Killkenny

[beerboy]

I found the below recipe on the Coopers site. Has anybody tried this, if so how close to Killkenny is it? Has anybody got any improvements you could make to this recipe, if so would like to hear them. Want to make a Killkenny clone for my Dad who is fond of the famous Irish drop.


Irish Ale - makes 21 litres
Try this one as an easy recipe. Less volume, golden syrup and a lower
ferment temperature help to produce an ale with characters like those found in
the imported 440ml cans with widgets!
Ingredients
1.7kg can Coopers Draught
1kg Coopers Brew Enhancer 1
300 grams Golden Syrup
Method
1. Dissolve Coopers Draught, Brew Enhancer 1 and Golden Syrup in 2 litres
of hot water.
2. Fill fermenter with cool water to the 21 litre mark and stir.
3. Sprinkle supplied yeast over the wort surface.
4. Ferment temperature should be as close to 20C as possible.
5. Bottle when specific gravity has reached 1.012 (or two readings the same
over 24 hours).

[Polar]

Have made this and currently drinking it . Not much like Killkenny - when young 4-6 weeks post bottling - you can really taste the golden syrup - now @ about 14weeks - golden syrup taste has really dissapated - but still nice to drink.

[Guest]

Agree with Polar - not much like Kilkenny but still a very nice drop. The Golden Syrup gives extra body without being too over the top flavourwise - just a slight burnt aftertaste. Give it a go!

Jeff

[Oliver]

Here's a recipe from the old Q+A section of our site ( http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/qanda.html )

It's a recipe that a visitor to our site sent.

INGREDIENTS
1 can Morgan's Amber Ale as a base kit
1kg Light powdered malt
150g lactose
1 bag (15-20g) Goldings finishing hops
1 bag (15-20g) Tettnanger finishing hops
200g caramalt grain

METHOD
Put the grain in about a litre of cold water and slowly bring to the boil. Turn off heat and let stand for 20 minutes. Strain through a stocking. In the liquid and another one or two litres or water simmer the Tettnanger hops and the malt for 10 minutes. Add the Goldings hops and remove from heat. Dissolve the other ingredients in boiling water, add to fermenter and top up with cold water. Pitch yeast and ferment about 20C.

As for getting the carbonation like it is off tap, you're going to have to buy some pretty pricey equipment if you want that, as Kilkenny in cans and on tap has nitrogen in it, which creates that creamy texture. However, since Kilkenny is not an overly carbonated beer, prime with half the usual amount of sugar and a couple don't prime at all. The ones you don't prime at all might take a while longer to be ready to drink (say three months), but they will taste fine and have a slight carbonation. We've made beers before that we haven't primed and they've been beautiful. Sometimes you just don't want your beer very fizzy.

[Scorpio]

I tried a similar recipe to Oliver (from the Morgan's pamphlett)

1 can Morgan's Royal Oak Amber Ale
1 kg Dry Ultra Blend (don't know what it contains)
150g Dextrose
1 bag Fuggles finishing hops

I bottled it a month ago, will probably give it another week or two before I taste it. Was just warm enough in QLD (brewed in low 20s) back then to give it a go.

[Antsvb]

Scorpio,

That would have to be one of my favourites at the moment (think I've mentioned that here somewhere before). Made it a few times. Not like a Kilkenny in my thoughts, but a very nice brown all the same.

Have just made one tonight actually, but replacing the Fuggles with Willamette and adding 200 grams Crystal grains (ideas from Oliver and Jay somewhere here also).

By the way, I think Ultra Brew is 500g light dried malt, 250g maltodextrin, 250g dextrose or something fairly similar.

[Scorpio]

Hi Antsvb

Thanks for the info on the Ultra Blend - I used to be a dextrose only brewer (legacy of my penniless Uni days), so I'm not overly familiar with what sugars work well for certain brews.

Will let you know how my Kilkenny tastes!

[bundybear]

While we are on the subject of Kilkenny, i have recently made the recipe kindly posted by Oliver. It has been in the fermenter for 2 weeks now, and the SG is 1018 at the moment. My question..... Is it OK to bottle now as I have read the if you bottle while the SG is over 1006 that exploding bottles await..

Thanks

[Oliver]

While we are on the subject of Kilkenny, i have recently made the recipe kindly posted by Oliver. It has been in the fermenter for 2 weeks now, and the SG is 1018 at the moment. My question..... Is it OK to bottle now as I have read the if you bottle while the SG is over 1006 that exploding bottles await.

Bundybear,

Welcome.

Final gravity, as with initial gravity, is completely dependent on what ingredients you put into a beer and the volume to which you make it up.

The 1006 to which you refer is probably a beer made with a 1.7kg can and 1kg of glucose/white sugar/dextrose and topped up to 23 litres. Because white sugar and glucose are highly fermentable, they will have next to no effect on the SG (i.e. if you fermented it on its own, the final gravity would be around the 1000 mark, which is what water is, and possibly lower since alcohol is less dense than water). The can of concentrate contains malt, which is only partially fermentable, so leaves behind sugars that boost the final gravity.

So what does all this mean?

Your higher SG is due to the presence of the unfermentable sugars in the malt, and in the lactose, which is also unfermentable.

If the brew is above 18C and you get two SG readings exactly the same two days apart, then fermentation is finished.

Make sure you spin your hydrometer to get off any bubbles, as they will give you a false high reading.

Finally, if your brew is particularly hot or cold you will need to do a temperature correction. See http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/forum/vi ... .php?t=574

I hope I haven't confused you too much.

Cheers,

Oliver

[Guest]

Thanks Oliver. Makes perfect sense.

[Oliver]

... Final gravity, as with initial gravity, is completely dependent on what ingredients you put into a beer and the volume to which you make it up ...

Actually, final gravity can also be affected by the type of yeast used, and its "attenuation". Attenuation is how much complex sugar the yeast can consume.

Cheers,

Oliver