Adapted Kit Recipes.

[Monkeybrew]

Heres a Coopers English bitter I've got in the FV at the moment -
1 can Coopers English Bitter
2 x 545g jars of Aldi Honey
200g liquid molasses
100g crystal malt steeped 40 mins
500g malto dextrin (to increase mouthfeel, all that honey and molasses might thin it a bit)
15g EKG boiled 15 mins
15g EKG boiled 7 mins
Used 2 sachets Coopers yeast (the ones that dont have any lager yeast in them)
Made to 23 litres (only aiming at a session ale)
OG 1042

Hydro test after 3 days shows down to 1011 and tastes really nice not treacley at all which I thought the molasses might do - just about to dry hop it with a willamette teabag. 1 teabag might make very little difference but I dont want to overdo it as it is only meant to be a session beer.
This is close to the recipe for Extra smooth bitter on Coopers how to brew section of their site.

Looks like a nice complex set of ingredients there matey, hope it turns out well for you

[twentyfootwilf]

Just started getting into the Coopers English Bitter adaptation in the above post. It's had just over 3 weeks in the keg and has cleared down really nicely. It's a very drinkable ale, really good balance between the malt and hops. Can't taste the honey but there is a slight, faint molasses aroma, but not apparent in the flavour. It's come out by my reckoning at about 4.8%. I had a couple before Sunday lunch yesterday, very nice well worth doing, though I'd say you'd be as well off using dark brown sugar instead of spending the extra money on honey which hasn't added anything to the flavour and is much more expensive than brown sugar.

[Greatcthulhu]

Hi All. Have just started a Porter, using a Graham Wheeler adaptation.

3kg Lager kit (Muntons)
180g Black Malt
250g Roasted Barley
180g Cane Sugar
15g Fuggles
SA 04 Yeast

The Barley and malt were steeped for 1/2 hr and the hops were given a simmer for 15 min's and left to stand for a further 15 min's. The OG was about 1050. Not done one of these before, so it'll be interesting to see how it turns out.

[twentyfootwilf]

Just an update on the Coopers English Bitter with molasses and H&B malt extract and honey. Been keeged now about 7 weeks and I have to say wow! what a great drink. Well worth doing the molasses aroma and flavour is definitely there but not overpowering and the EKG hop addition balances it out a treat. Over all this one gets a ' Bloody lovely!!' from me. Give it a go it makes the Coopers English bitter kit miles better than just doing it with BKE.

[twentyfootwilf]

Just put this one into the FV, A Coopers Australian Pale Ale, made to the Ashes Ale Recipe on their web site with a few extras of my own, as follows:
Coopers APA tin,
1.5KG tin light malt extract,
250g crystal malt steeped in 2 litres cold water for 24hrs in the fridge,
50g dried orange peel boiled 15 mins and left to cool, (just had these left over from a previous brew so thought their citrus bitterness would be okay),
25g celeia hops and 25g aurora hops boiled 15 mins in the liquor from the crystal malt and orange peel,
200g dark brown sugar
200g malto dextrin
Made up to 21 litres
safale 04 yeast fermented at 21c
Will be dry hopping with another 50g mix of the celeia and aurora hops when the krausen has died down.

[WalesAles]

Just put this one into the FV, A Coopers Australian Pale Ale, made to the Ashes Ale Recipe on their web site with a few extras of my own, as follows:
Coopers APA tin,
1.5KG tin light malt extract,
250g crystal malt steeped in 2 litres cold water for 24hrs in the fridge,
50g dried orange peel boiled 15 mins and left to cool, (just had these left over from a previous brew so thought their citrus bitterness would be okay),
25g celeia hops and 25g aurora hops boiled 15 mins in the liquor from the crystal malt and orange peel,
200g dark brown sugar
200g malto dextrin
Made up to 21 litres
safale 04 yeast fermented at 21c
Will be dry hopping with another 50g mix of the celeia and aurora hops when the krausen has died down.

Hello TFW,
Looks good! What was the OG?
WA

[twentyfootwilf]

Can't remember what the OG was and I seem to have mislaid my notebook with my brewing notes in, but it was around the 1050 mark. I left it in the FV for 2 weeks and it had pretty much dropped clear when I bottled it. I have had a sample and it's good! quite heavy bodied and the cold steeped crystal has worked a treat, lots of crystal malt flavour no astringency from it. I've tried one or two of the recipes from the Coopers site and they have all been very successful. I've got a dark ale kit to do net so I'll have a look at what Coopers have on their site for that one.

[Nikster]

What differences does cold steeping bring to the table? And does this only lend itself to certain grains?

