# Coopers Pale Ale And Bottles



## Yob (7/12/09)

Goodafternoon all, Ive been trying to get down a Coopers Pale Ale brew and (2nd one) have met with some success I think, however, the Pale Ale I have produced bares little similarity to the "Real" Version, mine dont seem to produce the cloudyness I associate with my beloved Coopers Pale Ale. 

Is this due to, in part that coopers brew in the bottle? Do they do Primary in the bottle? Surely not as the CO2 would not be able to escape?

I dont seen to get the sediment layer that you get from a purchased bottle also..?? ..which is not really a problem but I am curious.. as to why the differance occurs..

I have now a vast collection of ONLY coopers bottles to do my brews as I believe these bottles are less prone to go BANG.

Also, can anyone suggest another type of Ale that I might source to continue this new and ecxiting hobby/passion/lifestyle...?


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## Andrew Coleman (7/12/09)

iamozziyob said:


> Goodafternoon all, Ive been trying to get down a Coopers Pale Ale brew and (2nd one) have met with some success I think, however, the Pale Ale I have produced bares little similarity to the "Real" Version, mine dont seem to produce the cloudyness I associate with my beloved Coopers Pale Ale.
> 
> Is this due to, in part that coopers brew in the bottle? Do they do Primary in the bottle? Surely not as the CO2 would not be able to escape?
> 
> ...



The kit doesn't taste necisarilly anything like cpa if you use the yeast under the lid and probs not much like it with just an average ale yeast such as US-05 (although would make a much better beer), the secret to cpa is all in the yeast basically so if you make a large yeast starter from a couple coopers pale ale bottles and use that the flavour will be much closer to the real thing, Also there should be enough sediment if you just dont rack or filter your beer lol! but coopers get it from adding more yeast when bottling so if you really wanted to you could add some more of the coopers yeast (you got from the bottle) and add it with sugar when bulk priming. And again the IBU is quite low so if you want to add some more Pride of Ringwood, you could add another 15g for 50 mins, fresh hops always make homebrew that bit nicer, and you could even boil up another 10g couple grams for extra hop flavour.


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## Cube (7/12/09)

Hi. You need to use the yeast that coopers put in their bottles to get that 'coopers' taste. Also use 1 kg of malt LDME and steep some grains, maybe carapils ( if not just for better head and body ).

Search re-culturing coopers yeast. Beware - ferment coopers yeast above 20 deg ( 16 is best I have found ) and you will have overpowering banana and pears in your beer.

Start using US05 yeast and re using the trub. It's the best yeast in my books for ales. Clean, clear, crisp and lets the beer speak for itself. Unless you want a yeast profile then use another type and as a good example is coopers yeast to get that coopers taste.


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## Yob (7/12/09)

Cube said:


> Hi. You need to use the yeast that coopers put in their bottles to get that 'coopers' taste. Also use 1 kg of malt LDME and steep some grains, maybe carapils ( if not just for better head and body ).
> 
> Search re-culturing coopers yeast. Beware - ferment coopers yeast above 20 deg ( 16 is best I have found ) and you will have overpowering banana and pears in your beer.
> 
> Start using US05 yeast and re using the trub. It's the best yeast in my books for ales. Clean, clear, crisp and lets the beer speak for itself. Unless you want a yeast profile then use another type and as a good example is coopers yeast to get that coopers taste.




Whoa.. quite alot to think about there... nice one indeed.. the first one I put down was evil.. it was brewed at excessive temperatures and i damn near threw up.. my second one was about 20 -24 and is turning out to be drinkable.. if only just.. How low a temperature will yeast still ferment at? I didnt think they worked as well a lower temperatures or is slower brew more desireable for the CPA?


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## Yob (7/12/09)

Drewcifer said:


> The kit doesn't taste necisarilly anything like cpa if you use the yeast under the lid and probs not much like it with just an average ale yeast such as US-05 (although would make a much better beer), the secret to cpa is all in the yeast basically so if you make a large yeast starter from a couple coopers pale ale bottles and use that the flavour will be much closer to the real thing, Also there should be enough sediment if you just dont rack or filter your beer lol! but coopers get it from adding more yeast when bottling so if you really wanted to you could add some more of the coopers yeast (you got from the bottle) and add it with sugar when bulk priming. And again the IBU is quite low so if you want to add some more Pride of Ringwood, you could add another 15g for 50 mins, fresh hops always make homebrew that bit nicer, and you could even boil up another 10g couple grams for extra hop flavour.



Good info Cheers.. I didn tfilter or rack and didnt really want the sediment.. I love it to the last drop... I was merely surprised at the differance between a bought and one from the cupboard.. theres a newbi for ya.. lol interesting about adding the yeast to the bottle, would they eat up on the carbonation sugars yeah? Is that how the cloudyness is gained? I guess thats what Im after in the long run!!

Cheers all the info's great!


