Coopers Dark Ale

[Ditch]

Is this the 30 gallon batch, Ditch?

Just a standard 40 litres, this one. I can't do anything with The Big Blue, just yet. It's my plumbing. A bit up in the air just now as the new sink and shower gets sorted and a new, indoor, hosepipe friendly tap. I'll have to run a hose through to my back room to fill the bugger, see?

Then I'll need my mate to weld me a stand for it and I'll need a tap on the thing too. After all, it's not like a simple five gallon bucket. I can't just hump twenty five gallons about at my convenience It'll need some planning how to manage a brew from it.

Dark Ale's going like a white, creamy train, by the way. Expect it'll be under the door by bed time!

I just Love how these Coopers brews go off!

[dunc]

that dark is very tasty i used medium spray malt for extra malty goodness....mmmmmm nice.
would also recommend the morgans iron bark dark very similar brew ,only strayed from the coopers as mate had done the morgans and his was very moreish .cheers

yeah, I tried the Iron Bark out too recently, its just ready this week. They're very similar but the Iron Bark came out slightly richer and more a deep brown than ruby. Not sure which I prefer, but I like both of em better than Hobgoblin.

[barl_fire]

but I like both of em better than Hobgoblin.

Roll on January then, I love Hobgoblin!

Well after a gentle day of fermenting at 20C yesterday my Coopers Dark Ale went Vesuvius overnight, lots of lovely thick creamy foam being generated as I type, yum

[barl_fire]

Took a gravity reading today and it's dropped from a starting gravity of 1.040 to 1.008 since going in the FV last Friday, I'm aiming for 1.006 so I think it'll be getting kegged on either Thursday or Friday. The smell when I took the lid off the FV was heavenly

[Manx Guy]

Hi!

My Coopers Dark was bottled almost 4 weeks ago...

I love it!


I made it with 1kg BKE and next time I will use 750g Dark Dried Malt Extract and some (250-500g) sugar.... Although I have a few idea's in mind....

I've been sampling it over the last couple of weeks and the head retention is improving although the carbonation isn't great...

Maybe its down to the PET bottles that came with my (now 9 month old) Coopers Microbrewery kit.. I've hear that they can leak CO2/O2... but surely not in 4 weeks!!??

I think I will keg the next batch

Guy

[EoinMag]

Hi!

My Coopers Dark was bottled almost 4 weeks ago...

I love it!


I made it with 1kg BKE and next time I will use 750g Dark Dried Malt Extract and some (250-500g) sugar.... Although I have a few idea's in mind....

I've been sampling it over the last couple of weeks and the head retention is improving although the carbonation isn't great...

Maybe its down to the PET bottles that came with my (now 9 month old) Coopers Microbrewery kit.. I've hear that they can leak CO2/O2... but surely not in 4 weeks!!??

I think I will keg the next batch

Guy

They leak it over a long long period of time.....nothing to do with that, and it's not so much leaking as the plastic is gas permeable at a molecular level......

[crafty john]

Hi!

My Coopers Dark was bottled almost 4 weeks ago...

I love it!


I made it with 1kg BKE and next time I will use 750g Dark Dried Malt Extract and some (250-500g) sugar.... Although I have a few idea's in mind....

I've been sampling it over the last couple of weeks and the head retention is improving although the carbonation isn't great...

Maybe its down to the PET bottles that came with my (now 9 month old) Coopers Microbrewery kit.. I've hear that they can leak CO2/O2... but surely not in 4 weeks!!??

I think I will keg the next batch

Guy

I always use more priming sugar with any coopers kit if I am bottling it, if you use the usual 1/2 tsp it doesn't seem to carbonate properly and head retention is poor. I use 3/4 or sometimes 1 tsp of dextrose, it makes a big difference.

[Manx Guy]

Thanks CJ!
noted!


Slainte!

[sonicated]

Have you replaced the caps at all? They wear down over time, I've heard of people replacing them every three uses.

The bottles may start changing colour over time as stuff starts penetrating them (at a molecular level as EoinMag pointed out, it's nothing to worry about). If you want to replace them I wouldn't buy online, just go to your local supermarket and buy the cheapest tonic water etc and use the bottles.

[Manx Guy]

Hi!

Thanks!
I used these bottles once before, so I have not replaced the caps.... Apart from a few sticky marks where the previous labels were they look fine

I have been steadyly collecting used grolsch bottles and now have enough for 3 23litre brews!

I also have a case's worth of nice 330ml brown 'stubbies'... which I plan to use to bottle my 12.5l kit experiment in

I chose them for this brew as they hold 740ml over a pint & I planned to sup this beer quite quickly while my lager and Yorkshire bitter were maturing

I might even stick the PET ones in the recycling after using them for this batch.... Although they may come in handy for samples ans yeast starters etc...

Had another couple of my Darks last night... its a tasty session ale made as I did it (1kg BKE) I bet its mighty tasty with a kilo of med/dark DME

Slainte!

[At. Ailbhe's Brewery]

Bought the Cooper's Real Ale kit yesterday, is she as lively as the stout?

Will I hafta inform the aurhorities before I get the ball rolling on this one?

[Manx Guy]

haha
it is pretty lively!

If you have an fv with decent head space you'll be ok...

Mine is a 33l one with a screw on lid and it the foamy head just touches the top of the FV

Have fun!!!


Slainte!

[erk]

I'm brewing this exact kit, and its my first go at homebrewing. My question is this- I set it off 11 days ago now, and on maybe the 2nd day all these bubbles came out of the top of the brewing bin thing, at which point I thought I'd bu66ered it up. I spoke to my local homebrew shop and he said that it will be ok, and have some patience. I then bought a hydrometer off him so I could keep an eye on my brew, and day after day it gets a little bit closer to the black bar bit which needs to be submerged for me to bottle it, but should it really take 11+ days? I was thinking more like 6-7 days? BTW I think its at about 1.007 or 1.008 ish. Thanks for all advice.

[Manx Guy]

Hi erk...

well the time for fermentation depends on a number of factors...

ambient temprature Ideally 18-20c if its much cooler it can take alot longer...

the state of the yeast you pitched....

also what fermentables did you add?

Mine was bottled after 8 days and I added 1 kilo of BKE and fermented at 20C

Hope this helps...

are you planning on bottling or kegging?

If you are kegging then as long as its 1008- 1010 you should be good to proceed

Slainte!

[erk]

Sorry should have said before- room temp has been between 19-23 deg all of the time (at some cost lol!) and I am bottling. The hydrometer says that on no account should I bottle if its over 1.006? Will it harm it if I left it for a few days longer? I'm dying to bottle it!!