# 14yr old coopers kit!!



## jll (5/6/18)

Been brewing AG for a few years and one of the kids teachers gave me an unopened coopers kit he got 14 years ago. Actually looked brand new but the attached pics tell a different story. 

Anyhow, I was thinking about brewing this for the hell of it, including trying to get a starter from the old yeast. Can anyone tell me why I shouldn’t (apart from it tasting shite).


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## MHB (6/6/18)

No - you have identified the main concern.
The Lager might be surprisingly dark, very low in bitterness and the yeast very dead but other than that have fun.
I'm just assuming you have plenty of other beer and time on your hands.
Mark


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## Rocker1986 (6/6/18)

I think tasting shit is probably the main reason why you wouldn't waste your time on it. 

You could brew it anyway, then just give it away to people you don't like.


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## Garfield (6/6/18)

What are those plastic wheels in the black case? Some sort of temperature controller? Brewing sure looked a little different in the 90s


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## DU99 (6/6/18)

ditch the can of goo..there about $12-$15..


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## brewgasm (6/6/18)

$11 at woollies at the moment


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## hoppy2B (6/6/18)

Add a tablespoon of gypsum to the water and use an English yeast, it will turn out beautiful.


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## jll (6/6/18)

DU99 said:


> ditch the can of goo..there about $12-$15..



Nah, that was my reason, to use old extract and the solid brick of dex that came with it.


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## jll (6/6/18)

MHB said:


> No - you have identified the main concern.
> The Lager might be surprisingly dark, very low in bitterness and the yeast very dead but other than that have fun.
> I'm just assuming you have plenty of other beer and time on your hands.
> Mark



Good point, might throw something low alpha in. Gotta boil anyhow as the boss lady is concerned I’ll poison myself with botulism. 

Gotta try the yeast but have plenty to pitch if it fails. 

And yeah, plenty on tap at home so can afford a drain pour.


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## hoppy2B (6/6/18)

Garfield said:


> What are those plastic wheels in the black case? Some sort of temperature controller? Brewing sure looked a little different in the 90s


Temp control with a Coopers brew kit, bahahahaha! Good one. Coopers idea of temp control is: stick your fermenter somewhere warm.


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## koshari (6/6/18)

It will absolutely be darker but given you take due care at should come out ok. Dont underestimate how good a preserving medium cans are. I would ditch the yeast however.


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## Jack of all biers (6/6/18)

I've got an old can of Coopers Lager too. Definite liquid sound when shaken. No use by date or best after, though they admit to using cane sugar in this one.

It's got a bit of dust on top, but if I drink it, do you reckon it'll be okay?










EDIT - I don't think the VCR was around when this beer was produced.


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## Brewman_ (7/6/18)

Mate, brew it, take all the good advise here.

Get your mates around and drink it and tell us how it goes.

Umm - not.

Cheers Steve


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## Kev R (7/6/18)

your biggest problem will be trying to find a vcr machine so you can religiously follow the comprehensive detailed instructions


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## hoppy2B (7/6/18)

Maybe Coopers have an online video one can access.


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## jll (7/6/18)

Kev R said:


> your biggest problem will be trying to find a vcr machine so you can religiously follow the comprehensive detailed instructions



Tomorrow I will find one of those vrc to DVD places I’ve heard about. Then find someone with a DVD player......

Luckily the below young stallion is featured in a full set of printed instructions. Just gotta find somewhere I can provide a nice 27 degrees for the perfect fermentation [emoji50]


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## buckerooni (7/6/18)

judging by the smiles, you can't go wrong with this one.


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## hoppy2B (8/6/18)

That picture is really helpful. When you're next making up a Coopers kit, don't forget to squeeze 4 oranges and add that to the fermenter.


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## peterlonz (8/6/18)

Don't waste your time.
I have occasionally let Coopers kit cans get well out of date, typically up to 3 years.
I brewed one but the contents tasted metallic & the brew was frankly shite.
Then I gave a couple of oldies to a friend, I did warned him!
He also found the result undrinkable.
I don't know exactly how the deterioration happens, is it logarithmic or linear, who knows.


