Yesterday I made a beer using the yeast that harvested from the Coopers Sparkling Ale bottles. It was a resounding success. The beer I made was a Coopers Real Ale.

• 1 Coopers Real Ale Kit
• 500 grams of Coopers Dry Malt Extract
• 500 grams of Dextrose
• Reinvigorated Yeast from Coopers Sparkling Ales

Less than 24 hours later this is the result in the fermenter.

I said I was going to make a video about how to reinvigorate the yeast from Cooopers Sparkling Ale. Here it is.

Okay. I posted the blog entry about reactivating the yeast from a Coopers naturally conditioned ale on Tuesday. But I must confess. I have never actually done this myself. So I went out to my local bottle shop today in search of a 6 pack of Coopers Pale Ale. My attempt proved futile, but I did score a 6er of Coopers Sparkling Ale. The directions (written by Paul Burge of Coopers) indicated a lower alcohol content works best and the Sparkling Ale is 5.8% Alc/Vol -- not exactly low alcohol.

I find the history and story of Coopers Brewery remarkable. When you ...

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There are numerous documented techniques, with varying levels of complexity, for re-activating the yeast in naturally conditioned beer. The method described below may leave some readers, experienced in growing yeast cultures, aghast. "What! No stir plate, no malt, no alcohol swabs, no nutrient, no way!" However, for Coopers yeast, it works.

Coopers Stout has enjoyed a cult following with home brewers. Many believing it is the closest home brew style to the bottled version. Sure, it's good. You can make it better!

Ingredients

• 1.7kg Coopers Stout
• 1kg Coopers Brew Enhancer 2
• Nothing Else!

Method
• Dissolve Coopers Stout and Brew Enhancer 2 in 2 litres of hot water.
• Fill fermenter with cool water to the 18 litre mark and stir.
• Sprinkle supplied yeast over the wort surface.
• Ferment temperature should be in the range 21C-27C.
• Bottle when specific gravity has reached 1.014 (or two readings the same over 24 hours). 

Coopers Best Extra Stout is an outstanding beer, hence the numerous awards. This recipe is an approximation to the former version of Best Extra Stout at 6.8% ABV, which was also sold as a bottled-aged product called Special Old Stout. The extra alcohol increases the longevity of the brew. It’s a great beer to cellar and taste periodically to see how it develops.

Ingredients
• 1.7kg can Original Series Stout
• 1.5kg Thomas Coopers Dark Malt Extract
• 500g Sugar/Dextrose

Method

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Gumbo, the ultimate Cajun food. It's really just a thick stew served with rice. This recipe uses chicken and sausage, but you can use anything that swims, flies, walks or crawls. Shrimp, alligator, turkey, ham, anything you like. This one is also a filé (sassafras powder) gumbo, which means no okra. If you prefer okra, you can add some, I just don't really like it that much if it's not fried. If you can't find filé in your area, it can be mail ordered, or you can leave it out, but the results will not be as good without it.

Okay, it's Friday afternoon. Time to wind the workday down and think about the weekend activities. What's going on this weekend? Football playoffs. That's what's going on. Bring on the chips and salsa, the chili, the buffalo wings, Hi-Def television, DVRs, Coopers homebrew, and lazyboy chairs (friends optional).

Speaking of lazyboy, I stopped by the local store on my way back from playing basketball and picked up a beer to try while I wrote this blog. Lo and behold, I found an India Pale Ale from Lazy Boy Brewing. As Matt Hendy quoted "It was their butterscotch ale mislabeled as India Pale Ale." This beer is loaded with diacetyl. So if butter is your thing, go for it. But I digress

Football. My predictions for the weekend are based solely on who I w ...

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This is the original spicy Buffalo chicken wings recipe from the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY. You can adjust the heat by adding more or less cayenne and Tabasco.

There are many Buffalo chicken wing recipes out there, but if you want to taste the "real" thing give this a try. The chicken wings are deep-fried in the original recipe, but the hot oven works fine for the home version.

Makes 6 Servings of Buffalo Chicken Wings (6 per person)

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