# Coopers Lager



## Joshisgood (1/8/11)

Hey people, I've got a coopers lager kit that came with my fermenter, and I know it's probably not the greatest kit around but I don't want it to go to waste. Was wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to make a decent beer with it, Maybe something a bit stronger and maybe some additional hops? Any ideas would be appreciated, cheers.​
Josh.​


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## gezlodge (1/8/11)

Joshisgood said:


> Hey people, I've got a coopers lager kit that came with my fermenter, and I know it's probably not the greatest kit around but I don't want it to go to waste. Was wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to make a decent beer with it, Maybe something a bit stronger and maybe some additional hops? Any ideas would be appreciated, cheers.​
> Josh.​


hey Josh, I done a Toucan coopers lager and after a bit of age it's alright,what I would do with one lager kit + 500 grams of Light dry malt or even a 1kg LDM and 500 dextrose and you can pick up hop tea bags morgans,copper tun ect. , cascade is a fav of mine for flavour and aroma. make to around 21 litres. cheers gez


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## Dribs (1/8/11)

Ignore Coopers instruction on temperature, brew between 18 - 22. Extra malt and/or dextrose will make it more boozy.


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## Lodan (1/8/11)

Hi Josh,

I suggest sticking to the idea of improving the kit first before attempting to make a stronger beer (edit: depends on your definition of strong! ).
Perhaps try something like this

22L
Coopers Lager
LDM 1kg
Dextrose 500g
Hallertau Mittlefrueh 20g pellets

Mix 500g of LDM with 5L of cold water. Bring to boil.
Add 20g of hops and boil for 20mins; then cool the wort down quickly

Ferment using the coopers yeast but keep your temp as low as possible (18 degC ideally)
Consider dry hopping with 10g of hops towards the end of fermentation.

What should result is a beer with a bit of body, with some nice flavour and aroma. 5.5% in the bottle

Cheers,
Lodan


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## Joshisgood (2/8/11)

Hey guys thanks for the advice there, appreciate it. 

@lodan- when you mention the boil (I've only done 2 beers so far and no boiling) you say to boil up half the ldm add hops etc, at what point to I add the other ingredients (ldm, dextrose, lager kit) do they go in the boil at all, or just into the fermenter? And when you mention cooling the wort quickly, could that be done in a sterile container in the frige or freezer? Cheers mate

Josh.

One more thing, do the hops need to be strained out or do they go into the fermenter too? Cheers


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## yum beer (2/8/11)

Hey Josh,

just add your cooled 'boiled' mix into your fermenter with the rest of your ingredients.

To cool it down, cover it and put into a water/ice bath in a sink ( laundry tub works well )
you can strain it into the fermenter if you want to reduce the hops muck, but it is necessary, it will settle out during the ferment.


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## Joshisgood (2/8/11)

Awesome, sounds like I've got myself a plan then. Thanks for the help everyone. Hey while I'm here is it worth rehydrating the packet yeast that comes with the kit or just pitch it dry? Cheers

Josh


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## Pennywise (2/8/11)

I'd be inclined to turn it into a dark ale (if you like the darker beers), if you're up for steeping some grain then 400g of pale choc & about 100g of roast barley will make it a decent dark, 800g ldme & 200g dextrose for the rest of the fermentables, a couple of packs of kit yeast wouldn't be a problem either. Hops wise I'd prolly go for Willamette if going the dark route, say 30g boiled up for 15 mins, then a little at flame out, another 20g maybe. My 2c anyway


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## peterbulger (2/8/11)

Joshisgood said:


> Hey people, I've got a coopers lager kit that came with my fermenter, and I know it's probably not the greatest kit around but I don't want it to go to waste. Was wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to make a decent beer with it, Maybe something a bit stronger and maybe some additional hops? Any ideas would be appreciated, cheers.​
> Josh.​



Hi Josh
Yeah - not the greatest kit but still can produce a good beer. You can soup it up with 100-200 g light maly or corn syrup or both. Add some haletau hops for a more europian style. You could also buy a proper lager yeast to go with it. Another option is to substitute the sugars in other kits with equivalent weight of the syrup from the Cooper's Lager.

