# Re-culturing Coopers Commercial Yeast



## hendos (21/2/11)

Hi just curious if anyone has had success with the method stated below.

1. Buy a six pack of Coopers Original Pale Ale and place upright in the fridge for about a week for the yeast to settle.
2. Mix about 600ml of boiling water and 4 tablespoons of dextrose/sugar in a pyrex jug, cover with cling-wrap and leave to cool in the fridge for about 30mins.
4. Open 4 bottles and decant the beer into a jug, leaving behind the yeast sediment - about a couple of centimetres.
5. Pour the sugared water equally into each bottle, cover with cling-wrap and secure with a rubber band.
6. Shake the bottles then place them in a dark spot at a temperature in the mid 20s.
7. Give the bottles a shake in the morning and at night to keep the yeast in suspension.
8. After around 2 to 3 days the yeast should become active and begin forming a head.
9. Pitch the active yeast into a brew immediately or store in the fridge for about a week. Just remember to pull it out of the fridge to warm for couple of hours prior to pitching.


I have had mine in a plastic coke bottle for 2 days. There is no head just slightly a little foam on top.
The plastic bootle is now firm and when i shake the bootle it foams up and bubbles.

Would it be time to pitch it in a wort.? any advise


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## J Grimmer (21/2/11)

do a search on here for yeast culturing you will find heaps, i have done it in the past with great sucess, couple of things i did differently was to use coopers tallies and just reserved the the sediment or last 1 cm of beer in the bottom. i had the wort to reculture pre made and ready to go, so when i cracked the beer it is al systems go. i found one tallie was enough to start a culture. i didn't bother with cling wrap i had a bung and airlock spare. found airlock activity with in 24hrs. 

As for is it ready to pitch you should be able to see the yeast grow when have a fair amount, i used a tallie again it was just what i had around and when airlock activity stopped i refridgrated til ready it needed to be used. it seemed to work and made reasonable beer.

Jan.


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## Cocko (21/2/11)

A great guide!


View attachment Coopers_Yeast.pdf


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## Jeff Margrie (21/2/11)

hendos said:


> Hi just curious if anyone has had success with the method stated below.
> 
> 1. Buy a six pack of Coopers Original Pale Ale and place upright in the fridge for about a week for the yeast to settle.
> 2. Mix about 600ml of boiling water and 4 tablespoons of dextrose/sugar in a pyrex jug, cover with cling-wrap and leave to cool in the fridge for about 30mins.
> ...



I haven't used that method,

but have used this one below many times and has always worked each time.

Cheers, WoolBrew :icon_cheers: 



Cocko said:


> A great guide!
> 
> 
> View attachment 44230


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## Bribie G (21/2/11)

I get good results from Coopers Sparkling, three tallies, poured very carefully and the dregs into a sanitized litre bottle - I use a lab bottle but a good container is a 1.5L V-8 heavy glass juice bottle, clingwrapped. Top up to a third full with spare wort (I do All grain and it's the proper wort, but make up your own from LDME) - shake whenever you are going past and top up next day to two thirds full and shake. Gets me a good starter in about 2 days if the bottles were fresh, or no longer than 3 days. Got one on the go at the moment, a really good fermentation - pitched last Monday and kegging tomorrow :icon_cheers:


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## Josh (22/2/11)

I'd suggest using malt extract instead of sugar/dextrose as the sugar doesn't have the necessary nutrients for yeast growth.


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## Gormand (22/2/11)

Josh said:


> I'd suggest using malt extract instead of sugar/dextrose as the sugar doesn't have the necessary nutrients for yeast growth.



If you have it on hand could you throw in yeast nutrient instead of using malt extract?


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## manticle (22/2/11)

Different things. The malt enables the yeast to reproduce which the nutrient won't. Nothing wrong with putting the nutrient in there though.


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## hendos (22/2/11)

Thanks guys

I am going to stick the yeast in the wort tommrow see how i go.
I think next time i will use the other method and the LDM.

