Toucan - dark ale + stout

[Gullys Brewing]

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

 

You animal, no coaster on that coffee table!

 

yeah mine is sitting at about 2 months old, the flavour has mellowed out and is quiet nice, but the kilo of dex has killed it for me. To much alchoal flavour to it. doesn't give me a splitting head ache which is great but I will now let it sit for another 3 months to try and get that kick out of it.

 

next batch

 

stout

dark ale

250 dex

2x kit yeast

 

will probably through thus in again in the next few weeks

 

Cheers

Gully

[Paddybrew]

im loving the alcohol flavour.

gives it a little kick and drowns out the missus

[Beerlust]

im loving the alcohol flavour.

gives it a little kick and drowns out the missus

 

I'm hearin' ya.

[Gullys Brewing]

haha, it's the 2 kids nipping at the heels what puts me off.

 

Whilst on it Lusty any additions you recommend?

[porschemad911]

Haha, and after sampling my session ale tonight my wife said it was really nice and asked me why I don't brew low alcohol beers more often?

[Graculus]

Looks very nice Paddy.

 

I found a couple of cases of stout at the back of the garage a few weeks ago. At first I thought it was from June last year. Then discovered it was June 2016. I've checked the recipe and this one had 250 g choc malt steeped.

Gave one case to a friend who thought it was great.

 

I put a couple in the fridge and took them down to the beach so we could have a couple after surf patrol finished. Opened one up and poured into some glasses. Nobody liked it. Rather than mellowing like I thought, the coffee flavour has come through really strong. A couple of blokes had the surf club who had a sip said it would be like ordering the strongest coffee and asking for more coffee to be added.

 

I'm not a coffee drinker. I can't stand the stuff. Looks like my workmate will be getting another case. Funny thing is that I like this beer young. That is drinking from about 6 weeks old. But aging it has ruined it for me.

[Woodsy1525230278]

Newbie to the site but sourced a lot of info from posts already so thanks to all!

 

I just put this recipe down for a toucan stout and really just wanted peoples thoughts;

 

1 can coopers stout

1 can coopers ruby porter

1kg brew enhancer 3

200g specialty dark malt, steeped 30 mins

25g EKG hops boiled for 15 mins (in with the already steeped grain)

Both packet yeasts

22 degrees throughout

 

OG 1.070

SG 1.015

Estimated ABV 7.6

 

Basically all seems to have gone OK... but taste test now as fermentation finished is very bitter and smoky...

 

Will be bottling in next 3-4 days and really hoping the bitterness mellows out...

 

Could it be partly due to a short boil of the grains? Should I have just steeped and not boiled?

 

Cheers!

 

Chris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Paddybrew]

speaking as a relative n00b myself, the bitterness may be due to combining two tins of extract which may have high bittering each. whereas the stout and dark ale dont have that high of bitterness when combined

[Woodsy1525230278]

On 4/28/2018 at 1:59 AM, Paddybrew said:

speaking as a relative n00b myself, the bitterness may be due to combining two tins of extract which may have high bittering each. whereas the stout and dark ale dont have that high of bitterness when combined

On 4/28/2018 at 12:25 AM, Woodsy1525230278 said:

Newbie to the site but sourced a lot of info from posts already so thanks to all!

 

I just put this recipe down for a toucan stout and really just wanted peoples thoughts;

 

1 can coopers stout

1 can coopers ruby porter

1kg brew enhancer 3

200g specialty dark malt, steeped 30 mins

25g EKG hops boiled for 15 mins (in with the already steeped grain)

Both packet yeasts

22 degrees throughout

 

OG 1.070

SG 1.015

Estimated ABV 7.6

 

Basically all seems to have gone OK... but taste test now as fermentation finished is very bitter and smoky...

 

Will be bottling in next 3-4 days and really hoping the bitterness mellows out...

 

Could it be partly due to a short boil of the grains? Should I have just steeped and not boiled?

 

Cheers!

 

Chris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Couldn’t resist a taste test at day 11 post bottling, this has already turned into a very drinkable brew, big tight head, great flavours. 

[Otto Von Blotto]

If you actually boiled the grains then that may impact the flavor and lend a bitter astringency to the beer. You are not supposed to boil the grains, steep them then remove them from the resultant wort/strain the wort through a fine mesh sieve into another pot and then boil it without the grains in it. The 15 minute hop boil would have increased the bitterness as well but probably not by very much.