If you are relatively new to home brewing, just make it up as normal so you know what a standard Cooper's Lager tastes like, think of how you would improve it and make it up yourself.
Cheers
Pete


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## Joshisgood (2/8/11)

@pennywise- can't say I'm a big fan of dark beers, but then again I can't say I've tried a great deal of dark beers. Any commercial beers you could recommend that are in the same sort of style as the recipe you mentioned so I could get a rough idea of taste? Cheers mate


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## Joshisgood (2/8/11)

Hey just putting an order through on craft brewer for a few things, was thinking I might grab a pack of Fermentis - Saflager W-34/70 lager yeast And use that with lodans recipe, any thoughts on that? I'm going to fill my fermenter with water and see what sort of temps I get day and night, and try ice water bath etc to see if I can get it sitting around 12c.


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## Pennywise (3/8/11)

Joshisgood said:


> @pennywise- can't say I'm a big fan of dark beers, but then again I can't say I've tried a great deal of dark beers. Any commercial beers you could recommend that are in the same sort of style as the recipe you mentioned so I could get a rough idea of taste? Cheers mate



They may not use Willamette hops in it but I'd say the Coopers Dark Ale would be a good place to start if you wanted to venture on to the dark side (not the kit, the beer they brew). Grab a few different dark beers from the bottlo to see if you even like them, after all, we do need to do some research once in a while  . I find myself researching almost every week these days :lol: I've not tried it but from my google fu'ing Abita Turbodog sounds pretty close, maybe a little more roasty than the recipe


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## Joshisgood (3/8/11)

Cool cheers pennywise, I might have to look into this researching business you speak of. Sounds quite intriguing.


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## Maz91379 (5/8/11)

As far as some suggestions for dark/darker beers to try that are easy to obtain White rabbit dark ale( not really that dark but good), Abbotsford invalid stout(cheap you can find it most places), Holgate Temptress ( abit pricy for what it is but also good). Lots of other stuff out there.

Lagers are kind of challenging to get right because of the lower fermentation temperatures needed for a clean beer. Perhaps a light ale would be a good way to start. My 2nd brew after unsatisfactory pilsner sheenanigans was a coopers or morgans lager kit lightly dry hopped ale with honey that came out fairly tasty . 

think it was something around
Kit 1.7k
1k light malt
500 grams honey coles or yellow box
25 grams hops of your choice( id go for one of these Galaxy,Chinook, Columbus, cascade ) I think i used hallertau or saaz which turned out alright but a bit strange.
Yeast under the lid(it's an ale yeast anyway)
fermented around 17-20

Wait a week to throw in the hops into the fermenter then let it go another week or so.


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## Joshisgood (6/8/11)

Hey thanks again for all the help guys, I'm going to put this one down today

22L
Coopers Lager
LDM 1kg
Dextrose 500g, honey500g or another 500g of ldm (haven't decided on that one yet)
Hallertau Mittlefrueh 20g pellets

Mix 500g of LDM with 5L of cold water. Bring to boil.
Add 20g of hops and boil for 20mins
Going to use us05 yeast for this one
Dry hop 10g

Cheers again, I'll post the results when they're In.


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## Jet01 (8/6/19)

I’m in a similar position to Josh. 
Just bought a coopers DIY kit. 
It’s been in the fermenter for 7 days. 
I went the bog standard approach as this is my first attempt. 
Followed the YouTube video. Seems like all is going well. 
W I’ll be using the coopers carb drops in the PET bottles. 
Coopers Lager tin
Coopers brew enhancer 
One packet of yeast 
23L 

What alcohol content should I expect after using the standard on the box recipe?


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## Jet01 (10/6/19)

Just bottled the cooper large batch that I mixed up 10 days ago.
The OG was 1035 FG was 1015. Looks like its going to a pretty light beer. Just hope it tastes good.

Any thoughts on what the final alcohol percentage will be? 

But the beer in the PET bottles, filled to about the 650-670mL mark with 2 drops.


