Coopers Dark Ale - any recommendations ?

[Manx Guy]

Hi all,

I'm about to get the (much anticipated) Coopers Dark Ale on in a few days....

In addition to the kit I have 2x500g Dark Spraymalt available in addition to some 'stock' LDME & Dextrose...

The Kit instructions state 1kg Coopers Beer enhancer 2 - which appears to be 750g LDME & 250g Dextrose...

I'm wondering if any one has 'experimented with this kit or has experienced what sort of pint it produces when the kit is brewed according to instructions...

I like this style of beer as I tried many 'Old ales' when in Australia a couple of years back.... They tend to have a good flavour and suffiecient body whilst still being refreshing with a good bitter finish...

My original plan was to go with 750g Dark DME + 250 Dex made upto 20l adding and extra 2l of cooled boiled water after the initial fermentation has calmed down... after hearing about volcanic ferments with 'ditchs stout etc... lol

look forward to hearing from you...

Slainte!

[araldite]

hi manx
ive got some im drinking at the moment and its very nice, just had a look in the cellar and i made it with 1kg of mdsm might be a bit stronger if you swop some of the dsm for the dextrose you could make a belting pint with a kilo of dsm and 500g of dextrose tho

[Manx Guy]

Hi!
Araldite thanks for your reply...

Now that does sound tempting... does it still have a nice clean/bitter finish with the use of 1kg DME?

I note that Coopers quite the 1.7kg kit has having 590IBUs so 590/22 = 26 IBu's so in theory sounds good to me!
Unless of course I'm missing something... (?)

Out of interest how long di you leave it to condition before getting stuck in? I hear that this kit and the Coopers Stout are ready to drink fairly quickly (2-3 weeks) but do benefit from longer conditioning if you can keep your hands off it! lol

Slainte!

[araldite]

hi manx
ive drunk coopers stout after a short time (prob a week) and it never fails to impress the dark ale i tried on about aweek in the bottle and it was decent but like all things seems to be getting better with age just put some in the fridge for research later

On a side note the the coopers stout ive just done with dark bke is really something else tried it last night (5 days in the barrel) and i think i might have found my prefered method.
araldite

[KevP]

Coopers dark Ale was my best ever kit, made with 1kg Medium Spramalt, drinkable almost instantly, its a fine brew that, for my palate, bettered Coopers Stout, ymmv.

[Manx Guy]

Hi,

Cool I need a brew thats ready to drink fairly soon... as I've almost depleted my stocks

What sort of abv did you get with the kilo of DME? and what was the ferment time?

I'm planning on bottling this brew... do you keg or bottle?

Cheers!

Slainte!

Guy

[KevP]

If iremember right they finished up about 4.8%, and I kegged them all.

[Manx Guy]

Hi Kev...

Does the addition of 1kg of malt extract add to the fermentation time?
Most of my Coopers kits have been the Aussie Pale Ale and with a 1kg of BKE they ferment out in 5 days at 18-20C

The reason I ask is so I can make sure I have time to bottle it once the fermentation is over.... Things are a bit hectic ATM as SWMBO is making a lot of demands on my time- the excuse being used is shes 'brewing a baby'... lol



Slainte!

[guidomax]

Does the addition of 1kg of malt extract add to the fermentation time?

Hi Manx Guy

Last Coopers Dark I did fermented out in less than 3 days. I was well surprised; left it in the FV for a few more days though because I figured it can't hurt.

That said, I left the last Coopers Stout I did in the FV for about 11 days (it was fully fermented by day 3 aswell) as I couldn't get round to racking into the corny. Didn't do any harm and possibly made it better. I've heard that as long as there's a lid on it, it'll stay OK without going off (I forget the terminology for it) for up to a couple of months.

So I wouldn't worry if you can't get to kegging/bottling straight away, it'll keep.

[Manx Guy]

Cool,

Thanks for that...

I use a sealed type fermenter- its the sort with a screw on lid and airlock... I got that as part of the Coopers micro brewery set.... It states in the instructions its suitable for using with lager yeasts which is the reason I got the coopers microbrewery(plus I was a fan of the Coopers commercial ales....

I feel much better for your input.... In the meantime I'm sure I'll swing between using 1kg of DDME and 500g DDME & 500g Dextrose... lol
Slainte!

[guidomax]

Oh, and I forgot to say - definitely brew some up, it's lovely! I made some with 500g dark spraymalt and 500g brewing sugar. TBH it tasted just a little thin for my tastes, so next time I'd do it with a full kilo of malt and perhaps 500g brewing sugar to up the ABV a bit.

Beautiful brew though. Well recommended.

[Manx Guy]

Hi,

hmm... a little thin with 50:50 1kg DDME & DExtrose... may just chuck in both (500g) bags of DDME then...

Plus 200g of dextrose to boost the abv a little...

I'll report back and let you know how it goes....


Slainte!

[fractureman]

nice bike manx man what is it I race a 2006 R6 in Thundersport UK

Good luck with the brew I have just bought a cooper stout with 1Kg of DME for a ditch's stout & a coopers dark again with 1kg of mde for another brew for xmas



Would be pleased to see how you go with your batch for ferment & bottle/keg time so can judge when to start drinking mine

[Manx Guy]

Hi!

Thanks...
Its a Steel framed Honda CBR 600f (1995) after a little rebuild of the front suspension it makes a very capable road bike...


I dont race these days... How's thundersport going for you?

I'll let you know how I get on with my Coopers Dark Ale...

All the best

Guy

[b.all]

i've had this conditioning for a couple of monthes now and it's turned out pretty well.

i used similar sugars to what everyone else is suggesting but also a bit of dark muscavado sugar for the taste it adds and reduced the brewlength to 4gallons to give it a good extra bit of strength and body.