Coopers Original Stout Review

[serum]

I made this with 1kg of dark DME and a bit of treacle I had left in a tin.

Left for 2 weeks in the fermenter but it got stuck at 1018 and didn't seem to foam up in quite the way everyone else's did.

I put this down to a combination of the DME, not putting quite enough sugar in (the amount of treacle was pretty small) and also the low temperature. I tried stirring it about three days before I'd planned to bottle it and this got a few more bubbles going in the airlock for a while but didn't bring the gravity down loads. Batch primed using cane sugar as per the instructions and bottled from a secondary FV. I'd have left it longer but only had one day where I'd have enough time to bottle it all so I had to just go with it.

I stored it for two weeks indoors and have had it in the garage for a week and, despite the various mistakes, it tastes pretty damn good already. I was looking for something that tastes decent in a short time as I'm waiting for a load of Brewferm kits to mature and it seems it'll do the job. I'm going to leave it another few weeks before getting stuck in and will expect it to improve a bit more based on what others are saying.

 

[eric90000]

Just checked the gravity after 8 days fermenting, still new to reading the hydrometer but it looks like about 1.012 to me, can anyone confirm?

I'll probably leave it another few days before bottling anyway.

 

[Sone]

Which yeast should I swap out the coopers yeast for in this kit? I want to brew this with 1 tin of treacle just not sure which yeast to go for, cheers :

 

[Stew]

Which yeast should I swap out the coopers yeast for in this kit? I want to brew this with 1 tin of treacle just not sure which yeast to go for, cheers :

I would just the yeast which comes with the kit as this usually ferments them out nice and vigorously :thumb:

 

[Sone]

Thanks, I went with wilkos gervin ale yeast in the end. Main factor was that I like to try out different yeasts from the ones you get with kits. Plus the best before date was next month so just wanted to use some fresher yeast.

Ended up adding 1kg extra dark spray malt & a tin of black treacle. OG was 1.051, smelt amazing, can't wait :thumb:

 

[itbrvilla]

Was thinking of doing this using 1.5kg of Coopers Dark LME and a tin of treacle. Would that work? Anyone added vanilla pods or extract?

 

[morethanworts]

I've only been moderately impressed with this kit. Mine is over 3 months in the bottle now but the head retention is still poor. I used 500g Dark DME and around 500g cane sugar. I know some have added more DME than that, but you're getting very near the price of a two-can kit by then, which changes the comparisons a bit.

Still... the underlying dark and roasty coffee taste and aroma is very pleasing and it's very drinkable indeed. I fermented at 23C, which (surprisingly) is the cooler end of Cooper's recommendation. I find it a little vinous even there. I'm guessing their yeasts are designed for brewers in sunny Australia, though it would have to be a pretty magic strain to ferment at over 23C as cleanly as typical ale yeasts do from 18-21.

I guess the nature of this one-can kit does at least get people experimenting a bit, which will hopefully lead them to steeping some grains, dry hopping and even moving on to extract or full all-grain brews. :thumb:

 

[Rilers]

I'm a big fan of this kit. Currently drinking a bottled batch to Ditch's recipe and loving it. (1kg DME and 1 cup brown sugar, brewed to 20l) The one thing I would change if I could is the slight sweetness - i would like it to be slightly more bitter. I'm hoping some of the more seasoned brewers on here can advise if this is easily achievable and how, without changing the characteristics of the stout too much. Would boiling some bittering hops be the right way to go? If so what type and how much - fuggles or goldings maybe? I don't want to add alot of hop flavour just the bitterness.

 

[morethanworts]

I'm a big fan of this kit. Currently drinking a bottled batch to Ditch's recipe and loving it. (1kg DME and 1 cup brown sugar, brewed to 20l) The one thing I would change if I could is the slight sweetness - i would like it to be slightly more bitter. I'm hoping some of the more seasoned brewers on here can advise if this is easily achievable and how, without changing the characteristics of the stout too much. Would boiling some bittering hops be the right way to go? If so what type and how much - fuggles or goldings maybe? I don't want to add alot of hop flavour just the bitterness.

If you brewed even shorter, but left out some of the DME to compensate, you'd get higher bitterness from the hop extract already in the kit.

If you want more dryness, then you could use a slightly higher attenuating yeast (eg Safale US-05), though it would seem better to just leave out some of the DME, which is adding unfermentable sugars to the finished beer.

If you want fuller body AND a dryer taste, then I guess you will need to steep another adjunct in there, to avoid adding sweetness: maybe unmalted barley or oatmeal (?). See John Palmer's page here.

 

[Rilers]

I'm a big fan of this kit. Currently drinking a bottled batch to Ditch's recipe and loving it. (1kg DME and 1 cup brown sugar, brewed to 20l) The one thing I would change if I could is the slight sweetness - i would like it to be slightly more bitter. I'm hoping some of the more seasoned brewers on here can advise if this is easily achievable and how, without changing the characteristics of the stout too much. Would boiling some bittering hops be the right way to go? If so what type and how much - fuggles or goldings maybe? I don't want to add alot of hop flavour just the bitterness.

If you brewed even shorter, but left out some of the DME to compensate, you'd get higher bitterness from the hop extract already in the kit.

If you want more dryness, then you could use a slightly higher attenuating yeast (eg Safale US-05), though it would seem better to just leave out some of the DME, which is adding unfermentable sugars to the finished beer.

If you want fuller body AND a dryer taste, then I guess you will need to steep another adjunct in there, to avoid adding sweetness: maybe unmalted barley or oatmeal (?). See John Palmer's page here.

