Coopers Lager Bundle Kit

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dublin12

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So having had a bit of a sabbatical I have returned to brewing - having decided to focus just on beer.

This is only my second beer - the first was the Youngs IPA

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=68075


I decided to make no changes whatsoever to the recipe.


The bundle is this:

Capture.jpg


23 stg on Amazon.

So basically pour included 1kg bag sugar, the can of malt, 23l water into fermenter, pitch the "lager" yeast at 21c and instructions say leave a week.

I didn't bother with a SG.

Whipped air into it using my degasser

Went into the ferm fridge at the lowest recommended temp of 21c

Day 1: Shows froth from the reverse degassing

20170813_145244.jpg


Day 2: This was the last time there was anything on the surface of the beer

20170814_110006.jpg



Observations: no real krausen, no bubbling at the airlock, practically flat top from day 3 onwards. It appears to me that this beer had fermented almost completely by day 5.

Left the beer at 21c for 2 weeks , FG 1010, at which point I bottled it.

20170827_111452.jpg


Had to cut a number of the enclosed sugar drops in "half" because they are designed for 350 / 700 ml bottles not 500.

Again incredibly difficult to get a 100% tight fit on the Coopers PET bottles. After 47 bottles my hands had had enough big time.

Beer has been in bottles at 21c for about 4 days and already the bottles are hard and pretty clear - The drops seem to produce a better result than the batch method though it could be that I used less sugar in my Young's IPA recipe.

20170827_142326.jpg


Will post the final product next Sunday :thumb:
 
I did this kit a couple months ago, but I cant buy the brew enhancers here, so just bought a second can of the malt. Not bad at all, but it looked a little darker than most lagers (store bought) than I normally can get here in Canada.
 
So - 2 weeks fermenting, 2 weeks carbing, + 2 extra days clearing. All of the bottles are now remarkably clear.

Looks great - darker than normal, great fizz, nice mouth feel and very clear (no crashing done).

Taste is a bit brackish and somewhat bitter but no real bad tones to it - just not very much "middle" flavour to the beer.

In Ireland at moment you can buy better beer for cheaper/similar price (and less hassle) at the off licence but that said - I am impressed how normal a beer it looks given it was put together in the shed in 4 weeks.

Terrym - I think my next brewing effort will be AG. Probably in a year or so.

[ame="https://vimeo.com/232513827"]https://vimeo.com/232513827[/ame]
 
I felt much like you when I did a few kits ten years ago. It was a beer like beverage but lacked any real depth of flavour, and if I'm going to punish my liver, then I at least want to enjoy what I'm drinking whilst administering the punishment. I decided that if I can't reproduce something that I would be happy to buy on tap at my local, then I would'nt bother and gave up.
But I always vowed that when I have the time and space I would come back and do all grain, now I have a few brews under my belt, I am really hooked on the hobby. Even regular bottles of ale in Tesco don't hit the spot anymore when compared to what I can brew at home.
You could give extract a go first and do a boil with fresh hops, even steep some grain, I never did this in between step.
Good luck with your future brews.
 
Much appreciated Saisonator. I will have a look through your threads to get some pointers ! Thanks for the advice.
 

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