O.T.T. Coopers I.P.A. O.G.

[stevic]

Just done the Coopers IPA from Wilkos today. At 23ltrs the recipe calls for 1.5kgs Light Dry Malt.

This is my 4th brew and the last 2 brews i have done, not Coopers, i have used brew enhancer so decided to go the same route again using 1kg plus 500g of brewing sugar that i had lying about.

I had assumed enhancer, spray malt and sugar could replace each other like for like and not affect what the o.g. should be. I think my assumption may be wrong.

My o.g. reading is 1060 as opposed to Coopers suggested 1046. Am i heading for a sickly overly sweet strong ale or heading for a rather blurry Christmas with a palatable strong ale...or....can someone get me out of this mess?

 

[Jakeyboi]

Yeah you can pretty much swap like for like, I think dme is about 90% fermentable. I think there is some maltodextrin in coopers brew enhancer, that is non fermentable. Around 250g. 1060 seems really high. I think you may have a false reading, did you draw your sample from the tap on your fv? Sometimes that can have some extra sugar caught in the tap thus giving a higher og. Try sanitising ur hydrometer and putting it in the bucket.

I've got this kit ready to brew next week. I'm using 1kg dme and 500g dextrose so I will let you know what og it get.

Jake

 

[terrym]

If you put 1.7kg LME, 1 kg dextrose, and 500g DME (which is roughly what you have got ) into the calculator
http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/calculator/
together with a wort volume of 23 litres you get an estimated OG of 1.046. So I think your 1.060 OG reading is out.
I frequently use the calculator to check my OG readings and there is always good agreement
I wouldn't worry too much about taking another SG reading, it is what it is.

 

[Godsdog]

I done a coopers stout with 3.2 kg of fermentables and got 1068 0n the hydro..coopers eng bitter with 2.9 kg of fermentables and got 1054..coopers aipa with2.9 and got 1055 so I reckon he aint that far out on a hydro,fementables including the 1.7 kg lme

 

[terrym]

I done a coopers stout with 3.2 kg of fermentables and got 1068 0n the hydro..coopers eng bitter with 2.9 kg of fermentables and got 1054..coopers aipa with2.9 and got 1055 so I reckon he aint that far out on a hydro,fementables including the 1.7 kg lme

Well summat's wrong somewhere.
I did my last can of Brew A IPA today (more on that later) using kit can, steeped grains, 500g dextrose to use up, 500g DME and 100g dark sugar to about 20.5litres in the FV. Calculator says 1.046, my reading about 1.047/1.048.

 

[Godsdog]

Well summat's wrong somewhere.
I did my last can of Brew A IPA today (more on that later) using kit can, steeped grains, 500g dextrose to use up, 500g DME and 100g dark sugar to about 20.5litres in the FV. Calculator says 1.046, my reading about 1.047/1.048.

I suppose I could have a wonky hydrometer,it is only a wilko one:-?
hmm.i haven't any distilled water but its 6 points out in tap water which could explain the discrepancy between the hydro and refractometer.i get some distilled while on my travels tomorrow

 

[IainM]

The OG seems far too high for the fermentables you have there. Either way, it won't end up sweet. With the 500g of straight sugar and the other 500g in the enhance, if anything it will end up thin.

 

[Godsdog]

so I left the hydrometer in the cold tapwater overnight and this morning when I got up and the water had adjusted to room temperature it wasn't far off 1000.still gonna get some distilled water today though

 

[IainM]

My first Coopers Stout was with 500g dark spraymalt, 1kg enhancer and a 1/2 tin of treacle, brewed short to 19L, and I got 1.061. stevic used a bit less fermentables and had 22% higher volume. My Full-length Coopers Mexican Cerveza with 1.5kg extras came in at 1.048. The Canadian Blonde I did to 21L with 1.4 kg extras, and got 1.049. My Coopers Wheat was 1.054 with 1.5kg of extras and brewed short to 20L.

 

[stevic]

I have no idea if this is relevant but i have just had a look on the Cooper Enhancer packet where it states that 1kg will make 23ltrs to 4.5% so i am thinking my extra 500g of sugar could affect the o.g. to the extent that it has or is this newbie's logic.

Following Godsdog post i have just tested my Wilkos hydrometer in distilled water and it may be a couple of points out although i have not allowed for a bit of temp adjustment.

Anyway we shall see how it goes, i have yet to see a bubble from the airlock yet though some 30hrs later.

Edited just to add thanks for the replies so far.

 

[terrym]

I have no idea if this is relevant but i have just had a look on the Cooper Enhancer packet where it states that 1kg will make 23ltrs to 4.5% so i am thinking my extra 500g of sugar could affect the o.g. to the extent that it has or is this newbie's logic.

Anyway we shall see how it goes, i have yet to see a bubble from the airlock yet though some 30hrs later.

The calculator suggests that adding 500g dextrose to a 23l brew will increase the SG by about 0.008.

I have just started a Brew A as well (see the kit review thread and above). I found there was no activity after 24 hours and concluded that the kit yeast was duff and so I pitched with Wilko Ale yeast. It now appears to be going as it should. I have done many Coopers kits before and always found their yeast reliable, but not in this kit.

 

[pms67]

Terrym i think they may have changed their yeast,im sure the old stuff had a nutrient added as it never failed and always went off quick and finished quick?

 

[terrym]

Terrym i think they may have changed their yeast,im sure the old stuff had a nutrient added as it never failed and always went off quick and finished quick?

That has always been my experience.
I did another Brew A this summer and it seemed to take ages.
On the plus side however I have recently done two new label Real Ales and they have gone as normal.

 

[stevic]

Still no signs of activity this morning. Popped out at 10 o'clock, got back at 1 and the air lock was bubbling away nicely. So after approx 40hrs from pitching the yeast there was some decent activity. This seems quite a long time compared to the other 3 brews i have done or is it not unusual for some to take a while to start working?

 

[stevic]

Well as the air lock has more or less stopped burping i thought i would take a reading today and the brew is down to 1020, so probably still a bit to go yet. Couple of thing i noticed when taking a sample that i had not noticed with my previous brews. After taking the lid off the fermenter i stuck my head over to have a smell and it almost took my breath away giving a similar reaction to that of smelling salts. Also when i took a sample with a turkey baster (great tip i picked up from here) the beer was literally fizzing in the trial jar for a second or so. Having said that i had a little taste from the jar and it was not unpleasant although i wouldn't want a pint of it just yet. It will be another week before i even think of bottling it but just wondered if the more experienced members on here had any opinions on these couple of points.

 

[stevic]

Having dropped to 1010 and held since yesterday i decided to bottle it today . Had a little taste and it wasn't that bad although a bit bland. Given what i have got bottled and barreled i should be able to let it mature till Christmas so here's hoping.

 

[stevic]

Well, what a difference a week and half makes. When i do my bottling i have been doing one into a clear wine bottle to keep an eye on for it clearing. Any road curiosity got the better of me tonight and as the trial bottle was crystal clear i gave it a go (or more accurately giving it a go as i type). Delighted to say it has turned out very nice, quite possibly my favourite so far. At first taste my reaction was that it was not to dissimilar to G.K. Abbots Reserve. Bit of a result all round given my early concerns about the brew a perhaps a bit of a lesson for us newbies to stick with it patiently and see how it goes. As i have got about 30pts of Wilkos Stout to drink, and enjoy, i am going to avoid temptation and let the rest of this batch mature a bit longer. Good result!