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## Andrew Coleman (7/12/09)

I agree with cube also about the temp and if you wanted to the extra grain additions he's talkin bout would be great but probs just start off simple first, could you write up the 2nd recipie just so i can see what you're already workin with? As with the cloudy appearance, have you ever noticed sometimes coopers pale ale is surprisingly clear is because the sediment on the bottom of the keg or bottle hasn't been shaken up though the beer. And also are you fairly new to homebrewing, you just buying kits from the supermarket mate? my recipie for a more full flavoured coopers pale ale goes something like this...

1.7g can coopers pale ale
500g Light Dry Malt Extract
500g light Belgium Candysugar (invert sugar, boiled white sugar and pinch of citric acid at certain high temps to convert to less complex sugars http://oz.craftbrewer.org/Library/Methods/...ers/candy.shtml shows you how to make it, but use 500g dextrose instead if you can't be stuffed)
50g Carapils grain crushed
8g of Pride of Ringwood for 50mins 
8g of Pride of Ringwood for 20mins (just for a lil extra flavour)


...and made a giant starter out of the sediment of 12 coopers stubbies for the yeast!

hehe makes a great beer mate, enhanced flavours of the normal coopers pale ale really, try it if you want dude!


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## RobH (8/12/09)

iamozziyob: There are alot of tips here, but I think it helps to prioritise them in order of importance ... having a heap of info thrown at you can be overwhelming for some, and the most important bits can sometimes be lost.

Priority 1: If there is only one peice of advice you take from this thread - do this: Ferment your ale at a cooler temperature - I find 18 deg c to be a good temperature ... some say 16, but I find that if I try for 16 I tend to cool it down too much (i.e. I accidentally get it down to 12-14) and the yeast falls asleep ... for me 18 deg works because I find it easy to maintain that temperature. If you have a portable thermometer - take it around (and under) the house and leave it in a spot for a while to see what the ambient temperature in that location is - try and find a spot that stays below 20 deg all day (yeah can be really hard in summer time) - then something as simple as draping a wet towel over the fermenter will help to keep it cool - as the water evaporates it cools the fermenter. Other people buy a big tub and sit the fermenter in ice ... or they freeze water in soft drink bottles and use those around the fermenter to keep it cool.
Personally I have two good locations - under my house where the temperature range is 16-20 degrees even on hot 35 deg days here ... and an old powered-off fridge where I use frozen water in soft drink bottles. Under the house is little or no maintenance in terms of temperature control, whilst the fridge option requires daily changing of the ice bottle.
Before your next brew do some homework and investigate suitable and workable options around your house for keeping your fermenter at a lower temperature.

Priority 2: Is the yeast, for authentic Coopers Pale Ale taste, the yeast recovered from a couple of bottles of Coopers Pale Ale is (arguably) the best yeast for this brew - this article describes in simple steps how to prepare yeast out of a couple of Coopers Pale Ale stubbies - http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum//ind...;showarticle=40 (look for the PDF attachment).

After temperature control and yeast is sorted out, only then start thinking about other ingredients such as extra hops, and steeping grains.

Why do I say this? Well as a reasonably new brewer who is still on kits, I made the mistake of trying all sorts of things before I got the more important basics down ... so I ended up at times with brews that I learnt absolutely nothing from because I didn't know what addition caused what effect - which gave me nothing to go on to improve my next brew.

(oh and to see how Coopers do it - check out their website and take the virtual brewery tour - http://www.coopers.com.au )


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## Andrew Coleman (29/12/09)

how'd you end up with this in the end mate, what was ur recipie in the end?


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## Yob (29/12/09)

Just getting ready to put it down this week, I think adding grains etc will have to wait till the next brew, Im still trying to get the other items down pat.. sterilisation and brewing temp.. two of the biggest ones I think. Still, I think Im getting there and maybe will try your recipe on the next one, Thanx for the recipe and advice, bloody cool site, really appreciate the assistance provided here.

Nice one ALL :icon_chickcheers:


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## Andrew Coleman (29/12/09)

No worries mate goodluck brewing, this site has helped me with everything, basically improved my beer 100% when i found the site, beforehand i was going off some dodgey book i got from brewcraft lol! I'm putting down a Coopers Pale ale-like clone next consisting of...

x1 Can coopers pale ale
500g Light Dried Malt
500g Light Belgian Candy Sugar
30g Dark Crystal Malt
10g Amarillo @ 30 Minutes
10g Saaz @ 10 Minutes
*Coopers Yeast From the bottle

Pretty excited on how it turns out!


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## Yob (30/12/09)

Sweet.. let me know how it ends up eh!


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## [email protected] (31/12/09)

Drewcifer said:


> No worries mate goodluck brewing, this site has helped me with everything, basically improved my beer 100% when i found the site, beforehand i was going off some dodgey book i got from brewcraft lol! I'm putting down a Coopers Pale ale-like clone next consisting of...
> 
> x1 Can coopers pale ale
> 500g Light Dried Malt
> ...



That sounds great.
Thanks for sharing your research and hard work!!


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