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## hoppy2B (8/6/18)

peterlonz said:


> Don't waste your time.
> I have occasionally let Coopers kit cans get well out of date, typically up to 3 years.
> I brewed one but the contents tasted metallic & the brew was frankly shite.
> Then I gave a couple of oldies to a friend, I did warned him!
> ...


Thanks for the anecdotal evidence. I have a can lying around somewhere that is probably approaching the best before date.


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## Digga (14/7/18)

jll said:


> Good point, might throw something low alpha in. Gotta boil anyhow as the boss lady is concerned I’ll poison myself with botulism.
> 
> Gotta try the yeast but have plenty to pitch if it fails.
> 
> And yeah, plenty on tap at home so can afford a drain pour.



Wondering how this turned out. You seemed dead keen on doing it!


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## Gazza1958 (14/7/18)

i did the same but a pale ale coopers 2007 and it was the best pale ale i have tasted it came out ok lol we all laugh as none of us expected such a go taste lol


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## jll (15/7/18)

Digga said:


> Wondering how this turned out. You seemed dead keen on doing it!



HA it’s currently in the fermenter. I managed to make a starter from the original dried yeast once I stepped it up a couple of times. Really surprised it was alive at all. Actually ramped up well. 

The can smelled like molasses and was really dark and the pack of sugar solid but I added some grain in a mini mash (Munich, Special b and 60l crystal) and did a 20 min hop addition of some hallertau and saaz. 

I don’t expect it to be good but I am happy I gave it a go.


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## munta (16/7/18)

jll said:


> HA it’s currently in the fermenter. I managed to make a starter from the original dried yeast once I stepped it up a couple of times. Really surprised it was alive at all. Actually ramped up well.
> 
> The can smelled like molasses and was really dark and the pack of sugar solid but I added some grain in a mini mash (Munich, Special b and 60l crystal) and did a 20 min hop addition of some hallertau and saaz.
> 
> ...



I'll keep an eye on this, interested to see how it turns out


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## Fergy1987 (2/8/18)

jll said:


> Tomorrow I will find one of those vrc to DVD places I’ve heard about. Then find someone with a DVD player......
> 
> Luckily the below young stallion is featured in a full set of printed instructions. Just gotta find somewhere I can provide a nice 27 degrees for the perfect fermentation [emoji50]
> 
> View attachment 112741



Is that freaking Paul Mercurio?


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## Naboo (2/8/18)

Fergy1987 said:


> Is that freaking Paul Mercurio?



Sure is. I watched it not long ago. The instructions were pretty loose haha


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## Deepregret (31/8/18)

just brew it mate. What have you got to lose really? If you don't you'll never know. Sure, a lot of people who I'm sure know better are saying don't do it, but isn't being a brewer all about experimenting and always learning and being open to failures and taking risks? Just use some fresh yeast and keep everything clean, control yr ferment temp, and I'm sure you'll get something drinkable.
As soon as someone tells you not to do something, do it! They are just scared that you'll succeed!


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## Jack of all biers (1/9/18)

Ha, ha. He did. A month and a half back and 4 posts above yours. How'd it end up @jll?


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## jll (1/9/18)

Yeah... well all that’s holding me up now is being bothered to pour this down the drain. 

It fermented well, got down to 1008, but just tastes shite. started sulphury so I let it go a bit more and now it has a bit of a sour edge with some other flavour I can’t describe. Needless to say I won’t bother wasting any more time on it. 

Didn’t take much time and I have the space so no great loss. My guess is it’s mostly yeast related. Whouda thought 15 year old dried yeast wouldn’t be great [emoji23]

I did think about harvesting yeast from the fermenter and making a new starter but that is probably just a waste of time. Back to brewing beers I am likely to enjoy drinking instead. 

Oh well, was worth it just to see what would happen and I may bottle a few just for the hell of it (not sure why though).


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## altone (1/9/18)

jll said:


> Tomorrow I will find one of those vrc to DVD places I’ve heard about. Then find someone with a DVD player......


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## Rocker1986 (1/9/18)

It may have turned out better with fresh yeast but with malt extract that old it probably would still have been pretty crappy. 

If I had the opportunity without getting in the way of regular production I'd probably do something like that just to see how shit it really was [emoji23]


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