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## hugsy (11/6/19)

Jet01 said:


> Just bottled the cooper large batch that I mixed up 10 days ago.
> The OG was 1035 FG was 1015. Looks like its going to a pretty light beer. Just hope it tastes good.
> 
> Any thoughts on what the final alcohol percentage will be?
> ...



Easiest way to determine ABV (that I know): https://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/


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## Paddy Melon (11/6/19)

Hi Jet01, My first Coopers larger was bog standard with brew enhancer #2 it came out at approx 4.3% before bottling. P.S.It tasted pretty good to me. It is a lawn mower beer get it down fast to quench the thirst.
M


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## Jet01 (12/6/19)

Wonder whether I did something wrong or if i just took shit readings.


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## Jet01 (21/6/19)

Bottled the batch after 8days in the fermenter. My readings with the hydrometer were a little off, but were around 1035 down to 1015. Been in the bottles for 11days. Had a taste today. Smells like bread. Not much alcohol. 
Reckon it’ll get any better after more time in the bottle?


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## PaulG79 (30/6/19)

It will, the 2 weeks that Coopers quotes is rubbish for a simple kit beer. 2 weeks is ok if you've used lots of dry hops.

From my experience over the last few years with basic kits, 4 to 6 weeks it will get as good as it's going to. 11 days is definitely way too soon to try it!

That beer I think is the 'lawnmower lager' recipe - lager kit, kit yeast and a box of be1 or 2. I actually don't mind it, it's light and sweet and smashable. Since it's cheap flavourless piss I put ice in it in summer. That's the beauty of home brew, since you did it yourself for not much investment, you can do crazy stuff like put ice in it and not feel guilty.


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## PaulG79 (30/6/19)

By the way the box of brew enhancer tells you the basic alcohol percentage you're likely to get. It'll be just north of mid strength. The kit tin on it's own is about 2.8% from memory and if you add a BE it should be around 4%, 4.3% something like that.


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## Jet01 (30/6/19)

I just bought a lager kit, pale ale kit, box of BE2 and a box of LDM. Reckon that’ll make a decent toucan?


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## PaulG79 (1/7/19)

That toucan will have a bit more flavour and will be quite alcoholic. If I was you I would probably leave out either the LDM or the box of BE2. My calculations say it'll probably be around 7% brewed to 23 litres with that combo if you don't drop something from the recipe. Cooper's yeast is pretty good but I don't know if it might struggle to ferment all that out properly. If i was you I'd use both packets if you make this beer. I would leave it in the fermenter for 12 days to 2 weeks as well just to make sure it has had time to ferment out. 

Can you get to a Big W or a brew shop? The flavour should be ok with that beer as is although pale ale and lager will sort of 'clash' so it won't produce a marked flavour either in the lager or pale ale direction. A popular toucan combo would be the real ale and the apa or you could use two cans of the lager to get a more pronounced flavour. With this one I would recommend - if you go to Big dub go buy a couple packets of the Brigalow finishing hops and follow the instructions on the pack and chuck those in, they are Galaxy flavour which will push it more in a pale ale direction. If you like lagers better, head to the home brew shop and get some Hallertau hops. The guy there will tell you how to do a basic hop steep or you can get the teabag ones like at Big w. Bear in mind the Cooper's yeast is ale so it won't produce lager like fizz. If you can get to the home brew shop just ask the dude what his/her favourite pale ale hops are and chuck those in.

Also with this one, definitely you will need to leave it for 6 to 8 weeks before drinking. I know it sucks to wait that long but there's a bit going on in here and it'll need time for the flavours to knit together.


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## PaulG79 (1/7/19)

I started out with the same DIY kit you got and I've been doing kits for a couple years now, one piece of advice I can give that I reckon will definitely help is to go on the Cooper's website and buy the ROTM (recipe of the month) kit when you have time, grab that, and just follow the instructions exactly as they say. It will help you learn a few things about beer brewing and the finished product is generally pretty good compared to straight kits. They deliver so all you have to do is crack the box, follow the instructions and then after a bunch of those you'll know what you like. It'll give you experience with some of the different kits too and help you figure out what sorts of beer styles you want to brew in future. 

