Beer = Lager?

[Wardy]

I'm slightly disappointed that the Coopers starter kit I picked up today is a lager kit. I thought it was going to be an ale but that's maybe my fault because I assumed lager was lager and beer was bitter, ale, stout etc. I don't much like lager so was wondering if there is anything I can do to make it more like an ale or anything really that is more bitter than sweet. It came with the brew enhancer 1 so I'm guessing this has unfermentable sugars to add sweetness too. Should I avoid using this and use brew sugar?
Having said that, I'm tempted to just brew it to the instructions as my first beer brew and see how it goes and give it to friends if I don't like it. I bought the starter kit using Tesco boost vouchers so it only cost £27 in vouchers which I suppose is no great loss.
I would appreciate all recommendations.
Thanks.

 

[MyQul]

Fortunately for you, if you brew this with ale yeast at ale yeast temps it will come out as a pale ale rather than a lager as lagering is a process of cold fermentation and cold conditioning coupled with lager yeast. Not sure if the coopers lager kit comes with lager yeast or ale yeast but I'm sure other forumites who have actually brewed this kit will be able to tell you what sort of yeast it comes with

 

[Malkin71]

Beer=beer, beer is a name given to everything in that category. Ale,bitter ect are sub names under the same type of alcohol.

And no you can't change it into an ale. Just bin it,sell it or add something to make it better. Either via hopping or just add some cordial when drinking.

 

[MyQul]

And no you can't change it into an ale. .

Yes you can. See above post

 

[Wardy]

I thought it was odd that the kit says fermentation should be between 21 and 25c when lager is normally brewed with yeast that works at lower temperature. I also noticed that it is extract from malted barley with hops addition so I think the best thing might be just to brew it and see what I get at the end. Thanks for your input about yeast. I suppose that's the crucial thing in all brews.

 

[MyQul]

I thought it was odd that the kit says fermentation should be between 21 and 25c when lager is normally brewed with yeast that works at lower temperature. I also noticed that it is extract from malted barley with hops addition so I think the best thing might be just to brew it and see what I get at the end. Thanks for your input about yeast. I suppose that's the crucial thing in all brews.

Absolutely, as the saying goes, brewers make wort, yeast makes beer. So now that your armed with the info it's up to you what you want to do. If you have a brew fridge you could even go for a hybrid and make a Kolsch - Fermented at ale temps and then conditioned at lager temps. Think you need a kolsch yeast strain though

 

[Slid]

I'm slightly disappointed that the Coopers starter kit I picked up today is a lager kit. I thought it was going to be an ale but that's maybe my fault because I assumed lager was lager and beer was bitter, ale, stout etc. I don't much like lager so was wondering if there is anything I can do to make it more like an ale or anything really that is more bitter than sweet. It came with the brew enhancer 1 so I'm guessing this has unfermentable sugars to add sweetness too. Should I avoid using this and use brew sugar?
Having said that, I'm tempted to just brew it to the instructions as my first beer brew and see how it goes and give it to friends if I don't like it. I bought the starter kit using Tesco boost vouchers so it only cost £27 in vouchers which I suppose is no great loss.
I would appreciate all recommendations.
Thanks.

Hi Wardy,

The Lager kit you got comes with an Ale yeast and brewed with the Brew Enhancer and 500g table sugar to 25L makes a "Lawn Mower" beer to die for.

Basically it is a pale ale. Stick it in the fridge (well, after brewing and conditioning) and enjoy. This is a good kit and you have made a fairly good choice with it.

Got me back into home brewing. Did it five times the same way. Never disappointed.

 

[MyQul]

Hi Wardy,

The Lager kit you got comes with an Ale yeast and brewed with the Brew Enhancer and 500g table sugar to 25L makes a "Lawn Mower" beer to die for.

Basically it is a pale ale. Stick it in the fridge (well, after brewing and conditioning) and enjoy. This is a good kit and you have made a fairly good choice with it.

Got me back into home brewing. Did it five times the same way. Never disappointed.

Cheers Slid. Wasn't sure which yeast this kit comes with as I'm not a lager man

 

[Wardy]

Hi Wardy,

The Lager kit you got comes with an Ale yeast and brewed with the Brew Enhancer and 500g table sugar to 25L makes a "Lawn Mower" beer to die for.

Basically it is a pale ale. Stick it in the fridge (well, after brewing and conditioning) and enjoy. This is a good kit and you have made a fairly good choice with it.

Got me back into home brewing. Did it five times the same way. Never disappointed.

Many thanks for the reassurance. I've been undecided what to do since opening the box. It sounds just like the stuff I like when I get home from work. I prefer the richer ales and stout when chilling out. I'm looking forward to the final result now.

 

[Slid]

Many thanks for the reassurance. I've been undecided what to do since opening the box. It sounds just like the stuff I like when I get home from work. I prefer the richer ales and stout when chilling out. I'm looking forward to the final result now.

The Coopers Original Stout kit is just awesome. See the thread in the Kit Review section.

It is the closest to bomb proof there is. A "go to " for any brewer.

 

[MyQul]

The Coopers Original Stout kit is just awesome. See the thread in the Kit Review section.

It is the closest to bomb proof there is. A "go to " for any brewer.

+1 . I'm a stout man too, when I was making kit's I made this one a number of times

 

[Wardy]

Are you guys trying to put me off AG I will definitely try the Stout one while saving up for the Grainfather. I have 90 bottles sat waiting and when filled could easily empty 3 per day too

 

[clibit]

You could actually turn it into a bitter, brown ale, porter or stout. By steeping a small quantity of grains.

Did I say grains?

 

[Wardy]

You could actually turn it into a bitter, brown ale, porter or stout. By steeping a small quantity of grains.

Did I say grains?

Ha ha. I wondered if you would push a grain solution :)

 

[Budgie]

The Coopers Lager kit was my first brew. As Slid said, coming with ale yeast, it's definitely more like a pale ale than a lager.

When I bottled mine I under primed it (I'd like to pretend this wasn't an accident!), but that only made it more like an ale anyway. Brew it and if you don't like it, I'll find a home for it :wink:

 

[Wardy]

The Coopers Lager kit was my first brew. As Slid said, coming with ale yeast, it's definitely more like a pale ale than a lager.

When I bottled mine I under primed it (I'd like to pretend this wasn't an accident!), but that only made it more like an ale anyway. Brew it and if you don't like it, I'll find a home for it :wink:

The more I hear about it the more I like the sound of it. Brew night tomorrow so I'll stick to the kit instructions. I will post on this thread how things go. I've only ever done 1 beer kit and because I only had wine making gear my friend and I tried to split it into 4 demijohns and treated it like wine adding fining and stabilisers and it turned out a mess. Only excuse I can offer is I was about 22 and thought I knew best.
This will be the first proper beer brew I've done and a step towards AG brewing. I've already got a fermentation cupboard set up with a shelf for the FV and lower level for bottling and conditioning so can't wait to get started tomorrow.

 

[Wardy]

Still not started my brew. I might be too fussy because I've been cleaning the new brew cupboard, doing a 2 day temperature test, fitting lighting and a twin power socket. My wife says it looks great and now asking if she can use it as a mini office when I'm not brewing. My response was "I will always have 1 brew on the go and bottles filling the conditioning shelf I made

 

[Wardy]

At last. Took advantage of the solar panels today and started the brew. Also did one to keep the wife happy. Both sat at 21c. Put a jacket on the wine as cupboard varies between 19c at night and 20c during the day. Should I get something to warm the beer up or will those temps be ok? I've only ever brewed wine and always used the heating jacket. View attachment uploadfromtaptalk1439493311338.jpg