehydrating so was a bit frantic hoping i didnt bollix things up but all was good in the end.

put the fv into the fridge and set the old inkbird at 19. woke this morning and not much activity going. was in work all day thinking i screwed up the rehydration (yeast survives in boiling water yeah ? just kidding)

came home from work, didnt even kiss the missus or rub the dog, ran straight into the fridge and thank holy mary, she was frothing like a bejaysus. way above the krausen which i hadnt seen before.

so im a happy man rightful

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  • 2 weeks later...

this has been in my fv two weeks. took my first resding and its sitting at 1.011 so should be ready to bottle tomorrow if reading is the same. took a sip after i took the reading and i was hit with just darkness and malt. it wasnt a bad taste but just overpowering a bit. I know these get better with age but id expect the malt to mellow over time ?

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this has been in my fv two weeks. took my first resding and its sitting at 1.011 so should be ready to bottle tomorrow if reading is the same. took a sip after i took the reading and i was hit with just darkness and malt. it wasnt a bad taste but just overpowering a bit. I know these get better with age but id expe1ct the malt to mellow over time ?

 

yeah I would hope so, I have bottles.sitting aside, still less then a month old maybe in another 2 it'll be better

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Did you use 2 carb drops or one ?

 

I tried the bulk prime, as I was putting it into different sized bottles. Don't think it worked out to well, time will tell. But i was going to do the single drop in the long neck as I new I would be storing it for a while, and also it seem's most halve (well not quite) the amount of sugar for bottling there stouts.

 

I am learning as I go so mistakes are bound to be made, this is just such an easy recipe I hope it turns out. Next time i am going to leave most of the dextrose out, see if I like that better

 

What brew stage are you up to paddy? I am about 4-5 in and have run out of bottles. Time to look into kegs?

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just but more bottles...they are like $1 each.

 

Mine is now on about week 4 or 5 and it has mellowed slightly...still a good beer that will be enjoyed over the coming months...if my old man doesnt keep asking for more happy

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  • 3 weeks later...

decided to crack one of the stouts. 3 weeks in the bottle . the strong malt which was pretty overpowering when i was bottling has defintiely mellowed.

this is gonna be a cracker in a few months

i was reared on guinness or mothers milk as its known back home but this stout and the coopers version definitely is head and shoulders above it. id be hung for heresy and blasphemy if i said that back home but i stand by it

unnamed.jpg

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