Dear Replicator:   

Coming from Adelaide in Australia, I’m quite proud of Coopers Sparkling Ale (the archetype for Australia’s only truly indigenous beer style). Could you suggest a recipe for this?
Philip Ritson
Adelaide, South Australia

Nothing beats the dry Coopers Sparkling Ale. This cloudy, fruity, zesty beer has an intensity that comes from bottle fermentation, Schooner malt and plenty of carbonation.    

The Coopers brewery still belongs to the family that started the enterprise in 1862. They keep their recipes a secret, but Mark Henry of Cascadia Importers, an importer for Coopers, knows quite a bit about Coopers beer.   

Henry says the brewers use their own Schooner base malt, but extract brewers can get similar results by using Coopers unhopped malt extracts. “The color is more off-golden rather than amber. My guess is that they use a small amount of crystal malt for head retention,” says Henry.    

“Coopers uses Pride of Ringwood hops across the board, though any Hallertauer will work,” he adds. “As for yeast, Coopers ales are produced with multiple strains of yeast. For authenticity, the homebrewer can purchase a few bottles of sparkling ale and harvest the yeast from the bottom.”    

Otherwise, use a packet of Coopers Homebrew Ale Yeast. Ferment at 64° to 70° F and prime with a full cup of corn sugar to impart the effervescence of its namesake.   

For more information about the brewery, call (011-61-8-8300-4222) or go to www.coopers.com.au.

Coopers Sparkling Ale

5 gallons, extract with grains; OG = 1.050; FG = 1.006; IBUs = 25

Ingredients

• 6 lbs. Coopers light unhopped malt extract
• 0.50 lb. crystal  malt (60° Lovibond)
• 1 lb. Belgian candi sugar (white)
• 4.75 AAUs Pride of Ringwood pellet hops (1/3 oz. at 9.5% alpha acid)
• 4.75 AAUs Pride of Ringwood pellet hops (1/2 oz. at 9.5% alpha acid)
• 4.75 AAUs Pride of Ringwood pellet hops (1/2 oz. of 9.5% alpha acid)
• 1 tsp. Irish moss
• 1 cup corn sugar to prime
• Yeast culture from two bottles of sparkling ale or Coopers Homebrew Yeast or YeastLabs  A01 (Coopers Ale Yeast).
• 7/8 to 1 cup corn sugar to prime

Step by Step   

Steep specialty grains in 3 gallons of water at 150° F for 45 minutes. Remove grains and add malt syrup. Bring to boil for 30 minutes. Add 0.33 oz. Pride of Ringwood pellet hops. Boil 30 minutes, then add candi sugar and Irish moss.    

Boil for 15 minutes and add 0.50 oz. Pride of Ringwood hops. Boil for 13 minutes and add remaining hops. Boil for two more minutes and remove from heat. Cool to about 70° F and transfer to fermenting vessel with yeast. Ferment at 64° to 70° F until complete (about 7 to 10 days), then transfer to a secondary vessel or rack into bottles or keg with corn sugar.  

All-grain version:

Omit extract and mash 7.5 lbs. Schooner or Harrington two-row pale malt with crystal malt in 8.5 quarts of water to get a single-infusion mash temperature of 150° F for 45 minutes.    

Sparge with hot water (170° F or more) to get 5.5 gallons of wort. Then bring to boil and use the above hopping and fermentation schedule.

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Dear Replicator:   

I am looking for the recipe for Rogue’s Hazelnut Brown Ale. This is one of my favorite beers and I have been looking for this recipe for some time now.               

Aaron Simmer
Butler, Pennsylvania

A Hazelnut homebrew made with real hazelnuts inspired Rogue’s legendary brewer, John Maier, to make Hazelnut Brown Nectar. The Rogue version includes hazelnut flavoring, not nuts, but it has a distinct hazelnut aroma and lush nut flavor.     

Like many of the Rogue Ale beers, the hazelnut brown distinguishes itself through its unique flavors. Founded in 1988, in Ashland, Oregon, Rogue now runs a 50-barrel brew system in Newport that cranks out a slew of interesting beers, from Dead Guy Ale to Brutal Bitter and McRogue Scotch Ale.    

As for making the Hazelnut, simply follow the directions proffered by the gracious brewer himself. Maier recommends mashing at fairly low temperatures (around 150° F) to avoid drying out the beer. The grain bill includes 58 percent two-row pale malt and a blend of Munich, Hugh Baird brown, crystal and Beeston pale chocolate malts. Perle and Saaz hops help to round out the beer. The Web site puts the IBUs at 33.    

American Ale yeast (Wyeast 1056) will work fine with this brew. Ferment at 60° F if possible. Brewers may need to play around with hazelnut flavoring if they can’t get the Stearns and Lehman brand. Whatever you use, add it during racking. An eighth of an ounce will do for a 5-gallon batch.    

For more information about Rogue, call (541) 867-3660 or check out www.rogue.com.

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

5 gallons, extract with grains; OG = 1.056; FG = 1.014; IBUs = 33

Ingredients

• 4.5 lbs. Alexander’s light dry malt extract
• 1.5 lbs. Munich malt (10° Lovibond)
• 1.2 lbs. crystal malt (75° Lovibond)
• 0.56 lbs. Hugh Baird brown malt
• 0.35 lbs. crystal malt (120° Lovibond)
• 0.35 lbs. crystal malt (15° Lovibond)
• 0.24 lbs. pale chocolate malt (187° Lovibond)
• 7.8 AAUs Perle pellet hops (1 oz. at 7.8% alpha acid)
• 1.75 AAUs Saaz pellet hops (0.50 oz. at 3.5% alpha acid)
• 1 tsp. Irish moss
• American Ale Yeast (Wyeast 1056)
• 3/4 cup corn sugar to prime
• 1/8 oz. Stearns and Lehman Flavor-mate hazelnut flavoring

Step by Step   

Steep specialty grains in 3 gal. of water at 150° to 153° F for 45 min. Remove grains and add DME. Bring to boil and add Perle. Boil 60 min., add Irish moss. Boil 30 min., add Saaz. Cool to 70° F, transfer to fermenter with yeast. Ferment cool (60° F) until complete (7 to 10 days). Transfer to secondary or rack with corn sugar and hazelnut flavoring.  

All-grain version:

Omit extract and mash 5.8 lbs. pale malt with specialty malts in 10 quarts of water to get a single-infusion mash temperature of 150° to 153° F for 45 min. Sparge with hot water of 170° F or more to get 5.5 gal. of wort. Bring to boil and use above hopping and fermentation schedule.