I am interested in a stout kit as stout is usually what I drink. My Coopers Canadian Blonde is ready to be bottled in the next day or so and Im looking to brew a stout kit if anyone can suggest a good one :) Also how long will the bottled beer keep?
I like the Coopers Irish Stout with some chocolate grain and dry hopped with Fuggles. It turns out very nice :)
Provided everything was sanitized properly and it's stored somewhere cool and dark, bottled beer will last pretty much indefinitely. I have bottles in the press from about a year and a half ago and they're still fine.
Just remember that flavors mellow and mingle with time. That's great if something tastes a bit too bitter or roasty for example, but not so good for the delicious hop late additions which will fade.
Try a ditches stout, it gets rave reviews.
1KG medium DME
1 Coopers kit
1 Mug demerara sugar.
Rest as usual, you can drink it out of the fermenter like Ditch does, or you can bottle etc for a less authentic drink :)
I've tried the Coopers Irish stout, worked out very nicely. It's quite popular with guests too.
Is hard to go wrong with the Coopers Irish Stout.
Thanks for the replies all :)
I just today received my coopers Irish stout along with 2x 500g of dark spraymalt I ordered. Just looking at the instructions that came with the stout. They are the exact same as the ones that came with the Canadian Blonde... Is this right? Ive read on here that stout takes about 2 weeks in the FV, but the coopers instructions say its ready to bottle after a week !
Do I follow the same instructions that came with it or is there a better way I can do things?
All the Cooper Instructions are the same and are pretty generic. I find though that the stout will take a bit longer to condition in the bottle. But it sounds like your on the right track. The Coopers website is pretty good though for further kit instructions
Both the Canadian Blonde and Irish Stout come with ale yeast, but different strains.
For a best result aim for 18-20C for the Blonde and 20-22C for the Stout.
The only Coopers kits that use different instructions are the Pilsener/European Lager (see page 7 on internation and Brewmaster instructions) and Ginger beer.
There are 4 different sets of instructions they provide, one for each range.
Original, Premium, International and Brewmaster.
They're all almost identical, apart from the Brewmaster having additional instructions for Pilsener, International for European Lager, and Premium saying the range can be brewed between 13C and 40C (lies!!)
I've lost my Ginger Beer instruction leaflet.
There are 2 parts of the Coopers' instructions (aka destructions) that should be ignored:
1 - Fermenting temperatures. See here (http://nationalhomebrewclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,660.0.html) for a better guide
2 - Fermenting Times. Judge your times based on the activity in the FV (krausen, rising bubbles, bubbling airlock, clarity, etc). Fixed schedules are convenient, but don't take your particular circumstance into consideration.
One particularly handy part of the Coopers' instructions is page 1, the brewing record. It's a great start for record keeping and can easily be adapted into a more thorough document.
Best of luck with your Stout Kit! :)
Thanks for that LordEoin, can I use the 2 x 500g of Dark Spraymalt instead of any sugar or dextrose? Or would I have better results using some brewing sugar?
1kg of DME would put you at about 1.038 OG and a about 3.7% before priming
adding 250g of dextrose would bring it to about 1.042 and about 4.2% before priming.
completely up to you, that little bit of sugar shouldn't even be really noticable :)
Quote from: LordEoin on August 03, 2013, 02:48:42 AM
1kg of DME would put you at about 1.038 OG and a about 3.7% before priming
adding 250g of dextrose would bring it to about 1.042 and about 4.2% before priming.
completely up to you, that little bit of sugar shouldn't even be really noticable :)
So I'll throw in the 1kg of DME, 250g of Dextrose when Im putting the can in the Fermenter then add then 1 or 2 carbonation drops to the bottles when the time comes?
If you're using 500 ml bottles, then just use one carbonation drop. You don't want stout to be too fizzy.
Quote from: LordEoin on July 15, 2013, 12:50:50 PM
I like the Coopers Irish Stout with some chocolate grain and dry hopped with Fuggles. It turns out very nice :)
This sounds delicious. Can I ask though, did you use the grain as a steeping grain or did you mash the kit with grain?
Today is brew day :)
1 coopers Irish stout kit
1kg of DME
250g of Demarara sugar
@ jon - Steep. Pure Simple!
@pint-a-water - ooh, demarara sugar! nice touch ;) I hope it goes well for you
had a btl of stout I brewed back on January 8th and really enjoyed it, was a bit flat with very little head but great taste.
made my stout tonight, used the Coopers kit http://www.homebrewwest.ie/coopers-original-stout-17-kg-11-p.asp
500g of dark spray malt
250g of dark brown sugar
250g of muttons beer enhancer
250g of treacle.
OG was 1040
23lt brew
this is the recipe I used
I've never understand why people like treacle! ;D
But for those that like it, it seems to go down very well.
Hey everyone , Tomorrow sunday 18th my coopers stout will be 2 weeks in the fermenter. Took a reading today and its 1.016, OG was 1.042
Can anyone tell me how its doing :-\ ?
I also have a "prohibition liqueurs " coconut rum which will be ready for bottling in the next week. Theres a few steps left to do but its all a learning process for me. Loving the new hobby so far ;D
Thank you !
1.016 is probably fine.
My Irish Stout kits generally go to about 1.014, but maybe our hydrometers are a little off :)
If the krausen has died back and the bubbler is no longer bubbling, you should be good to bottle whenever you want.
Prime less than normal though. 1 carb drop per 500ml, or 5-6 grams per liter.
I'd be interested to hear how the prohibition kit works out for you, never tried them
Thanks for that :) Ill go ahead and bottle the stout this evening, I tasted a bit from the trial jar and its not bad at all ! The coconut rum is just at 990 , they advise to wait until its below 990 or ideally 980 before bottling. I should be ready to bottle it next weekend all going well. Tasted some yesterday from the trial jar and its warm on the throat ;D ;D
Ill keep you posted ;)
They work out at about 20% ABV, right?
I wonder if you could freezejack them a little higher or if it would make the flavor too strong..
20% if its brewed under 20'c but mine has been 20c-22c , Im working on getting my hands on an under counter fridge :P
Cheers, let me know if it works out nice. Might grab one at some stage :)
You're in meath, right?
Here's a fridge in Asbourne for €25
http://www.adverts.ie/heating/fridge-in-good-condition/3577700 (http://www.adverts.ie/heating/fridge-in-good-condition/3577700)
Might suit you :)