Coopers Mexican Cerveza Fail

[semperparatus72]

I thought i would try another stab at Homebrewing so i opted for a Coopers Mexican Lager. Followed the procedure to the letter. It was stored in the fermenting barrel fo 7 days and the temp was at an optimum 21degrees as we were having a heat wave. I used Coopers brew enhancer 2 as recommended and bottled into 500ml bottles with 1 teaspoonful of sugar. Now almost 8 weeks later the brew has a week fizz that peters out almost instantly and the taste is very weak also, more like flavoured water than anything , and there is no head whatsoever to the lager.
What has went wrong?

 

[alanywiseman.]

Do you have any hydrometer readings?

Usually problems relating to carbonation are either that they were not left in the warm long enough or they have not been left to conidition in the cold long enough. The first produces the CO2 by fermentation within the sealed bottle, the second part gives the CO2 time to be absorbed by the beer

 

[Drunken Horse]

I've been doing some coopers kits recently, just finished the Canadian Blonde. Dont follow the instructions when it comes to timings leave in the bucket for longer than a week I've found 2 weeks to be about right so far. Brew it short I'd recommend only making the lighter beers up to 20 litres I havent done a darker coopers kit yet (doing the dangerous stout next!).

Did you use white sugar, brewing sugar or something else to make it? Theres a packing order to which is best to use with a better head the better the sugar you use.

 

[semperparatus72]

I had done a Mexican Cerveza and an Australia Lager both coopers. They had both turned out as described above. However i had put a bottle of the Australian Lager in my fridge 4 days ago and i am sitting here drinking it just now as i type. It is a lot better, there is life to it and there is still some bubbles rising in the beer. So as alanwiseyman was saying i think it needs time in the cold to cndition better. It had been left indoors during a long warm spell we have been having. Im going to put them all outside for a few weeks now the weather has cooled down greatly and see how they do.
The cerveza was made with coopers brew enhancer 2 as recommended, fermented for 7 days until it read 1.012 on the hydrometer 2 days running then bottled. Similar stats for the coopers Australian lager. Although i used 500gms spraymalt and 500gms sugar for that

 

[Mbarn]

I'd agree ref brewing time. Seems too short. I'm yet to get a coopers kit to finish in less than 10 days.

I only use the carb drops, which I assume are a match per spoon of sugar. One is never enough, always a little flat, 2 is spot on.

 

[semperparatus72]

I'd agree ref brewing time. Seems too short. I'm yet to get a coopers kit to finish in less than 10 days.

I only use the carb drops, which I assume are a match per spoon of sugar. One is never enough, always a little flat, 2 is spot on.

2 for what size of bottle. I used 1 spoon of sugar for a 500ml bottle.

 

[Mbarn]

I'd agree ref brewing time. Seems too short. I'm yet to get a coopers kit to finish in less than 10 days.

I only use the carb drops, which I assume are a match per spoon of sugar. One is never enough, always a little flat, 2 is spot on.

2 for what size of bottle. I used 1 spoon of sugar for a 500ml bottle.

500ml. The coopers instructions say 1 for 330 and 2 for 750, so I hedged my bets.

 

[Goat Boy]

Mine too turned out flat & thin. Put it down to the fact I'd used glucose for bottle priming (only found out afterwards glucose isn't as 'strong' as table sugar) but sounds like I might've added to a characteristic the brew had anyway. Would defo brew short and slightly overprime if I did again. Don't get me wrong though.. I still swigged it!

 

[Mbarn]

I've just brewed this coopers cervaza. Not one I would choose myself (it was a gift), as I'm not a fan of corona or sol type lagers unless it is free :-) I brewed for 11 days with brew enhancer 2, then been in the bottle for 3 days with 2 carb drops per 500ml bottle. It tastes just like I expected - sweet, thin, and lacking depth, but ultimately fizzy and easy to drink. It's already pretty similar to Sol/corona. Hopefully it will improve after 4 - 8 weeks more ageing, but it's not a bad drink now.

 

[Mbarn]

Improved a bit over the last two weeks. Not a bad lager at all.

 

[kentmark]

I'd question the 7days in the fv. Whilst the kit instructions often say something like this i've never had it hold true. Hydrometer readings are your best guide. IIRC when I did this kit it took a while for the gravity to suitably drop, also got left for some time in the garage before drinking.