Thomas Coopers Devil's Half Ruby Porter

[Beerlust]

Hi guys.

 

Over the last few years I've made one batch of Porter for our winter period. It's relatively similar to the Coopers DIY: Robo Choc using the English Bitter kit as a base. I throw in some oak chips & a vanilla bean or two, & once aged suitably, makes a ripping beer around 6.5%ABV for yummy winter drinking.

 

Since Coopers have released a true Porter kit, it looks very inviting to adapt my recipe to. Given I wish to bump the ABV% up from the standard recipe, I do have one question I need to know about the kit if I wish to maintain some level of consistency up to 6.5%ABV mark without having the beer end up too sweet.

 

Is the ruby hue generated primarily by the use of a smaller amount of roasted malt, or is the hue generated primarily by a larger dose of a crystal malt? Knowing this would influence what grain(s) I might use for a small steep to maintain some sort of consistency in with the LDM quantities.

 

I'm looking to put this brew down within the next month using some Wyeast 1728 so any assistance from Coopers on this one would be appreciated.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

[ChristinaS1]

Hi Lusty. Given PB2 never answered a similar question that I had about how to make the OS Stout kit more chocolate-y, I would be surprised if you get an answer on that, but no harm in asking.

 

Porter has become one of those kitchen sink type styles where anything goes. Reading between the lines of the kit's description it most likely contains crystal, chocolate malt, and black patent. Probably best to first make it up without any special additions and see if your palate and the colour of the foam can give you any hints about the percentages.

 

One thought that crosses my mind is: aren't these new kits designed to not need any tarting up? Isn't that why Coopers is charging a premium price for them? If you are going to be adding grains and switching the yeast anyway, wouldn't you be better off using a cheaper kit as the base?

 

Coopers indicates the Porter kit contains fruity finishing hops (which seems kind of odd for a Porter). Will that suit your recipe?

 

 

 

[Beerlust]

Yeah I was probably asking a little too much there, but no harm in asking.

 

That's alright, I'm a smart cookie (debatable I know! ), so I'll figure out some amounts of what to add grain-wise. It'll probably just involve a bit of crystal & a bit of chocolate malt & that's about it. I just want to avoid the brew ending up too sweet, but don't want the flavours of the kit to fall away by purely adding LDM to increase the ABV to a level I like for this beer.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

[thats]

Hi guys.

 

Over the last few years I've made one batch of Porter for our winter period. It's relatively similar to the Coopers DIY: Robo Choc using the English Bitter kit as a base. I throw in some oak chips & a vanilla bean or two' date=' & once aged suitably, makes a ripping beer around 6.5%ABV for yummy winter drinking.

 

Since Coopers have released a true Porter kit, it looks very inviting to adapt my recipe to. Given I wish to bump the ABV% up from the standard recipe, I do have one question I need to know about the kit if I wish to maintain some level of consistency up to 6.5%ABV mark without having the beer end up too sweet.

 

Is the ruby hue generated primarily by the use of a smaller amount of roasted malt, or is the hue generated primarily by a larger dose of a crystal malt? Knowing this would influence what grain(s) I might use for a small steep to maintain some sort of consistency in with the LDM quantities.

 

I'm looking to put this brew down within the next month using some Wyeast 1728 so any assistance from Coopers on this one would be appreciated.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

 

I realise you are asking your question to Coopers to determine if the roasted malt will add to your bitterness to balance the beer, but I'll offer a suggestion in case they don't get back to you.

 

I'm unsure how you make robo-choc recipe and whether you steep the grains overnight or make a mash, but to help achieve your bitterness, you could try the following:

 

1) calculate your desired IBUs for your batch and subtract the coopers kit additions (for a 23L batch I get an IBU total of 43.6).

2) create a mini recipe with all the fermentables (less the coopers kit) and hop additions that total to your desired IBUs. But given that you may not wish to meddle with the flavouring and aroma hops [if applicable to this coopers kit], you probably only want to add bittering hops.

3) boil your mini recipe with your own hop additions.

4) add this to your fermentor and add the coopers kit and make up to the desired volume.

 

Hope that helps

[Beerlust]

Hi jaymick82.

 

Thank you for your suggestions regarding the Porter.

 

I've run the numbers of the new kit through the spreadsheet I use for formulating recipes, & the Porter is actually bittered to the identical IBU mark as the EB kit. Given I've brewed beers close to the RoboChoc recipe using the EB kit, I'm inclined to trust the level already in the new Porter kit without the need to add to it by means of additional hops. I feel if you're adding additional bitterness to a Porter around this IBU mark, then you're probably better off brewing a stout.

