Coopers Dark Ale

[Blueshed]

hope to brew this soon, it will be my 4th kit.

looking for some advice in how to improve it, i have the
kit
dark spray malt
enhancer
dana and galena hops

what else would i need and are the above hops ok for this kit and how much hops to use.

[LordEoin]

From what i read about those hops you'll probably end up quite fruity/citrusy, so it would be quite an ...interesting... dark ale.
I've not used either of those hops, but go for it 
I'd probably use fuggles. I think it would suit better,  but then again I just really like fuggles.

regarding the fermentables, I generally stay away from brew enhancers cos they have too much sugar
BE1 - 600g dextrose + 400g maltodextrine
BE2 - 500g dextrose + 250g maltodextrine + 250 Light dry malt

A better mix would be
500g dark dme + 500g wheat dme + 250g dextrose
200-300 grams of crystal grain would be a nice addition.

I saw a recipe somewhere for the dark ale kit with 2 teaspoons of dried cinnamon. Aparently it's quite good, but after trying the 'cinnamon challenge' recently I'm not touching the stuff for a while...

[Blueshed]

got some cascade hops yesterday plus some wheat whole grain.
could i use a pestal n motar to grind down some of the whole grain then boil and add to my brew.

i know this grain is for wheat beers but i heard it's good for head formation.

i also got a KG of maris otter, was thinking of roasting this in the oven then adding to my next brew.
a stout or another ale.

would this work plus what temp and how long in the oven.

[Ciderhead]

I have seen people beat the crap out of grain with a rolling pin through a plastic bag
Why are you boiling?

Roasting malt in domestic oven  is way too complicated, I'd just use it as normal and buy roasted from the Homebrew companies that way you know exactly what you are getting in your brews and it doesn't taste burnt
Of course you are going to do it in any case so let us know how you get on

[LordEoin]

I beat teh crap out of them with a bundaberg stubby through a plastic freezer bag. It works great Ciderhead 

I don't know which grain you mean. Does it need to be mashed?
If it needs to be mashed, i'd leave it off for now. Same with the Maris Otter.
Link the grain so we can see.

Instead of the wheat grain I'd recommend 300g Carapils or a dark Crystal because you can just steep it and it will also help with head retention, colour and flavour.
Instead of roasting your own grain, 150g of Chocolate Grain would be great.

If you PM me your address I'll post you a nice mix of carapils and chocolate.

The Cascade would be my choice of your 3 hops.
30g-40g dryhop.

Well done on experimenting with grains and hops so soon, but keep it as simple as possible   

[Blueshed]

Went ahead and made the brew tonight.

used 100g of the whole wheat grain which i crushed, steeped this in 2lts of water for 60mins.

i added @ 30g of cascade hops to this for 10mins, i strained this then put the water into my FV.

the total make up of the brew was

1 kit
1kg of dark spray malt
250g of enhancer
100g dark brown sugar
100g of crushed whole grain wheat
30g cascade

22lt brew with a OG of 1045

pitched the yeast @ 24*

[CB_Phil]

I'm thinking of using the Dark Red w/a few tweek for my 1st brew, so would be very interested to hear the outcome.
Keep us posted

[Ciderhead]

got some cascade hops yesterday plus some wheat whole grain.
could i use a pestal n motar to grind down some of the whole grain then boil and add to my brew.

i know this grain is for wheat beers but i heard it's good for head formation.

i also got a KG of maris otter, was thinking of roasting this in the oven then adding to my next brew.
a stout or another ale.

would this work plus what temp and how long in the oven.

I still think your nuts but found this by accident today
http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=april-12-2009---home-roasting-grain
Tell us how you get on roasting your kernels 

[Blueshed]

took a gravity reading and it's 1008. looks like it's being at a steady 22* since i put the brew belt on.

a nice brown colour atm, looks like choclate 

[Robrew]

thats cool, glad to see your temperatures are more controlled now  and your gravity reading seems great after only 4 days down to 1.008, how long you gunna leave it to let the yeast do their clean up?

[Blueshed]

it's now at 1006, would it be ok to bottle in the next day or two.
was only brewed Jan 29th, had the benefit of a brew belt.

also i now have a 2nd FV and was thinking of bulk priming before i bottle.
what would be best to add to a 22lt brew and how much.

[Robrew]

I wud say leave it another week to let the yeast clean up after themselves , or you could use the other bucket for secondary fermenting

[LordEoin]

Yeah, leaving it another week will help clear it up before bottling, but if you wanna bottle now it will be fine.
It'll clear and condition in the bottle but you'll have a larger yeast deposit (no biggie).

For the dark ale, I like 6grams per liter.
When bulk priming, I like to put the sugar in a pint of water and warm+stir until it's all disolved.
Then rack on to it, a gentle swirl half way and a gentle stir with a sterilized paddle at the end.
Try to be as gentle as possible to avoid getting loads of air into the mix.

[Ciderhead]

it's now at 1006, would it be ok to bottle in the next day or two.
was only brewed Jan 29th, had the benefit of a brew belt.

also i now have a 2nd FV and was thinking of bulk priming before i bottle.
what would be best to add to a 22lt brew and how much.

Gutted for Deadman as he is exactly the same as you but no brewbelt is at 1020, save him a bottle

[LordEoin]

Indeedy. It goes to show how important temperature control is.