Coopers English Bitter - First taste

BigJC · Oct 21, 2014

This was my first brew, left it in the FV for two weeks and bottled it last Thursday and added 1 Coopers carbonation drop per bottle (500ml PET). The bottles have been sat in a reasonably warm room since then but patience got the better of me and I stuck one in the fridge this morning with a view to trying it this afternoon.

It hasn't quite turned out as I expected, there's not much carbonation, certainly no head on it and it tastes sweeter than I would like. I accept that the general advice is to leave it for longer but I'm concerned as to whether the rest will be as flat and sweet as this one is.

DrD · Oct 21, 2014

BigJC said:
This was my first brew, left it in the FV for two weeks and bottled it last Thursday and added 1 Coopers carbonation drop per bottle (500ml PET). The bottles have been sat in a reasonably warm room since then but patience got the better of me and I stuck one in the fridge this morning with a view to trying it this afternoon.

It hasn't quite turned out as I expected, there's not much carbonation, certainly no head on it and it tastes sweeter than I would like. I accept that the general advice is to leave it for longer but I'm concerned as to whether the rest will be as flat and sweet as this one is.

Give them a quick shake to agitate the yeast back into suspension, then another week in the warm before you get too concerned.

Coopers kits I have done have occasionally needed quite a long time to prime, the yeast settles out quickly which means you don't have as much left in suspension to prime the bottles. It'll get there eventually though.

Sandimas · Oct 21, 2014

BigJC said:
bottled it last Thursday ....It hasn't quite turned out as I expected, there's not much carbonation, certainly no head on it and it tastes sweeter than I would like.

That's not long enough for it to carbonate: 1-2 weeks in the warm, followed by a week minimum in the cool. Plus carbonation drops don't seem to work as well as they're made out, you'd have been better with half a teaspoon of normal household sugar.

The sweetness will disappear as it matures, usually after 6-8 weeks.

So bring the bottles back into the warm for 2 weeks, then store them somewhere cool and start drinking them early Dec, you should have much better carbonated and less sweet beer. Patience is your friend with homebrew, you can drink the beer immediately after brewing but it won't be at it's best until 2-3 months after bottling.

BigJC · Oct 22, 2014

Thanks for the replies, I accept my impatience has backfired on me however it's good to know that I won't have to throw away my first efforts.

As an aside, my Youngs American IPA is in it's first week and is frothing away like mad in the FV, so much more than the Coopers. The only real difference in technique when starting them off was that I gave the Youngs wort a much more thorough stir and really got it frothing. Could this be the difference or is it the yeast or higher sugar content?

LordVauban · Oct 22, 2014

Proper aeration makes a real difference in my experience and helps prevent stuck fermentation. But it should not, I don't think, affect carbonation. On the latter I think the key, as others have said, is warmth and time. (I barrelled a brewferm beer and transferred it to the shed too early - it never got the bubbles it shoulda, unfortunately, which was a real shame as it had lovely flavour.)

Coopers English Bitter - First taste

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