Coopers European lager kit

[bez]

I have made up the kit but used 1 kg of coopers beer enhancer 3. I’m a little worried now that I will have a enough fermentales. Would 1 kg dextrose plus 500g light dme be better.

 

[terrym]

If you have made it up and it's now on the go you can only add sugars to it. Since you don't say what ABV you require, I can tell you that kit can plus 500g DME and 500g dextrose and made up to 22 litres gives an OG about 1.041 and may go down to 1.008 or even less which is about 4.3% ABV. However #3 BE contains maltodextrin which doesn't ferment out, so a direct comparison is not easy but wt for wt against dextrose or DME it will give a lower ABV.
So if you want to go ahead and increase the ABV and its already on the go
i) if you add dextrose it will up the ABV but thin the final product and
ii) if you add DME it will be difficult to dissolve and there is a chance it may clump and not all ferment out.
My suggestion if its started is to leave it alone but add a hop tea at the end. Saaz or better Hallertau work well with this kit, or even one of the C hops for something different. I have used Motueka and it turned out really good.
And be aware that this kit it takes 3 months to come good.

 

[bez]

If you have made it up and it's now on the go you can only add sugars to it. Since you don't say what ABV you require, I can tell you that kit can plus 500g DME and 500g dextrose and made up to 22 litres gives an OG about 1.041 and may go down to 1.008 or even less which is about 4.3% ABV. However #3 BE contains maltodextrin which doesn't ferment out, so a direct comparison is not easy but wt for wt against dextrose or DME it will give a lower ABV.
So if you want to go ahead and increase the ABV and its already on the go
i) if you add dextrose it will up the ABV but thin the final product and
ii) if you add DME it will be difficult to dissolve and there is a chance it may clump and not all ferment out.
My suggestion if its started is to leave it alone but add a hop tea at the end. Saaz or better Hallertau work well with this kit, or even one of the C hops for something different. I have used Motueka and it turned out really good.
And be aware that this kit it takes 3 months to come good.

Thanks terry. I have all of those hops ready to go. I think I will add 25g Saaz. I recently made a Wilco golden ale which got down to 1006from 1048 from 1kg dextrose. I hopped with first gold I really enjoyed it after a week or so. I primed with 100g dextrose. So I’m basing what I am doing on this. I like a higher alcohol content do thought I could add another 200g dextrose hoping to get it up to 5%. What do you think. I’m fermenting around 20oc max which is the top of the lager yeast. So you reckon it takes a while to mature.

 

[terrym]

Adding 200g of dextrose will up the ABV by about 0.5% according to the Brewers Friend Recipe calculator. I suggest you get familiar with how this works so that you can adjust what you add to your beers to get the result you want. Its not just intended for AG, it works for kits and extract beers too.
The yeast supplied with this kit (if thats is what you are using ) will go down to about 15*C before you approach the zone where the pitching rate probably needs to be increased. If it were me I would be aiming for a lower ferment temperature (than 20*C ) to give a cleaner more lagery taste. I have only made up this kit in the cooler months (since I dont operate a brew fridge) and fermented low with either one yeast packet (15*C) or two (13*C). If I fermented it at summer temps I would probably use a CML Kosch yeast and ferment at ale type temps.
And if you read the kit instructions Coopers tell you to leave it 12 weeks before it comes good as far as I can remember. And thats what I found.
I also suggest you read the kit review here to see what others have done
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/coopers-european-lager-review.17845/

 

[bez]

Adding 200g of dextrose will up the ABV by about 0.5% according to the Brewers Friend Recipe calculator. I suggest you get familiar with how this works so that you can adjust what you add to your beers to get the result you want. Its not just intended for AG, it works for kits and extract beers too.
The yeast supplied with this kit (if thats is what you are using ) will go down to about 15*C before you approach the zone where the pitching rate probably needs to be increased. If it were me I would be aiming for a lower ferment temperature (than 20*C ) to give a cleaner more lagery taste. I have only made up this kit in the cooler months (since I dont operate a brew fridge) and fermented low with either one yeast packet (15*C) or two (13*C). If I fermented it at summer temps I would probably use a CML Kosch yeast and ferment at ale type temps.
And if you read the kit instructions Coopers tell you to leave it 12 weeks before it comes good as far as I can remember. And thats what I found.
I also suggest you read the kit review here to see what others have done
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/coopers-european-lager-review.17845/

Hi. Read many of those posts. Looks like it may Bebe ready for October. Do you think 25g saaz will be enough. I won’t add any sugar.