If I kept the 20 litre brew length how much DME could you leave out and still get the brew to ferment out fully with the kit yeast? Was thinking of adding some oatmeal to the next brew alright to improve the body. I find a lot of Coopers kits a bit sweet for my taste with 1 kilo of DME

 

[morethanworts]

I'm a big fan of this kit. Currently drinking a bottled batch to Ditch's recipe and loving it. (1kg DME and 1 cup brown sugar, brewed to 20l) The one thing I would change if I could is the slight sweetness - i would like it to be slightly more bitter. I'm hoping some of the more seasoned brewers on here can advise if this is easily achievable and how, without changing the characteristics of the stout too much. Would boiling some bittering hops be the right way to go? If so what type and how much - fuggles or goldings maybe? I don't want to add alot of hop flavour just the bitterness.

If you brewed even shorter, but left out some of the DME to compensate, you'd get higher bitterness from the hop extract already in the kit.

If you want more dryness, then you could use a slightly higher attenuating yeast (eg Safale US-05), though it would seem better to just leave out some of the DME, which is adding unfermentable sugars to the finished beer.

If you want fuller body AND a dryer taste, then I guess you will need to steep another adjunct in there, to avoid adding sweetness: maybe unmalted barley or oatmeal (?). See John Palmer's page here.

If I kept the 20 litre brew length how much DME could you leave out and still get the brew to ferment out fully with the kit yeast? Was thinking of adding some oatmeal to the next brew alright to improve the body. I find a lot of Coopers kits a bit sweet for my taste with 1 kilo of DME

I'm wondering whether you may be better off starting with their Irish stout and adding a bit of DME to that and/or brewing short. :hmm:

Going to be some trial and error, I'd suggest, however you go about it.

 

[BrendanH]

Hi, newbie here.

I'm going to start brewing this kit this weekend. The plan is to use 1kg of DME. I was wondering whether adding about 150-200grams of honey when I dissolve the contents of the can would complement the flavour of the stout? I like the idea of having extremely subtle honey undertones but I'm not sure how that will work with the other flavours going on.

 

[Stew]

In a stout you probably wouldn't be able to taste much honey. But might be worth giving it a go just to see what it turns out like and will increase the ABV by a smidge.
Certainly won't do it any harm to put it in :

 

[eric90000]

got around to drinking my first ever bottle of homebrew stout yesterday. It was seriously good! brewed with 1kg DME, 300g Dextrose and primed with 100g Muscovado sugar. brewed short to 21L.

Really tasty even after 10 days in the bottles. Had a Guinness draught for comparison and I have to say, the coopers is a lot more flavorsome and pleasing on the palate! The Guinness tastes really burnt or smokey/dry compared to the malty slightly sweeter coopers stout. looking forward to experimenting a bit with my next one, might try some treacle :)

 

[Rwilts]

Hi, newbie here.

I'm going to start brewing this kit this weekend. The plan is to use 1kg of DME. I was wondering whether adding about 150-200grams of honey when I dissolve the contents of the can would complement the flavour of the stout? I like the idea of having extremely subtle honey undertones but I'm not sure how that will work with the other flavours going on.

I did add a tin of golden syrup to one batch of Stout - Also was very nice. You could taste the sweetness compared to the one with the tin of treacle. :

 

[Sone]

11 days in the fv and this is down to 1.016. Was planning on bottling tomorrow, does 1.016 seem like a good FG for 1kg extra dark spray malt & tin of treacle? : Trial jar tasted fantastic, can't wait

 

[OnlyFerment]

Hi, newbie here.

I'm going to start brewing this kit this weekend. The plan is to use 1kg of DME. I was wondering whether adding about 150-200grams of honey when I dissolve the contents of the can would complement the flavour of the stout? I like the idea of having extremely subtle honey undertones but I'm not sure how that will work with the other flavours going on.

My current TC has 2 lbs of honey in a 5 gal. Batch and the flavour is very subtle so I would guess 200g in a stout will be you detectable - even using it as the sole fermentable I don't think you would really taste it. To add flavour I would have thought you are going to want a strong flavour like muscovado sugar. This is a bit of guess work as I haven't tried the Coopers Stout yet (got it a Wilkos in the sale the other day but no empty FV ATM) and I am new to homebrew.

Dave

 

[GavH]

Having previously done the Irish Stout kit, I decided to take the advice of the forum and put this on ahead of the other kits I got at XMas. However...

A Convo via Twitter with Coopers saw them suggest the use of Amber LME rather than the ubiquitous Dark. Sods Law, my LHBS didn't have Amber, so I bought a tin of Light and a tin of Dark, electing in the end to brew this with the Light, plus Half a kilo of Dark DME. Then decided to try grain steeping for the first time (you can hear the Cowboy noises already, can't you) and did 200g of Chocolate Malt and 100g of Flaked Barley in 2 litres of water.

Brewed yesterday, OG was 1053 brewed to 23 litres and yeast pitched around 25c. Temp has dropped overnight to 21c, so I might move this to a warmer spot if there is no sign of the monkeys brain Krausen I know this can be renowned for. Looking forward to this. :

 

[Stew]

Had a quick pint of these on NYE after only about 3.5 weeks in the barrel. Fantastic head, super smooth and hints of coffess in the taste.
Going to try to save this one for a bit :

 

[YoungJames]

If anyone is interested i made a tasty beer from the Cooper's Stout

Here we go ...

23 Litres

2 Tins of Coopers Stout
2 Kilos of Dark Brown Sugar

and

2 Bottles/Tubes of Tate and Lyle Chocolate Syrup (which has no artificial preservatives etc).

SG just over 1.08 finished up around 1.02 FG.

I have 8 bottles left from the batch i made this time last year, its rich, malty and fortifying.