[rocket ronnie]

I was thinking of using a coopers pale ale kit plus 500 light spray malt added. But I as a visitor over from the dark side I would like to add this to:--

2000 pale malt
100 crystal malt

mashed and boiled in the normal way as in AG and then added to above

then 20gram golding hop tea for aroma. I would be hoping to get the OG up to 1044

How do you think this experiment would work out

[snakepie@hotmail.com]

1X IPA John Bull to 23 litres
1X Coopers brewkit enhacer 2 (1kg)
30g - Saaz (3%aa) (boiled for 10 mins)
40g - Northdown (8%aa) (boiled for 10 mins)
1 X rehyrdrated yeast sachet supplied.
1X Safale SO4 yeast from the bottom of a bottle i was drinking whilst making it.

30 mins. Happy days!!!!

[wanus]

Hello whoevers readin this I`ve just drank my second malt extract kit over xmas which was:-

Yorkshire bitter kit(Wilkos)
2 tablespoon of black treacle(molases)
Goldingshops(teabag during 1st distilation)
American oakchip
1kg brewing sugar(wilkos)

My fatha inlaw was impressed and he knows his stuff During maturation i added another goldings hop teabag then kegged it after 10 days.I was surprised 7 week later and had a jolly xmas

[WalesAles]

Hello whoevers readin this I`ve just drank my second malt extract kit over xmas which was:-

Yorkshire bitter kit(Wilkos)
2 tablespoon of black treacle(molases)
Goldingshops(teabag during 1st distilation)
American oakchip
1kg brewing sugar(wilkos)

My fatha inlaw was impressed and he knows his stuff During maturation i added another goldings hop teabag then kegged it after 10 days.I was surprised 7 week later and had a jolly xmas

Hello wanus,
Good for you!
What was the SG and FG? (Hydrometer readings at start and finish)? 10 days seems a bit short before kegging, normally 14 days just to be sure it`s fermented out, 3 days reading the same. What did you do with the Oakchip?
I suppose it`s all gone now? If so, get another Brew on!
WA

[timbo41]

strange brewday....the ex swmbo turns up with a sweet newkie, cos they're reduced. " can you jazz this up a bit?"
So kit, 500g mixed white and demerara, 250g pale crystal and 40g perle steeped at 80 20 mins.

upto 20 litres, only 1030 but hey who cares.
I've decided to leave bag with crystal and perle in the primary, just as little possible taste addition

is it general opinion that I might get some astringency by doing this? if so I'll take bag out?
oh yes, Bavarian Weiss wlp 531 second generation, slurry from the brew I was racking when she showed up at cave
( its her shed, but I'm normally left on me Tod bless her!)



edit..pulled bag out..can't mess this one up..she's got the keys to mancave!!

[wanus]

As i said this was only my second brew and i did what it said on the tin and took two consecutive FG readings of 1012 but took no SG reading(doh) I will next time and let you know the ABV.I`ll take your advice on giving it 14 days also(thanx for that)The oakchips i simply added to the brew b4 adding the yeast at the 1st fermentation stage which along with the black treacle were two tweaks i made from my first batch.Improvement is the way 4ward i think

Hello whoevers readin this I`ve just drank my second malt extract kit over xmas which was:-

Yorkshire bitter kit(Wilkos)
2 tablespoon of black treacle(molases)
Goldingshops(teabag during 1st fermentation)
American oakchip
1kg brewing sugar(wilkos)

My fatha inlaw was impressed and he knows his stuff During maturation i added another goldings hop teabag then kegged it after 10 days.I was surprised 7 week later and had a jolly xmas

Hello wanus,
Good for you!
What was the SG and FG? (Hydrometer readings at start and finish)? 10 days seems a bit short before kegging, normally 14 days just to be sure it`s fermented out, 3 days reading the same. What did you do with the Oakchip?
I suppose it`s all gone now? If so, get another Brew on!
WA

[Louis Macneice]

I brewed this at the start of December using the following:

Coopers IPA can of extract
1kg light spray malt
500g crystal (steeped @ 60 for 20 mins)
25g Fuggles (boiled in steeping liquid for 20 mins)
500g brewing sugar
Cooper kit yeast & Safeale 04 Ale yeast

Brewed to 20 ltrs
1st week in primary
Then 25g Fuggles dry hop
2nd week in primary
Batch primed with brewing sugar (from a Festival Porter kit)

Bottled kept inside for two weeks and then out to the shed.

It's lovely in a big malty way with quite a lot of bitterness still there; best served at the temp it come out of the shed at (as opposed to chilled any further). I would do this again but cut back on the crystal to say 250g.

Cheers - Louis MacNeice