Coopers Beer Kit Profiles

Posted on November 25, 2013 by tomheff

Below is a compilation of the color, bitterness and yeast profiles for all of the DIY Beer Kit Specs.

Coopers Beer Kits – Product Specifications
Original Series Color Bitterness Yeast

Lager

Lager

 90 390 Original

Draught

Draught

 130 420 Original

Real Ale

Real Ale

 230 560 Original

Dark Ale

Dark Ale

 650 590 Original

Stout

Stout

 1800 710 Original
International Series Color Bitterness Yeast

Australian Pale Ale

Aus Pale Ale

 90 340 Original/Lager

Mexican Cerveza

Mexican Cerveza

 53 270 Original/Lager

Canadian Blonde

Can Blonde

 70 420 Original

English Bitter

English Bitter

 420 590 Original

European Lager

Euro Lager

 90 340 Lager
Thomas Coopers Series Color Bitterness Yeast

Heritage Lager

Heritage Lager

 90 390 Original/Lager

Australian Bitter

Aus Bitter

 70 495 Original/Lager

Trad Draught

Trad Draught

 130 420 Original/Lager

Sparkling Ale

Spark Ale

 90 490 Original/Lager

Pilsener

Pilsener

 70 420 Lager

India Pale Ale

IPA

 230 710 Original/Lager

Wheat Beer

Wheat Beer

 65 300 English Ale

Irish Stout

Irish Stout

 1500 560 English Ale
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Recipe Pairing with the 2013 Coopers Extra Strong Vintage Ale

Posted on November 23, 2013 by tomheff

You could write a whole book on pairing beer with food. Oh yeah, it has already been done. The book that comes to my mind is Garret Oliver’s book, “The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food” If you haven’t already picked up a copy, I suggest that you do so. It is a great coffee table book.

Back to the topic at hand. One of my favorite beers is the Coopers Vintage Ale. Every year Coopers comes out with a new version of this bottled conditioned strong ale. If you can’t find the 2013 Coopers Vintage Ale at bottle store near, you should try to make the homebrew version using the recipe found here.

Once you have the 2013 Vintage Ale in possession, I would suggest the following recipe as a pairing.

2013 Vintage Ale with Lamb

Roasted Rack of Lamb

Ingredients

1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (7 bone) rack of lamb, trimmed and frenched
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons black pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Move oven rack to the center position.
  2. In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, garlic, rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss in 2 tablespoons olive oil to moisten mixture. Set aside.
  3. Season the rack all over with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy oven proof skillet over high heat. Sear rack of lamb for 1 to 2 minutes on all sides. Set aside for a few minutes. Brush rack of lamb with the mustard. Roll in the bread crumb mixture until evenly coated. Cover the ends of the bones with foil to prevent charring.
  4. Arrange the rack bone side down in the skillet. Roast the lamb in preheated oven for 12 to 18 minutes, depending on the degree of doneness you want. With a meat thermometer, take a reading in the center of the meat after 10 to 12 minutes and remove the meat, or let it cook longer, to your taste. Let it rest for 5 to 7 minutes, loosely covered, before carving between the ribs.
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American IPA – Brew Day Oct 23, 2013

Posted on October 24, 2013 by tomheff

American IPA – Brew Day Oct 23, 2013beerglass

Good morning. While I was riding my bike in to work this morning, I passed the fast growing Fremont Brewery and I couldn’t help but smell the awesome sweet wort. I turned to look and saw the steam emanating from the building. This got me thinking …. ” I need to make a beer!” I have a bag of my dried Centennial hops from my 2013 harvest and now would be a good time to use them. A quick check on my inventory on hand and I noticed that I have 2 cans of Coopers Lager and a sachet of Safale 05 American Ale yeast.  I also have some dextrose which I can use to boost the alcohol content.

Well this is what I came up with… an American IPA.

History

An American version of the English IPA style that reflects high alpha American hops and the American style. Originated with the recent Craft Beer revolution when American brewers attempted to duplicate the English styles with US ingredients.

Description

Smooth, medium body with medium to high hop flavor. Hops may be citrusy, floral, resinous, piny or fruity. Low to med malt flavor. Med gold to reddish color. Clear. Med to Med-high carbonation. An American version of the English IPA style that uses American ingredients and has an American style to it. Intense hoppy, citrusy, floral – typical of American hops variety used.