 

I understand where you are coming from about curbing sweetness by increasing bitterness, but in this case I would prefer to maintain the integrity of the kit without influencing too much of it's flavours. A little bit of crystal & choc malt or maybe even some de-bittered Carafa Special looks like what I'll add to the LDM & kit to reach the 6.0 - 6.5%ABV mark I'm looking for.

 

In each of my recent posts to you I missed saying one thing, Welcome to the forum jaymick.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

 

 

[der kleine Drache]

On ‎12‎/‎30‎/‎2015 at 12:43 PM, Beerlust said:

Hi jaymick82.

 

Thank you for your suggestions regarding the Porter.

 

I've run the numbers of the new kit through the spreadsheet I use for formulating recipes, & the Porter is actually bittered to the identical IBU mark as the EB kit. Given I've brewed beers close to the RoboChoc recipe using the EB kit, I'm inclined to trust the level already in the new Porter kit without the need to add to it by means of additional hops. I feel if you're adding additional bitterness to a Porter around this IBU mark, then you're probably better off brewing a stout.

 

I understand where you are coming from about curbing sweetness by increasing bitterness, but in this case I would prefer to maintain the integrity of the kit without influencing too much of it's flavours. A little bit of crystal & choc malt or maybe even some de-bittered Carafa Special looks like what I'll add to the LDM & kit to reach the 6.0 - 6.5%ABV mark I'm looking for.

 

In each of my recent posts to you I missed saying one thing, Welcome to the forum jaymick.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

 

 

 

So if one would do a Devil's Half Toucan, would it be too bitter for human consumption?

[Beerlust]

8 hours ago, der kleine Drache said:

 

So if one would do a Devil's Half Toucan, would it be too bitter for human consumption?

What's is your proposed recipe for this "Devil's Half Toucan"?

[der kleine Drache]

I have been thinking of using 2 cans and making 20-22 liters.

Nottingham yeast or other high attenuation.

Maybe wheat or light DME for higher alcohol.

I have the idea that it would make some sort of Imperial Stout. Bitterness would fade over time I guess.

What do you think?

[Shamus O'Sean]

5 hours ago, der kleine Drache said:

I have the idea that it would make some sort of Imperial Stout. Bitterness would fade over time I guess.

Could be an interesting experiment.  Might work out okay - in an in your face kind of way.  The IanH spreadsheet indicates and IBU of around 74.  The Coopers recipes have 10 or so brews that have a higher IBU that that.  These are mostly porters, stouts and high end IPA's.

Not sure that the bitterness would fade or if the flavours and bitterness would meld together with time.

[der kleine Drache]

I've made 2 batches with Coopers Porter. One with honey and one with DME. Both turned out nice and have been getting better with time stored at 9 ºC in my garage. 

I've got 3 cans Coopers Porter left. 1 is propably going to become a Honey Porter.  

This might be what happens to the other 2:  

Thomas Coopers Devil's Whole Ruby Porter Toucan

22 liters.
Est. Original Gravity (OG):    1.065
Est. Final Gravity (FG):    1.015
Est. Alcohol By Volume (ABV):    6.55%

2 * Thomas Coopers Devil's Half Ruby Porter  
0,5 kg wheat DME 
0,5 kg light DME 
2 * Nottingham yeast or other high attenuation.


I'm thinking this will be nice to drink by christmas. 

Any input or ideas are more than welcome. 

[der kleine Drache]

Yesterday I did  Thomas Coopers Devil's Whole Ruby Porter Toucan. I slightly altered the recipe. 

• 2 * Thomas Coopers Devil's Half Ruby Porter  
• 0,5 kg DME wheat Muntons 
• 0,5 kg DME dark Muntons 
• 1/2 tsp (2.2 grams) Wyeast Nutrient Beer Blend 
• 2 * Nottingham yeast + 1 original yeast (rehydrated) 
• 10 drops Concentrace mineral drops  (cos I like the taste it gives my water) 
• 17,7 °C 
• 22,5  liters. 

Hoping for a nice Christmas brew. 

 

 

 

[James Lao]

Hi all,

Was thinking about doing the devils ruby porter for my next brew.

I usually use the EB can for my darker ales but was wondering about the Porter can?

I would like to make it about 6% ABV so will be adding a can of amber malt and maybe 500g of LDM and 200g of caramunich.

