Coopers Cerveza Review

[MyBrewing]

I brewed this to just over 24l (user error with the tap) with be2 at 12 degrees with s23 yeast. came up a bit low and slightly malty for me. But is pleasant to drink quite happy for brew 1. Would try be1 next time reading the description on the boxes.


I tried be1 the next time and it was better the first time with be2, the maltiness subsided and became very pleasant after a few weeks

 

[ianh82]

well, after 3 mths, my cerveza is now gone and i have to say the final bottle which was SF for 3 mths was clear and cracking drink. mine turned out to be 5.3% in the end and was so light to drink, all my mates who hated homebrew in the past, now are converted. they even liked the coopers real ale to.

next up is a coopers euro lager for the bottles and woodfordes sundew for the keg. lovely : :drink:

 

[manchie7]

Got 1 of these on the go now . Quick question though it says in the instructions to transfer to bottles . i havent got enough so would it be ok to transfer to a couple of demi-johns for a few weeks whilst I find some bottles and if so do I add sugar or wait until I bottle it?
Cheers

 

[ScottM]

Got 1 of these on the go now . Quick question though it says in the instructions to transfer to bottles . i havent got enough so would it be ok to transfer to a couple of demi-johns for a few weeks whilst I find some bottles and if so do I add sugar or wait until I bottle it?
Cheers

I would transfer it to a secondary and put it somewhere as cool as you can, while you wait for bottles :)

Don't add any sugar until ready to bottle.

 

[manchie7]

Got 1 of these on the go now . Quick question though it says in the instructions to transfer to bottles . i havent got enough so would it be ok to transfer to a couple of demi-johns for a few weeks whilst I find some bottles and if so do I add sugar or wait until I bottle it?
Cheers

I would transfer it to a secondary and put it somewhere as cool as you can, while you wait for bottles :)

Don't add any sugar until ready to bottle.

Thanks , thats my day off sorted. :

 

[Kinleycat]

The first kit brewed out to 1003 and went into Cornie 3 this morning, so I have high hopes for brew 2 which will be bottled with some lime juice in a few.
1/2 extra light spray malt and 1/2 dextrose.

 

[Kinleycat]

1008 after ten days, bottling on Friday.

 

[GJB]

Hi there,

Long time reader, first time poster.

After making a number of Coopers kits and being really happy with them (IPA and European Lager are fantastic), this is the first kit that I'm a bit worried about.

I brewed it using the kit, 500g spray malt, 500g sugar and all was well. Trouble was, I was about 10 bottles short and awaiting my local pub ringing me to give me some Newcastle Brown bottles. So I syphoned it into another clean FV, added the correct amount of sugar, and left it sealed for 24hrs at 18 degrees, then bottled.

The problem is it has not cleared. ATM, it looks like Hoegaarden; slightly cloudy in the bottle and thats after 4 weeks in the bottle. It was inside in the spare room at about 16 degrees, but on the advice from another webpage, I moved it to the garage at about 5-6 degrees.

Anyone know if it is ruined or is there anything I can do to try and clear it? Don't really want to loose 40 pints!

Cheers

 

[ScottM]

Hi there,

Long time reader, first time poster.

After making a number of Coopers kits and being really happy with them (IPA and European Lager are fantastic), this is the first kit that I'm a bit worried about.

I brewed it using the kit, 500g spray malt, 500g sugar and all was well. Trouble was, I was about 10 bottles short and awaiting my local pub ringing me to give me some Newcastle Brown bottles. So I syphoned it into another clean FV, added the correct amount of sugar, and left it sealed for 24hrs at 18 degrees, then bottled.

The problem is it has not cleared. ATM, it looks like Hoegaarden; slightly cloudy in the bottle and thats after 4 weeks in the bottle. It was inside in the spare room at about 16 degrees, but on the advice from another webpage, I moved it to the garage at about 5-6 degrees.

Anyone know if it is ruined or is there anything I can do to try and clear it? Don't really want to loose 40 pints!

Cheers

I doubt it's ruined, it'll probably taste fine so give it a go.

How long was it in the FV before bottling? Did you give the yeast enough time to fall out prior to bottling? Most of my lagers are fairly clear by the time I get to bottling (21 days approx).

 

[GJB]

It was in the 2nd FV no more than 48 hours after sugar. I have a bottle In The fridge to try tonight. Will post again after that.

 

[ScottM]

It was in the 2nd FV no more than 48 hours after sugar. I have a bottle In The fridge to try tonight. Will post again after that.

No, I mean how long did you give it in the primary before transferring it? Your yeast will have made short work of the sugar that you added IMO, you'll be lucky if there's any left for carbonation inside the bottles.

 

[GJB]

No, I mean how long did you give it in the primary before transferring it? Your yeast will have made short work of the sugar that you added IMO, you'll be lucky if there's any left for carbonation inside the bottles.

It was in for 8 days at around 22 degrees. Being only a novice, I follwed teh instruction which said 4 days at 27 degrees down to 8 days at a lower temp. The Heat Belt i was given seemed to hold the brew at 22 degrees nicely. Having opened a bottle this evening, its fizzy, holds its head well.