 

[terrym]

My notes tell me I have used 40g Saaz or Motueka for a straight dry hop but only 25g when I made up a Hallertau hop tea then chucked the lot in after a good steep and cool down. Any more would be too much for me.
To be honest this lager and the similar pilsner are drinkable after about 6 weeks but do seem to improve if condioned for longer, hence the 3 month recommendation. And I have a beer fridge and condition them at low temperature in there.

 

[bez]

My notes tell me I have used 40g Saaz or Motueka for a straight dry hop but only 25g when I made up a Hallertau hop tea then chucked the lot in after a good steep and cool down. Any more would be too much for me.
To be honest this lager and the similar pilsner are drinkable after about 6 weeks but do seem to improve if condioned for longer, hence the 3 month recommendation. And I have a beer fridge and condition them at low temperature in there.

Thanks for the details

 

[Pirate_Pete]

Bit late to the party on this one. However Coopers recommend putting Light dry malt extract in this rather than dextrose.
They did have this mentioned on their website, but since the site has been updated I can't find it now.
I have just bottled one. I added 25 grams of Saaz at the beginning of fermentation.
Then dry hopped with another 25 grams after a week or so.
I used 190 grams of dextrose to bulk prime. I normally use 170 grams, but I didn't think the last European Lager was fizzy enough. That's for a 23 litre batch.
It's only been bottled a week. I wasn't planning on drinking it till October at least.

The only thing I can find on their website says use brew enhancer 3
https://www.diybeer.com/au/european-lager.html

 

[bez]

Bit late to the party on this one. However Coopers recommend putting Light dry malt extract in this rather than dextrose.
They did have this mentioned on their website, but since the site has been updated I can't find it now.
I have just bottled one. I added 25 grams of Saaz at the beginning of fermentation.
Then dry hopped with another 25 grams after a week or so.
I used 190 grams of dextrose to bulk prime. I normally use 170 grams, but I didn't think the last European Lager was fizzy enough. That's for a 23 litre batch.
It's only been bottled a week. I wasn't planning on drinking it till October at least.

The only thing I can find on their website says use brew enhancer 3
https://www.diybeer.com/au/european-lager.html

ThNks. I used the brew enhancer 3 and 25g saaz

 

[bez]

Day 11 added a Saaz hop bag on day 8. Couldn’t get the room below 18 but usually 20. No eggy smells and it’s down to 1010 from 1042. I think it’s finished but will leave for another three days. Might get down a point and three on priming. Hopefully 1006 I. Totality. Then for the long conditioning and layering process.

 

[Pirate_Pete]

I can never get mine down below 1010.
I know terrym says his go to 1006 though.
I've checked mine using two different hydrometers.

 

[bez]

I can never get mine down below 1010.
I know terrym says his go to 1006 though.
I've checked mine using two different hydrometers.

That’s reassuring.

 

[bez]

Bulk Primed after two weeks. At 1010 from 1042
150 g dextrose. No smells. Tasted a bit malty. Not very pale. Quite cloudy. Bottled I will have a look in three weeks. Then try and cool it.

 

[bez]

Bottled 7 days. The lager is great ice cold. Great taste head and lacing.

 

[Sandimas]

I can never get mine down below 1010.
I know terrym says his go to 1006 though.

What temperature do you ferment it at Pete? As you're in Australia I guess it's warm unless you have a brewfridge?

I've got mine down to 1.006/8 but ferment it long and slow in mid-winter when the north-facing ground-floor room is at it's coldest, 12-14C. Usually takes 3 weeks or more. Just wondering if this affects it, I've seen other brews run out of steam if fermented on the warm side?

 

[bez]

I think I will try this again in winter. Couldn’t get mine under 19 oc.

 

[Pirate_Pete]

What temperature do you ferment it at Pete? As you're in Australia I guess it's warm unless you have a brewfridge?

I've got mine down to 1.006/8 but ferment it long and slow in mid-winter when the north-facing ground-floor room is at it's coldest, 12-14C. Usually takes 3 weeks or more. Just wondering if this affects it, I've seen other brews run out of steam if fermented on the warm side?

In a fridge mate. The only way to go.
The last couple I've brewed at about 13C.
I can't remember but I think I may have had it in the fridge for 3 weeks. Including a cold crash.
However I wasn't happy with the carbonation last time. I'm thinking of only taking it down to 16C and see how that goes.
I'm sure if kept at a constant 16C it'll still come out as a nice clean crisp beer.
The other problem is they say keep it for 10 or 12 weeks. So it's a long time between experimenting to find out what the result is.

1010 is about the lowest any of my beers go. I only use malt. No dextrose or sugar, so I'm not sure if that matters.

By the way it's only 14C here today. Wind chill even colder. I think it's about 8C.