Any thoughts on whether this would be too sweet with the caramunich addition?

Cheers

James

[der kleine Drache]

I've made 3 of these kits and the absolute best so far is the toucan described above. Bottle primed it with muscovado sugar. and aimed for low CO2.  

Drinking one right now and it just gets better and better. 

Edited July 21, 2019 by der kleine Drache

[Shamus O'Sean]

14 hours ago, James Lao said:

Hi all,

Was thinking about doing the devils ruby porter for my next brew.

I usually use the EB can for my darker ales but was wondering about the Porter can?

I would like to make it about 6% ABV so will be adding a can of amber malt and maybe 500g of LDM and 200g of caramunich.

Any thoughts on whether this would be too sweet with the caramunich addition?

Cheers

James

Hi James

I used the Porter can in the Caribbean Porter recipe quite a while back.  This recipe has the Amber Malt and 1kg of LDM.  It was a really nice brew.  I do not think that the amount of caramunich you have in mind will over-sweeten your brew.

[Shamus O'Sean]

@James Lao, Also suggest you use two yeast packets for this one

[James Lao]

Cheers for the replies

I think I will give this one a go.

I usually do a 1.5L starter with a fresh pack of Nottingham on these 6% brews, hopefully will be enough..

A bit late for winter but better late than never!!

 

Cheers

 

James

[Cheap Charlie]

First of all, apologies to those who get annoyed by people like me dredging up old threads from the depths of Davy Jones' locker

From the success of my Coopers Irish stout kit (not a bad drop, no kit twang whatsoever) I rushed down to my LHBS (at the speed limit ) to lay my hands on this kit. I was thinking of doing a full AG brew of maybe 4kg of Coopers pale malt with no additions, maybe chuck in 500g of light crystal and then add the Ruby Porter. To the guys that have tried this kit, what are your recommendations? Should I add extra hops? Should I skip the light crystal? Is the kit strong enough on its own without these additions? I'm looking for a heavier beer around 7%+ so I can let it mature in the bottle. Also, what do you think of the Thomas Cooper's yeast? Should I ditch it and go with Notty or something similar? I checked the yeast codes (Ruby is 3557), and might use it paired with the yeast from the Irish stout kit (3554) I did a while back. I appreciate your thoughts.

[Kegory]

2 hours ago, Cheap Charlie said:

First of all, apologies to those who get annoyed by people like me dredging up old threads from the depths of Davy Jones' locker

From the success of my Coopers Irish stout kit (not a bad drop, no kit twang whatsoever) I rushed down to my LHBS (at the speed limit ) to lay my hands on this kit. I was thinking of doing a full AG brew of maybe 4kg of Coopers pale malt with no additions, maybe chuck in 500g of light crystal and then add the Ruby Porter. To the guys that have tried this kit, what are your recommendations? Should I add extra hops? Should I skip the light crystal? Is the kit strong enough on its own without these additions? I'm looking for a heavier beer around 7%+ so I can let it mature in the bottle. Also, what do you think of the Thomas Cooper's yeast? Should I ditch it and go with Notty or something similar? I checked the yeast codes (Ruby is 3557), and might use it paired with the yeast from the Irish stout kit (3554) I did a while back. I appreciate your thoughts.

I used that can in a Devil's Brew Porter. It provided sufficient bittering.

[Shamus O'Sean]

5 hours ago, Cheap Charlie said:

First of all, apologies to those who get annoyed by people like me dredging up old threads from the depths of Davy Jones' locker

From the success of my Coopers Irish stout kit (not a bad drop, no kit twang whatsoever) I rushed down to my LHBS (at the speed limit ) to lay my hands on this kit. I was thinking of doing a full AG brew of maybe 4kg of Coopers pale malt with no additions, maybe chuck in 500g of light crystal and then add the Ruby Porter. To the guys that have tried this kit, what are your recommendations? Should I add extra hops? Should I skip the light crystal? Is the kit strong enough on its own without these additions? I'm looking for a heavier beer around 7%+ so I can let it mature in the bottle. Also, what do you think of the Thomas Cooper's yeast? Should I ditch it and go with Notty or something similar? I checked the yeast codes (Ruby is 3557), and might use it paired with the yeast from the Irish stout kit (3554) I did a while back. I appreciate your thoughts.

Your proposed approach sounds good.  It should give you a beer just under 7%.  I would add 300g of roasted barley to your All Grain to give the Porter base more of a Stout outcome.  The Coopers yeast is fine.  No reason why you should not use Nottingham either.