There is a bit of a yeasty tang/aftertaste to it, and a bit of a TCP type medicinal taste, but thats probably due the amount of yeast still in suspension.The yeast in the base of the bottle is still "floaty", whereas my other beers I have made the yeast drops and stays at the bottom. Its not great, but as it is bottled and doing nothing in the garage, I can't decide whether to dump or keep.

Just wondering if I should leave and hope and see if it clears over time or just put this one down to experience?

 

[ScottM]

No, I mean how long did you give it in the primary before transferring it? Your yeast will have made short work of the sugar that you added IMO, you'll be lucky if there's any left for carbonation inside the bottles.

It was in for 8 days at around 22 degrees. Being only a novice, I follwed teh instruction which said 4 days at 27 degrees down to 8 days at a lower temp. The Heat Belt i was given seemed to hold the brew at 22 degrees nicely. Having opened a bottle this evening, its fizzy, holds its head well.

There is a bit of a yeasty tang/aftertaste to it, and a bit of a TCP type medicinal taste, but thats probably due the amount of yeast still in suspension.The yeast in the base of the bottle is still "floaty", whereas my other beers I have made the yeast drops and stays at the bottom. Its not great, but as it is bottled and doing nothing in the garage, I can't decide whether to dump or keep.

Just wondering if I should leave and hope and see if it clears over time or just put this one down to experience?

I would leave it as cold as possible for a while and see if it clears.

I would recommend ditching the instructions on your next brew, they aren't a method of creating the best beer... they are simply the method of creating the quickest alcoholic beer.

 

[Charlatan]

This is next on my list to do (so it matures for the summer) and was going to use 1kg of Coopers BE2 and 500g LME. Is that going to be too heavy on the fermentables?

 

[Stu]

Another to agree with ScottM.

His Beer (and Cider) "How-To" works for me (except I forgot to keep my bottles warm when priming, but that's not the instructions fault)

EDIT: Although as a caveat, I've stuck nearer to the temperatures on the instructions - when I tell people that I've put lager on at 21-22c, people look at me like I have 2 heads. However, the type of yeast Coopers supply implies that it needs much higher temperatures - 18-32c for pitching, 21-27c for fermenting.

 

[ScottM]

EDIT: Although as a caveat, I've stuck nearer to the temperatures on the instructions - when I tell people that I've put lager on at 21-22c, people look at me like I have 2 heads. However, the type of yeast Coopers supply implies that it needs much higher temperatures - 18-32c for pitching, 21-27c for fermenting.

Don't worry about the instructions, even for the temperatures. 27c would create a lot of fruity ester flavours, up at 21 degrees will still produce ale flavours... but nothing too bad.

I've fermented with coopers a few times at 20 degrees and they have went off like a rocket. On that basis 18 degrees would be no issue with these yeasts.

In the future I'm going to use saflager on every lager kit though (Other than Coopers European which comes with lager yeast anyway) and ferment as close to 12 degrees as I can. Thankfully with the brewing fridge it shouldn't be too much of a problem, even without one I would rather brew at 18 degrees with saflager than with the coopers yeast.

Anyway, I've gone way off topic for this thread lol. That's for another day and another tutorial

PS Glad you're finding the tutorials useful and getting good success with them. The difference in quality that I get through using those methods is night and day with what I started off with :)

 

[Kinleycat]

EDIT: Although as a caveat, I've stuck nearer to the temperatures on the instructions - when I tell people that I've put lager on at 21-22c, people look at me like I have 2 heads. However, the type of yeast Coopers supply implies that it needs much higher temperatures - 18-32c for pitching, 21-27c for fermenting.

Don't worry about the instructions, even for the temperatures. 27c would create a lot of fruity ester flavours, up at 21 degrees will still produce ale flavours... but nothing too bad.

I've fermented with coopers a few times at 20 degrees and they have went off like a rocket. On that basis 18 degrees would be no issue with these yeasts.

In the future I'm going to use saflager on every lager kit though (Other than Coopers European which comes with lager yeast anyway) and ferment as close to 12 degrees as I can. Thankfully with the brewing fridge it shouldn't be too much of a problem, even without one I would rather brew at 18 degrees with saflager than with the coopers yeast.

Anyway, I've gone way off topic for this thread lol. That's for another day and another tutorial

PS Glad you're finding the tutorials useful and getting good success with them. The difference in quality that I get through using those methods is night and day with what I started off with :)

Wasnt she on Thats Life!?!?!?!

 

[ScottM]

Wasnt she on Thats Life!?!?!?!

You've put the thought of her IN my beer.... :sick:

 

[Kinleycat]

Wasnt she on Thats Life!?!?!?!

You've put the thought of her IN my beer.... :sick:

:hat: Always happy to help!!

 

[Brewing Boilerman]

Brewed this about 6 weeks ago now using 1kg light DME and 300g brewing suger. Even with it only being in the bottle 2 weeks it is a cracking drink. I have done coopers European, Canadian blonde and Draught with the same ingredients so i'll post how they turn out.