Characteristics

  • Color Range: 6.0-15.0 SRM
  • Original Gravity Range: 1.056-1.075 SG
  • Final Gravity Range: 1.010-1.018 SG
  • Bitterness Range: 40.0-65.0 IBU
  • Alcohol by Volume Range: 5.5-7.5 %
  • Carbonation Range: 2.2-2.7 vols
  • BJCP Style Number: 14 B

What will the final bitterness range of this brew be? Well I am going to shoot for a bitterness level of 50 IBU. I have come up with the following calcuation to determine the fill level for water in this brew.

(390 IBUs x 3.4kg) / x(liters) * .80  (reduction from fermentation) = 50 IBUs

The final result is approximately 21 liters of water. I am going to use approximately 500 grams of dextrose to shoot for an ABV level of 6%. I’ll dry hop with my Centennial Hops after the first week of fermentation. Easy Brew and back to work. I’m going to report the time from beginning of cleaning the equipment until I have the fermenter stored. This will include all the solo camera work of course. So now onto my utility room where I will begin…

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAdtL0NTQaQ
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Making an Authentic IPA using Coopers IPA

Posted on October 4, 2013 by tomheff

Frequently I get asked how to make an IPA using a beer kit. Coopers Brewery has generously provided the recipe below. This recipe will produce an IPA style traditionally brewed in the UK. To get even more hop flavor and aroma I would try the Hop Slam IPA. A PDF of the Hop Slam IPA can also be download and printed out Hop Slam IPA recipe.

Authentic IPA (20 liters)

India Pale Ale was shipped from England to India for the British troops. To withstand the journey, IPA needed to be a heavily hopped, malty brew with high levels of alcohol.

Coopers Brewmaster Selection IPA recipe can be easily modified to make an authentic IPA like those produced in the early 1800s. Beware, as this recipe produces a beer with serious bitterness, sure to please the “Hopheads”!

Ingredients

India Pale Ale

India Pale Ale

• 1.7kg Thomas Coopers IPA

• 1kg Coopers Light Dry Malt

• 500g Sugar or Dextrose

Method
1. Place the Coopers Light Dry Malt into a drained, sanitized fermenter.
2. Add 2 liters of hot water.
3. Immediately pick the fermenter up and swirl the contents until dissolved (approx 15 secs).
4. Mix in the balance of ingredients then top up the fermenter with cool water to the 20 liter mark.
5. Pitch the yeast and seal.
BREW
Strong Beers are made from High Gravity Brews. The yeast may have difficulty in fully fermenting a High Gravity Brew.

A few ways we can encourage a strong fermentation process:
• Stir vigorously prior to pitching yeast
• Add and extra yeast sachet and/or
• Make a yeast starter.

To avoid the risk of over-carbonation (glass bottles may explode). Only bottle your brew when the fermentation process is complete. Fermentation is complete when the density of the brew remains constant over 2 days.  he use of a hydrometer is recommended to check the specific gravity (density) of your brew.

BOTTLE
Bottles need to be primed so that secondary fermentation (producing the gas in the bottle) can take place.

We recommend the use of PET bottles or reusable glass bottles designed for storing beer.

Priming

Add carbonation drops at the rate of 1 per 330ml/375ml bottle and 2 per 740ml/750ml bottle. Sugar or dextrose may be used at the rate of 8g per liter (approximately 6g of sugar to a level metric teaspoon).

Store the bottles out of direct sunlight at 18°C or above for at least 1 week while secondary fermentation occurs. Your beer can be consumed after 2 weeks.

Bottles may be stored (conditioned) for long periods of time (3 months or more). Conditioning should improve flavor, reduce the size of the bubbles and make the yeast sediment more compacted.

ENJOY
Naturally conditioned Strong Brews, being higher in alcohol and fuller of body, benefit from extended conditioning at or above 18°C.

You may choose to serve it cloudy or bright. Try one less chilled to get the benefits of the extra aromas and flavor.

Remember these brews are very high in alcohol and are not intended to be consumed as a session beer.

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DIY Light Beer

Posted on September 11, 2013 by tomheff

I received an inquiry today from a nice Canadian lady about making a light beer from a Coopers beer kit. She mentioned that the Coopers Real Ale was her favorite brew. I recommended that she brew the Real Ale with only 300 grams of additional fermentable sugar. This methodology would would work with all of the Coopers Original series line of beer kits.

That got me thinking. It’s really hot outside! A light beer would taste great right now. If I were to make a light beer what would I do?