[Woodsy1525230278]

21 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

If you actually boiled the grains then that may impact the flavor and lend a bitter astringency to the beer. You are not supposed to boil the grains, steep them then remove them from the resultant wort/strain the wort through a fine mesh sieve into another pot and then boil it without the grains in it. The 15 minute hop boil would have increased the bitterness as well but probably not by very much.

In fact I just steeped the grains, then did a 15 min boil with the hops added. 

The bitterness is definitely easing off, I’m fairly impressed with this brew to be honest. Might chuck in some oats next time to get the body up a bit

[Otto Von Blotto]

Yes but did you leave the grains in when you boiled the hops or were they removed first?

[Farls]

Breathing life into this old thread with a query or two.

Winter is coming so time for something dark and delicious. I’ve done the SMOTY before (lovely), the Robochoc (average), ol brown dog (very nice), nut brown ale (not bad), the black Pilsner (nice) and various versions and tweaks of the English bitter. 

Am obviously thinking of the stout + dark ale toucan now.  A couple of queries though:

• I don’t want the high, 6+ alc % so plan to leave out the dextrose and brew to 23l. But will the extra 3l make it foam over too much? And will leaving out the dextrose make it too bitter or something?
• I have some extra ingredients I might throw in, being about 150g of choc malt grain (1 hour hot steep) and 15g ekg either late for flavour or dry hop. But will these just be lost in it and barely noticeable? 

Cheers

[Otto Von Blotto]

The dextrose probably won't make any difference to the bitterness, it's only there to bump up the ABV. Others have brewed this recipe without it and had good results. It may try to escape the fermenter at 23L; you could start it at 18L then add 5L of boiled and cooled water after the krausen subsides. Rehydrate both kit yeasts and you'll be sweet.

Choc malt grain could be used if you want to, however I doubt 15g of EKG would be noticed regardless of boiling it or dry hopping it. At least, a dry hop wouldn't be noticed.

The only other thing I'd say is that I don't think it will be at its best when winter comes as it won't have had the months of maturing it really needs to be at its best.

Cheers

Kelsey

[Farls]

Yeah, have left it a bit late for winter. But should be right for late winter/early spring, cold weather will last til October here in sth West vic anyway. Cheers Otto.

[Simon 1525230220]

Hi All

Ive brewed 4 toucan stouts over the last 6 months, slightly changing the recipe each time to find a balanced and great tasting stout. I am going to do another one soon, hopefully tonight.

So far I have narrowed it down to the below:

• Stout can
• Dark ale can
• 250 grams choc malt
• two kit yeasts

I no longer add any extra LDM or dextrose - I just don't feel it is needed and I don't se the need to have a high ABV stout for the sake of it.

But I wonder whether adding say 150 grams of crystal malt would add a certain extra depth of flavour. Has anyone tried this (or a similar malt)?

Cheers

Simon

 

[Simon 1525230220]

Hi All 

I read in an earlier post in this thread that someone had used two stout cans as the base for this toucan rather than one stout and one dark ale. 

Does anyone have any experience with this? 

Cheer

Simon

[mattymcfatty]

On 9/27/2018 at 10:43 PM, Simon 1525230220 said:

Hi All 

I read in an earlier post in this thread that someone had used two stout cans as the base for this toucan rather than one stout and one dark ale. 

Does anyone have any experience with this? 

Cheer

Simon

I have done in the past and it was sensational!

tasted great after 3weeks in the bottle, also blew a metre up my friends wall on the second day of fermentation.

 

[Simon 1525230220]

On ‎10‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 12:45 PM, mattymcfatty said:

I have done in the past and it was sensational!

tasted great after 3weeks in the bottle, also blew a metre up my friends wall on the second day of fermentation.

 

Thanks Matty.

Did you just use the 2 cans of stout or did you also put in dextrose/LDM?

Cheers

Simon

[mattymcfatty]

22 minutes ago, Simon 1525230220 said:

Thanks Matty.

Did you just use the 2 cans of stout or did you also put in dextrose/LDM?

Cheers

Simon

We used 1.5kg of dark LME.

I thought it was going to be very muddy but it was surprisingly delicious. 