I am just a bit worried if the yeast at the moment is active enough.


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## going down a hill (22/2/11)

I got a coopers yeast going on Saturday night thanks to the coopers PDF guide, when I put the yeast into the wort today it started bubbling straight away. I got excited, then it stopped, it must have been the c02 in the starter. 

Coopers Pale Ale doesnt taste right without the yeast in it. I could really taste the similarity of other big Australian beers that use Pride of Ringwood.


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## Cocko (22/2/11)

I am going to brew with a coopers yeast again [timely thread], have to make a low carb beer like coopers clear for the missus - NY health kick - please lets not start that conversation.

Anyway, is the sparkling and pale the same yeast? Reason I ask is if the sparkling is a little stronger in achieving a lower FG I will farm that instead...

Thinking 95% Pilsner, 3% caramunich, 2% Dex + Coopers yeast.

Anyway, is the sparkling and pale the same yeast?



BTW: I remember reading once, a guy just tipped his Coopers PA dregs into his fermenter - took a while to take off but worked out for him in the end, not suggesting it by all means.... but cheers to yeast!


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## Margwar (23/2/11)

I think too that having the lid on the Coke bottle wouldn't of helped. Just cover with some al foil and make sure that you give it a swish around as often as you can. Let that yeast breathe man...
I just used 3 stubbies of Cooper's Pale Ale, beer off the top, swish the yeast, poured into a 500ml starter wort... next day another 500ml starter wort and the next day into my wort... Went off like a cracker and produced a great pale ale...


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## mwd (23/2/11)

Cocko said:


> I am going to brew with a coopers yeast again [timely thread], have to make a low carb beer like coopers clear for the missus - NY health kick - please lets not start that conversation.
> 
> Anyway, is the sparkling and pale the same yeast? Reason I ask is if the sparkling is a little stronger in achieving a lower FG I will farm that instead...
> 
> ...



I read somewhere it may have been here that Coopers use the same yeast in all the ales. I actually cultured yeast off 2 stubbies of Vintage 2010 and it took off dead easy no problems. I think the Coopers yeast is one tough strain and cultures up quite readily.


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## RobW (23/2/11)

Cocko said:


> A great guide!
> 
> 
> View attachment 44230



Except when you cool the sterilised wort in the fridge cover it with a sheet of sanitised aluminium foil so it doesn't get infected :unsure: 

2 litre PET bottles are good for reculturing. When the starter is bginning to bubble squeeze half the air out, allow the bottle to refill with air, then squeeze the air out again and put the lid back on. Shake well and leave until the CO2 forces the bottle back to it's original shape. Remove the lid (carefully) and repeat. That way you get a well aerated starter. Keep doing that until it's finished then crash chill, pour off the liquid after the yeast has settled and it's ready to pitch.


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## hendos (24/2/11)

hendos said:


> Thanks guys
> 
> I am going to stick the yeast in the wort tommrow see how i go.
> I think next time i will use the other method and the LDM.
> ...




I placed the yeats mixture in a pale ale wort on the 22nd and it has been bubbling away nicley and the yeast is very active.
Fingers crossed it turns out alright.

So far smells and looks good


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## laxation (22/5/17)

Forgive me for bumping a super old thread!

I've followed the instructions in the PDF and listed here - with the dregs from 6 stubbies I added 800ml water + 80g malt. Left it since Friday. Today I added another 800ml + 80g malt. It's frothing about nicely.

I'm looking to make roughly 2L yeast, with the plan of giving the yeast a quick swirl, pouring 500ml in a jar to re-culture for the next brew, and use the 1.5L in the brew.

For the first brew, was going to leave the 1.5L in the fridge and pour out the top layer, leaving the yeast dregs behind to pitch.
For the leftover 500ml, I will add 1L of water/malt when I'm ready and just leave it for a few days.

How does this sound - did I do it right?


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