Mix
Coopers Original Series Draught Beer Kit produces a flavor and aroma suited to making Light Beer. The recipe should make a beer at approx 2.9%A/Vol.

Ingredients
1.7kg can Coopers DraughtBrewCan-Draught-700x700
100g Dextrose/Sugar

Method
1. Dissolve Coopers Draught and Dextrose/Sugar in 2 liters of hot water.
2. Fill fermenter with cool water to the 23 liter mark and stir.
3. Sprinkle supplied yeast over the wort surface.
4. Ferment temperature should be as close to 20°C as possible.
5. Bottle when specific gravity has reached 1.006 (or two readings the same over 24 hours).

Brew
A thinner brew (lower Original Gravity) will make a beer with less alcohol. Where possible, make the brew thinner by reducing additional sugars rather than increasing total volume (dilution of the beer kit contents will dilute the final beer flavor). In most cases dried ale yeast requires some simple sugar. Add at least 100g sucrose/dextrose in 23 liters to assist with fermentation.

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Pumpkin Ale

Posted on September 10, 2013 by tomheff

It seems like making a Pumpkin Ale is all the rage this time of year. I can’t say that it is a type of beer that I really enjoy. beerandpumpkinBut I have tried a couple of versions that impressed me. It’s just that I didn’t think I would want to make 20 liters of it. But you never know until you try. So last week I was in search of a pumpkin to use in my next home brew. I failed. So I decided to give sweet potatoes a go. Why not? They have a similar texture and they have more sweetness. I can use the same spices I would use to make a Pumpkin Ale. “Perfect.” So I guess this blog entry should be titled “Sweet Potato Ale.” However my feeling is that you can easily substitute the vegetable.

My ingredients:

  • 2 large Sweet Potatoes
  • 1 lb. Pale Ale Malt (crushed)
  • 1 Coopers Real Ale beer kit
  • 500 g (1 1/2 lb.) Dry Malt Extractsweetpotatoaleingredients
  • 300 g (1/2 lb.) Dextrose
  • 1/4 tspn ground cinnamon (or use a cinnamon stick)
  • 1/4 tspn allspice
  • 1/4 tspn nutmeg
  • 1/4 tspn ground ginger (or use fresh ginger)
  • Kit yeast or other ale yeast strain

Procedures:

Bake the Sweet Potatoes at 425 F for 1 1/4 hours. Remove the skin from the potatoes and cut and mash. Add 1 gallon of water to a stock pot. Heat the water to a temperature between 155 and 160 F. sweetpotatomashAdd the mashed sweet potatoes and crushed pale ale malt to the stock pot. Keep mixture at 155 F for 1 hour. Strain the liquid to a new pot. Add the dry malt extract, dextrose and spices to the mixture. Bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes. Strain to your fermenter. Add Coopers Real Ale beer kit. Top up with cool water for 20 liters or so. Add Coopers yeast when temperature is at 75 F. I tossed in a extra sachet of yeast for good measure. Bring fermentation temperature down between 65 and 70 F if possible.

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Using my freshly picked Centennial Hops

Posted on September 4, 2013 by tomheff

I haven’t made a beer in a few months and I am long overdue. With 2 large bags of freshly picked Centennial hops from my backyard hop bines, I’d like to put together some sort of an “Imperial” IPA using a couple of beer kits that I have in storage.

What I have are 2 Coopers Beer Kits (Draught with an expiration of December 2013), BrewCan-Draught-700x7001 kg Coopers Brew Enhancer 1 (Dextrose will work just fine) and the Centennial hops that I picked. I want to use an American ale yeast strain with this, most likely Safale US-05. I plan on making only 18 liters in order to achieve the higher level of bitterness and alcohol content typical for an “Imperial” IPA.

From brewwiki.com I pulled the specifications of an Imperial IPA.

  • Color Range: 8.0-15.0 SRM
  • Original Gravity Range: 1.075-1.095 SG
  • Final Gravity Range: 1.012-1.020 SG
  • Bitterness Range: 60.0-110.0 IBU
  • Alcohol by Volume Range: 7.5-10.0 %
  • Carbonation Range: 2.2-2.7 vols
  • BJCP Style Number: 14 C

My calculation for the bitterness level of this brew using the 2 Coopers Draught Kits is as follows:

420 x 3.4 / 18 = 79 IBU (International Bitterness Units). With a potential reduction of 10% to 30% or a final range of 55.5 IBU to 71.4 IBU.