If I was to do it again I'd stick with light malt for balance.

[Simon 1525230220]

On ‎10‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 11:48 AM, mattymcfatty said:

We used 1.5kg of dark LME.

I thought it was going to be very muddy but it was surprisingly delicious. 

If I was to do it again I'd stick with light malt for balance.

Cheers

[Graculus]

On 7/23/2018 at 2:12 PM, Simon 1525230220 said:

Hi All

Ive brewed 4 toucan stouts over the last 6 months, slightly changing the recipe each time to find a balanced and great tasting stout. I am going to do another one soon, hopefully tonight.

So far I have narrowed it down to the below:

• Stout can
• Dark ale can
• 250 grams choc malt
• two kit yeasts

I no longer add any extra LDM or dextrose - I just don't feel it is needed and I don't se the need to have a high ABV stout for the sake of it.

But I wonder whether adding say 150 grams of crystal malt would add a certain extra depth of flavour. Has anyone tried this (or a similar malt)?

Cheers

Simon

 

Haven't looked at this thread for a while, but that recipe you posted is exactly what I do.
Although next up soon and be to consumed next winter is
https://www.diybeer.com/au/recipe/russian-imperial-stout.html

[karlos_1984]

On 7/23/2018 at 1:42 PM, Simon 1525230220 said:

Hi All

Ive brewed 4 toucan stouts over the last 6 months, slightly changing the recipe each time to find a balanced and great tasting stout. I am going to do another one soon, hopefully tonight.

So far I have narrowed it down to the below:

• Stout can
• Dark ale can
• 250 grams choc malt
• two kit yeasts

I no longer add any extra LDM or dextrose - I just don't feel it is needed and I don't se the need to have a high ABV stout for the sake of it.

But I wonder whether adding say 150 grams of crystal malt would add a certain extra depth of flavour. Has anyone tried this (or a similar malt)?

Cheers

Simon

 

I'd be keen to try this recipe out. What was the OG, FG and ABV for this brew when you last made it?

How many litres did you make it up to? I've heard these recipes make a very big Krausen. I use a 25ltr cube as my primary FV. If I were to mix this up to 20 litres, would it likely have a krausen overflow?

Also, how does aging this sort of stout go in the PET bottles? I'd prob make this in the next month or so n want to get stuck into it next June, July etc.

[Simon 1525230220]

On ‎10‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 8:33 AM, karlos_1984 said:

I'd be keen to try this recipe out. What was the OG, FG and ABV for this brew when you last made it?

How many litres did you make it up to? I've heard these recipes make a very big Krausen. I use a 25ltr cube as my primary FV. If I were to mix this up to 20 litres, would it likely have a krausen overflow?

Also, how does aging this sort of stout go in the PET bottles? I'd prob make this in the next month or so n want to get stuck into it next June, July etc.

Hi Karlos

 

Hard to tell what the OG will be with this one as I only fill to 15-18 litres so that the krausen doesn’t lift the lid off. (I then go back in and top up to desired level later).

 

However plugging these details into Ian H’s spreadsheet, the recipe above (1 kit stout, 1 kit dark ale, 205 g choc malt to 23 litres) should give you an OG of around 1.047 and a FG of around 1.013.

 

To 20 litres as you are suggesting it is OG 1.055 and FG 1.015. If I were you I would not fill up your cube to 20 litres at the start. I would go maybe 15 and then after the krausen has subsided go in an add an extra 5 litres.

 

Re aging – depends on how long you consider aging to be. If you are thinking less than a year I think PET would be ok. Longer and I would go glass. Also if you are thinking longer than a year I would half the usual carbonation drop amount.

 

Good work getting on to this now before it gets too hot and to give it some time to age before next winter. Good luck!

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[Simon 1525230220]

On ‎10‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 10:24 AM, Graculus said:

Haven't looked at this thread for a while, but that recipe you posted is exactly what I do.
Although next up soon and be to consumed next winter is
https://www.diybeer.com/au/recipe/russian-imperial-stout.html

Thanks Graculus. 

I did a stout with the crystal malt and it was a bit tii sweet for my linking. However I also know that I pitched the yeas when the wort was warmer than usual, so maybe it was that. Anyway it is still a good stout.

Have bottled two since then for next winter!