Recipe for a first dark ale brew

Daron · Post by **Daron** » Monday May 16, 2005 12:30 pm

I've just bottled my Coopers Pale Ale and my next mission is a dark ale.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a first time dark ale brew?

I'm keen to begin using added hops/grains to my brew rather than just mixing up a can and dextrose in the fermenter. I've just begun boiling up all the ingredients and want to improve my brews.

I like the Belgian-style dark ales. I'm keen to get a malty flavoursome-style drop on the go.

How long would i need to ferment it and keep bottled before I can rip into one on cold winter's arvo?

Cheers,

Daron

gmax · Post by **gmax** » Monday May 16, 2005 1:19 pm

G'day daron,
I just started a new dark ale myself 2 days ago this is what i used

tooheys real ale tin(very dark liquid malt is was too)
500 grams dark malt
500 grams light malt
safeale yeast(throw away the tooheys yeast)

Og 1051 was the reading on saturday
very malty
sunday it was going mad fermenting at 18'C
monday today still bubbling away og 1032

my opinion, i find the tooheys real ale, didn't look anything
like the coopers real ale, but i will see what happens on
wensday or thursday, when i take another reading

I think using the coopers real ale tin would be better and adding the
500 grams of dark malt that way. its a rather sticky operation though
boiling up the malts.
But have a go at the tooheys if you like i just found the tin of real ale was very dark, unless they got their labels mixed up and i got a dark ale instead.
cheers
gmax

the Baron · Post by **the Baron** » Monday May 16, 2005 1:50 pm

I too like the dark ales and one that is not to bad is called the Liquid Wendell named after the legend Wendell Sailor, a truely great Sarinian [piss off any prick from Mackay who tries to claim him], however I think that if he had of gone to the ACT Brumbies instead of the Queensland Reds he would have developed better as a player but less as a person. It is a simple brew but dark and effective, it is dynamic and flexy in the exact ingredients but there are minimum standards imposed by the BAA (Bedroom Alchemists Association) for this recipie (as there are for all accepted recipies of the BAA).
Minimum standards for a Liquid Wendell:
Two tins of an Aussie brand Dark Ale (only Coopers has ever been used but as long as it is Aussie it is acceptable)
100gms of maltodextrin
150gms LME
minimum of 200gms more DME than LME
300gms of dextrose if LME and DME combined weigh less than 600gms
Play around with this, works a treat don't be affraid to add more then the 23L of water
Remenber these are minimum standards

Post by **Oliver** » Monday May 16, 2005 2:53 pm

If you want to try some hops, boil up about 15g of Fuggles for five minutes with a little malt and strain it into the fermenter.

I've made the Cooper's Dark Ale once, with a brew pack (dextrose, light malt and dark malt) and yeast as supplied. It was an absolute winner. Give it a go with 500g light malt and 500g dark.

Oliver

Evo · Post by **Evo** » Monday May 16, 2005 3:10 pm

"Liquid Wendell" ? ! ? !

What was it like ? Do you "drop the ball" as soon as you drink one ? He would have developed more as a player had he of gone to Toongabbie under 12's. Might have even made a name for himself.

Anyhoo, enough Dell bashing. I made the double can and maltodextrin brew once. It was called the 6.8 Comeback Special (named after the '68 Comeback Special Elvis). It was 6.8%, very tasty, but you needed a knife and fork to get through it.

I'd go with a Coopers Old, a Coopers Real Ale and I'd can adding any extra hops or any maltodextrin.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Monday May 16, 2005 8:22 pm

is maltodextrin the same as dextrose or a combo of malts and dextrose?

But I like the sound of some of these brews.

What about making it with a nice kick, ie about a 6%?
How long should I wait before bottling, and then sampling a bottle?

Daron

tommo · Post by **tommo** » Monday May 16, 2005 8:53 pm

Daron,

Still relatively green at this myself, but I think maltodextrin is dried corn syrup which benefits head retention and I think, body.

As far as' Kick ' goes I suppose it comes down to less total liquid level. ie: 20lt and more fermentables. ie: Dex 100% fermentable.

