How to get the very best out of the coopers English bitter?

[Wekslap]

Hi all.

I'm coming to the end of my first brew in twenty five years. Coopers English bitter. Its very nice but I want to get the absolute best out of it on my second go at it.

I brewed it to about five and a half gallons (by accident) and I used 1 kg if bke. To my taste it was lovely but almost there but not quite. A "little" strong for me in alcohol I felt but maybe I'm a wimp in me old age. A tiny bit thin in body possibly.
But i got the feeling this could be an almost perfect pint if I could get the best out of it.

Ideally, next time, I would like to get it a little weaker in abv, a little maltier, a little smoother, and a little more body.

Any tips please from you experienced lot?

I think I've got the bug again!

John

[AnthonyUK]

Hi,
I think using 100% DME rather than BKE would help. I think a dry hop would also help.

[GAZ9053]

Just done this kit again, used 1.5kg of dme this time, came out at 4.5% its in the keg conditioning at the moment so will find out in a month or two

[Dave-Leeds]

Brewed mine to 20ltrs. 1kg bke.500g med spray malt and 100g of honey. Dry hopped after 9 days not sure if it was fuggles or ekg

but its a very nice drink after 2 weeks in bottle

[mrcpea]

Hi,
The one in the barrel at the moment I made to 21L.
With it I used I KG BKE and 1 x 454 g jar of malt extract. Nothing else.
After 2 weeks in the barrel it was nice, but slightly over sweet, which should go after 6 weeks or so.
Very promising so far.
Only thing you might not like is the ABV, which is 5.12%

Cheers,

Richard.

[WalesAles]

Hello weks,
Try this, a very nice Bew!
Coopers English Bitter 20Lts
1 can Coopers English Bitter
250Gr Amber Malt, 250Gr Crystal Malt steeped in 3Lts water 24Hrs
Give the malts a gentle stir every 6Hrs or so, put the juice in the FV. (not the malts)
1Kg Med Spraymalt
50Gr Amarillo Hops 5 min boil 2Lt water
Yeast in @ 22deg
OG 1042
Day 7 Dry Hop 50Gr Amarillo
Day 14 FG 1010. ABV 4.4%
Batch Prime 70Gr sugar.
Bloody Lovely Mun!
Job Done!

WA

[twentyfootwilf]

This is one of my favourite kits, I would try it with 500g light dme and 200g of molasses sugar or 200g of muscavado sugar. You could add some hops but I don't think it's really necessary. The dark sugar (whichever you choose) will give a smoothness to the beer. It should be about 3.8% abv I think.

[seymour]

You could repeat your process, except steep some flaked oats to contribute body and mouthfeel, remove them, bring to a boil adding several handfuls of your favourite hop variety near the end of the boil. Magically delicious.

[Wekslap]

Thanks everybody for your helpful tips.

I think someone on here said that with 200g silver spoon soft dark brown sugar and 1kg bke it was like newcy brown which I wouldn't mind at all.

[widdersbel]

I've got two cans of Coopers English Bitter that are next on my to-do list. Contemplating doing them together, maybe adding a bit of DME as well, plus some Fuggles hops that need to be used up.

The idea would be to end up with something vaguely resembling the classic Fuller's ESB. No idea if it will work, might be horrible, but what the heck.

Edit: On reflection, after reading up elsewhere on similar experiments others have conducted, I think I'll just do the one kit plus a kilo of DME and the hops.

[Wekslap]

Thank you all. Any others?

John

[widdersbel]

Made this on Saturday:

1 can Coopers English Bitter
1kg light DME
40g Fuggles hops
1 sachet Coopers ale yeast

I boiled the hops for 10 mins in 3L water with 300g of the DME, then let them stand for a bit. Mixed it all together and topped it up to about 16 litres. OG 1052. Smells good. It's now bubbling away nicely.

[Louis Macneice]

I've got two cans of Coopers English Bitter that are next on my to-do list. Contemplating doing them together, maybe adding a bit of DME as well, plus some Fuggles hops that need to be used up.

The idea would be to end up with something vaguely resembling the classic Fuller's ESB. No idea if it will work, might be horrible, but what the heck.

Edit: On reflection, after reading up elsewhere on similar experiments others have conducted, I think I'll just do the one kit plus a kilo of DME and the hops.

A word of warning; two cans will give you a very bitter brew (as in 100 plus IBUs). You would need to really ramp up the extra sweetness (e.g. invert sugar) to balance it out. Make two brews instead; you get twice as much to drink! If you steep some chocolate malt and some crystal and chuck in a bit of golden syrup, you'll get a darker and sweeter end result.

As an aside, the last one of these I did with some light DME, a minimash of mostly Maris Otter and dry hopped with a mix of EKG, fuggles and bramling cross. It turned out beautifully fruity, clear as a bell, with a thick creamy off white head...absolutely delicious!

Cheers - Louis MacNeice