My calculation for the estimated color of the brew is as follows (darkening of the wort will occur in the can depending on age and storage temperature):

130 x 3.4 / 18 = 24.56 EBC. SRM = EBC x .508. = 12.47 SRM. With a potential reduction of 10% to 30% or a final range of 8.74 SRM to 11.22 SRM.

Below is a color chart for the most common beers. Coopers quotes the color specifications of their beer kits in EBC. I found this chart in Wikipedia.

Color Based SRM Method

For more on how I calculated these, you can view this video here.

I calculated that the ABV for this beer made to 18 liters will be 8.75%

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Fruit Salad Ale

Posted on August 19, 2013 by tomheff

Cascade and Amarillo are hop varieties with a reputation for producing highly aromatic and intensely flavored ales.

Australian Pale Ale

Australian Pale Ale

Cascade tends to produce citrus notes while Amarillo will throw passion fruit and rock melon-like characters. Together they make a great combination! Fermenting this brew with active Coopers commercial ale yeast may also add banana like esters, resulting in a beer that can be drunk at a young age with a wonderful blend of fruits wafting from the glass! This brew sits at the lighter end of BJCP Style 10.A. – American Pale Ale.

Ingredients

1.7kg Australian Pale Ale

1kg  Light Dry Malt

25g Cascade hop pellets

25g Amarillo hop pellets

Use Coopers commercial yeast culture or kit yeast

STEP 1: Mix

Make a “hop infusion” by mixing the Cascade and Amarillo hops in a couple of litres of water just taken off the boil and allow it to steep for 30 minutes.

Add the Light Dry Malt to the fermenting vessel (FV), pour in the strained infusion then pick the FV up immediately and swirl the contents until the malt is dissolved.

Mix in the Australian Pale Ale kit.

Top up to the 21 litre mark with cold water, stir thoroughly then add the yeast.

STEP 2: Brew

Try to ferment toward 24°C (fermenting warmer is more likely to produce fruity esters).

Fermentation has finished once the specific gravity is stable over 2 days.

 

STEP 3: Bottle

We recommend the use of PET bottles or reusable glass bottles designed for storing beer. For information about kegging see the FAQ section.

Priming

Bottle the brew with a priming rate of 8g per litre (2 carbonation drops per 750ml bottle).

STEP 4: Enjoy!

Allow to condition for at least 2 weeks in the bottle.

Expect the alcohol content to be around 4.8% ABV.

Download Fruit Salad Ale Recipe PDF, Fruit_Salad_Ale_Recipe

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NFL is back and more!

Posted on August 19, 2013 by tomheff

I guess this post is part of the more. I mean if the blog has a tagline of “Everything DIY beer and more” there has to be something more.

Usually I don’t get excited about preseason NFL football games. Somehow this season feels a little different. I’ve been a Seattle Seahawks season ticket holder with a longtime friend for the last 10 years. Last year my friend decided to take the year off, probably thinking it was going to be another 7 win season.  However, at the end of last season the homeboys showed me something. Everything was clicking on all cylinders. Even though they lost in the playoffs, there was a lot to look forward to. So, for the first time I had great anticipation for a preseason game. It didn’t hurt that the opponent is considered a Super Bowl contender and has a first ballot hall of famer at quarterback. The score and result were meaningless but I had a great time.  The 12th man was out in force. Tailgate parties were everywhere. And the craft beer selection in the stadium has increased substantially. The only negatives were the security pat down and the new NFL bag policy.

Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning

On a completely unrelated subject, I would like to include an update on my DIY hop crop. Two years ago, I purchased four hop rhizomes at a local edible plant sale – 2 Centennial and 2 Fuggles. For a description of popular hop varieties, click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/101/hops.  Last year and this year the Centennial hops have really taken off provided me with a lucrative harvest.  My Fuggles have not been as successful – probably not enough sun. I did a first run picking of the Centennial this weekend and used my new dehydrator to dry them out.

Centennial Hops

Centennial Hops

Dehydrator

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Calculating Bitterness from a Coopers Hopped Kit

Posted on August 19, 2013 by tomheff

If you’re looking to customize a Coopers beer kit and create your very own recipe here are the specs that Coopers provides which will give you the guidelines. Coopers beer kits make an excellent base to work with. You can customize your beer without spending a lot of time. More time to spend creating.

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