Coopers pale ale: spraymalt light or Malt extract light?

[RedBeardPete]

Just an update on this one. Left it for a good ten days and bottled it not expecting much. After 3 weeks in the bottle it tastes better than I ever could have imagined. We had a 70th birthday party there at the weekend and there were people begging me to let them take some home. Managed to hide 15 pint bottles out of 40 before they were all guzzled. The only difference between it and Badgers Golden Champion is the fruity aromas in the Badgers. Result! Who knows what it'll taste like in 3 more weeks!

Thanks to Bungle666 et al for the very helpful advice! That one's a keeper!

Cheers

Pete

[Andris]

Ok now I'm not sure what to do. I've left it in the fermenter for ten days now and the reading is still 1018. Part of me says bottle now and don't worry and another part of me says it's stalled and I need to reactivate it. With an OG of 1051 I reckon the end result will be a healthy 4.9% but this is only my second brew. Help!

dont forget that priming it will add about 0.5% more to it, so it will be wicked one!

hey, and congrats on great results - just save now few bottles into very long drawer just to check em out in some 6 months

[Stomach]

Absolutley inspired by this thread and I have just picked up:-

A tin of Coopers IPA
A tin of Coopers Light Malt Extract
A 500g bag of medium spraymalt.

I have two questions:-

1. I presume I can use medium spraymalt with light malt extract.
2. Do you add the spray malt direct into the FV or do you mix it with water first?

Cheers in advance!

Matt

[Andris]

imho with medium spraymalt you will get a bit darker color and slightly more "malty" taste - not necessarily a bad thing tho.

as for mixing it - I usually toss it into fermenter, add 2l of boiling water, swirl it around about 1min, stir it, then proceed as usual with the cans.

[dunc]

top tip - use warm water with spraymalt or BKE not boiling, and stir as you add it, to avoid clumping.

as for the medium spraymalt, its horses for courses. I like my IPAs a little darker so I don't mind, your results may vary. you can mix whatever extracts you prefer so there's no issue there.

[Stomach]

Thats great guys!

So I can just sprinkle the spraymalt in and I dont have to pre mix it?

Ta!

[EoinMag]

All that malt extract will mean you will end up with a high FG, coopers normally would advise to add 500g spraymalt or 800g liquid malt and 300g of glucose or brewing sugar. The addition of the glucose helps to lighten the brew a bit and help with lowering the FG.

[twentyfootwilf]

While were talking about malt and sugars etc, does anyone know the ratio of DME to maltose and maltodextrin in Coopers Brew enhancer number 2? Obviously the brew enhancer number 1 has no malt at all as it is purely maltose and maltodextrin (I think!) and I used that in Coopers Australian Lager as they recommend, to good effect. Just wondered how much malt is in the no2 version.

[Stomach]

All done and I am looking forward to the results! I even took the OG (1.050) for the first time!!

Cheers All!

[RedBeardPete]

Good Job! the only thing I'd say is that the spraymalt is a bit of a mare to dissolve - it clumps up very quickly and took ages to mix in. I think next time I might disolve it separately first in a smaller amount of hot water and add it to the fermenter.

After 7 weeks in the bottle I've only got 6 bottles left. Even the wife loves it! Time for brew No. 3!

[Geezah]

I found my perfect way of mixing in spraymalt today with no clumping at all.
I put 5l of cold water in the FV, then cut a 2" opening in the bag of malt and let it fall out slowly while stirring. Then added some boiling water and the tin of Coopers Stout....etc.

I bottled up a Coopers APA yesterday brewed with 1 tin of light LME, 500g of brew enhancer 1 and then threw in a mug of hop tea on day 4 (40g of fuggles steeped for 20 minutes)
Had a taster while bottling it and flavour wise its pretty close to a Marstons Smooth. It seems a promising brew.