If I had to give a few quick tips, I would say - don't expect too much from straight kit + brew enhancer brews, it's like the difference between a bottle of dolmio and some spaghetti and going to an Italian restaurant, you'll get beer with alcohol in it but it will taste like you scooped a can of goo into a plastic tub. But keep persevering they get pretty good with a few hacks. Get a brew fridge and a thermometer controller thing, and don't be scared to experiment. if it turns out shit just put ice in it or mix it with lemondade and make a shandy. 

If you want a better result with absolute bare minimum of work, buy the more expensive Cooper's kits, use LDM instead of BE and brew them to about 19 litres to concentrate the flavour a bit more. My favourite kits at the moment are the Hefe wheat, it tastes good in every recipe I've tried, the dark ale, porter, Euro lager, and the Canadian blonde is a good one to use instead of BE, it's pretty low in flavour, it's basically like a better version of a box of BE.
The fridge made the most difference out of anything I did.

Happy brewing!


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## Jet01 (1/7/19)

PaulG79 said:


> I started out with the same DIY kit you got and I've been doing kits for a couple years now, one piece of advice I can give that I reckon will definitely help is to go on the Cooper's website and buy the ROTM (recipe of the month) kit when you have time, grab that, and just follow the instructions exactly as they say. It will help you learn a few things about beer brewing and the finished product is generally pretty good compared to straight kits. They deliver so all you have to do is crack the box, follow the instructions and then after a bunch of those you'll know what you like. It'll give you experience with some of the different kits too and help you figure out what sorts of beer styles you want to brew in future.
> 
> If I had to give a few quick tips, I would say - don't expect too much from straight kit + brew enhancer brews, it's like the difference between a bottle of dolmio and some spaghetti and going to an Italian restaurant, you'll get beer with alcohol in it but it will taste like you scooped a can of goo into a plastic tub. But keep persevering they get pretty good with a few hacks. Get a brew fridge and a thermometer controller thing, and don't be scared to experiment. if it turns out shit just put ice in it or mix it with lemondade and make a shandy.
> 
> ...



First of all, I just want to let you know that I really appreciate the time and effort you’ve put into your replies. 
I think I’ll take your advice and grab a can of real ale and mix it with the pale. Makes sense to mix two ales as opposed to mixing different styles. Make a nice strong toucan ale. 

Will give the lager another crack with something extra as it was only around 4%. I prefer up around 5%.


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## PaulG79 (2/7/19)

Thanks man, I found these forum posts really useful when I started so I want to pass it forward. If you browse around on here and the Coopers forum you'll get some tips that will save you wasting time and money on dud ideas. 

Yeah grab the Real Ale, that plus APA is the base for the kit version of the Cooper's Vintage ales they make each year. It's a big, strong beer you'll enjoy it. Still keep the box of BE2 in. Or the LDM or both. I made one of them in 2017, was still drinking it over xmas last year, was damn nice. 

So with the lager, if you want something stronger I would suggest doing a toucan of the lager that will bring you to 5% at 23 litres. I haven't tried it myself but I've read a few forum posts talking about how Cooper's kits really shine if you double them up, because at 23 litres they are really pretty watered down. Which is fine if you want a bland mid strength. You can bump up the strength using BE's or Dex but that won't do anything for the flavour. Toucan's cost a bit more but when you're getting 2.5 cartons for $30 who cares right.

I just made 'Aztec Gold' with leftovers. It's just the Cerveza + 500gms of LDM, to make a gold. It. Is. Terrible. Don't make it. I don't know what to do with it now


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## Jet01 (3/7/19)

Going to get a few different toucan’s going. One Lager/APA +BE2 the other Real/sparkling Ale + 500g LDM. 

See how this goes.


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## PaulG79 (5/7/19)

Jet01 said:


> Going to get a few different toucan’s going. One Lager/APA +BE2 the other Real/sparkling Ale + 500g LDM.
> 
> See how this goes.


Good luck with them, be interesting to hear how they turn out!


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