Waiting

At least 3 weeks in my opinion.

Hope this helps

tommo

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Monday May 16, 2005 9:50 pm

Daron one of my staple brews is:

Gold Rush Texas T Dark Ale
500g Light Malt
500g Dark Malt
250g Maltodextrin/Corn Syrup
15g Goldings hops

Comes up trumps every time.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tuesday May 17, 2005 7:10 am

maltodextrin is dried corn syrup which benefits head retention

This is important as your "Liquid Wendell" will need to have a really big head to accurately replicate its namesake

Antsvb · Post by **Antsvb** » Tuesday May 17, 2005 9:26 am

Funny stuff guest!

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Tuesday May 17, 2005 9:47 am

We have a Wendell over here to.

He was likely to be one of the better hockey players Canada ever produced for the all round guy, scoring skill, smarts, physical presence, team leadership and a very humble man.

I am thinking the two aren't related.

May make a beer after him to, after all, he didn't go on strike and he brought me many a happy moment during play offs as he sunk a winner in OT.

Dogger

Evo · Post by **Evo** » Tuesday May 17, 2005 11:48 am

Yeah, well, they definitely aren't related then Dogger

Nice work Guest.

And where is the Baron ? He certainly isn't biting.

Daron · Post by **Daron** » Tuesday May 17, 2005 12:53 pm

Thanks fellas.

The rugby stuff

is all foreign to this devout AFL follower. But your recipes sound good.
I've got a tin of Cooper's Dark and will get a yeast starter going today.
I need to get some dark malt extract from HBS. Would 500g of honey be any good in the mix or just stick to the following:

Supplied yeast woken up in a yeast starter;
Can of Coopers
500g LME
500g DME
500g dextrose (open to discussion on this one - i do want it to be in the 5-6% region

)

and possibly 500g honey (is it worth it to make the body rather malty or am i getting ahead of myself?)

And as suggested by Oliver, 15g of Fuggles (though I really dont know what the Fuggles that is, but I'm keen to have a crack

)

Cheers, Daron
PS - Go Roos!

Post by **Oliver** » Tuesday May 17, 2005 1:32 pm

Daron,

Your local homebrew shop should be able to Fuggles you right up.

Oliver

gregb · Post by **gregb** » Tuesday May 17, 2005 3:37 pm

They may even have the hop you're after

Greg

the Baron · Post by **the Baron** » Tuesday May 17, 2005 4:00 pm

The liquid Wendell was born and named at the Rugby World Cup. It was named in jest of the big man as it is heavy, big bodied, dark and almost as bitter as Wendell must have been after getting bugger all match time in non-pushover games after he talked himself up (infact he got bugger all time in pushover games too, except Argentina).

Must admit that Wendell is far inferior to the other Legend of Sarina, Martin Bella, but alas Marty's pigmentation is not dark and is too cheery to call bitter, and the fact that he played league and was not in the RWC which is when this was brewed all disadvantaged him in getting a beer named after him

beermeister · Post by **beermeister** » Tuesday May 17, 2005 4:59 pm

I made a nice Belgian dark ale which to me tastes a lot like Leffe Dark:

1.5 kg Coopers dark liquid malt extract
1.5kg Coopers light liquid malt extract
1kg light dried malt extract
15 g Hallertauer hop pellets (boiling)

Brought approx 8 litres of water to the boil, added all the ingredients, brought to a boil and kept on a high simmer for 45 mins. Strained, sparged and topped up to 20 litres. Its about 2 months old now, drinking beautifully.

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Tuesday May 17, 2005 5:40 pm

Not having done any extract-only brews, I'm missing something here - why would you need to sparge?

Curious,

Tony

beermeister · Post by **beermeister** » Tuesday May 17, 2005 6:24 pm

Good point.

It was only my third ever brew and I thought sparging was required even for the residue from the hop pellets, so I sparged the stuff that was left behind in the strainer.

Daron · Post by **Daron** » Wednesday May 18, 2005 2:21 pm

Sparged???? Can you enligthen me on this?