Anybody Got A Decent Recipe For A Coopers 62 Pilsner, Bohemian Pilsner

[AussieHomeBrewer]

So obviously there's better beers then Cooper's 62 Pilsner but I haven't tried or know any of them and not going to as I'd rather brew a decent pilsner myself. I just want any recipe you can throw at me to make a sort of fruity Pilsner.
I can notice some sort of bubblegum flavour in the 62 Pilsner which i liked to add to my own Pilsner, though I don't want to achieve this from actual bubblegum, if it's not possible then I'll skip that and just make a fruity Pilsner. That's right I don't like beer that tastes like piss which most commercial beers eg. the XXXX that every hard ass drinks, why would you drink it if it tastes rubbish, who are you trying to impress.

 

[Banshee]

Have you tried a German or Czech pils? The auusie beers are cheap imitations of those styles. It's like comparing BMW to Holdens.

 

[Lecterfan]

I agree with Banshee, but you can still leap in and make some pilsner style beers for yourself...they may not be true to style but they might taste awesome anyway. I am not sure about the bubblegum flavour you describe. Does anybody else have any ideas? I am wondering if it is maybe a type of fruity sweetness in the aftertaste that I get when I add a smallish (say 250gms) amount of wheat to the grain bill? Although I am aware that yeast selection would be playing a large part in that also.

If you are using a commercial hopped extract kit like coopers or something I would definitley be steeping some grains (maybe some carapils and some wheat - both are meant to be mashed but you will still get a lot of flavour and aroma from steeping them) and chucking in 20 - 30gms of saaz at flameout.

It's difficult to know what you are after because I tend to buy Pilsner Urquell when I'm after that type of flavour, and I have not tasted the coopers 62.

Maybe Google it and you will be drowing in recipe ideas...(if you can't find one here you like the sound of).

 

[seemax]

Allgrain?

Pilsner malt, bit of carapils, 90min boil, 30IBU, i like late additions of Saaz

Take your pick of the wyeast lagers (budvar, munich, etc) or try S23 if you want a little fruitiness, otherwise W34/70 or S189.

Primary for 2-3 weeks, then lager for ages... enjoy!

 

[manticle]

(maybe some carapils and some wheat - both are meant to be mashed but you will still get a lot of flavour and aroma from steeping them)

Carapils can just be steeped. Wheat needs to be mashed. Not sure I'd include it in a pilsner though.

 

[Lodan]

There is a simple kit recipe on the coopers website for a pilsner. I won't claim that it's like Cooper's 62, as i haven't tried it, but it probably approximates a Bohemian.
http://www.coopers.com.au/the-brewers-guil.../lager/pilsener

The yeast that comes with the pilsner kit is a genuine lager strain (and commercially available) so you can get away with not replacing the yeast. If you are set on using a different yeast, consider using the kit yeast in conjunction with a W34/70 sachet. I saw this yeast combo recommended on the Cooper's forum...


maybe because the kit and W34/70 are one and the same? h34r:

 

[Lecterfan]

Not sure I'd include it in a pilsner though.

Me neither, but if there is this "bubblegum" taste (which I am assuming might be the slight banana-ishness or something) maybe that is like an american pilsner type aftertaste...would that be from wheat or from corn or something? I only suggested that as the original post was about trying to find the taste he/she is after, not to make a crisp Czech pils which they haven't actually ever tasted. Anyway.

 

[Lodan]

I think the bubblegum flavour is generated by certain yeasts at particular temps

Edit: seems common in wheat beer styles

 

[manticle]

Me neither, but if there is this "bubblegum" taste (which I am assuming might be the slight banana-ishness or something) maybe that is like an american pilsner type aftertaste...would that be from wheat or from corn or something? I only suggested that as the original post was about trying to find the taste he/she is after, not to make a crisp Czech pils which they haven't actually ever tasted. Anyway.

Lodan is correct. Bubblegum is more closely associated with yeast than malt (as is banana). Some belgian and some weizen strains might push it depending on how they're treated - it's something I'd prefer to avoid so I can't offer much more advice than that.

 

[Lecterfan]

Ah ha, so my association was loosely accurate, but my assumed cause was entirely incorrect. So much to learn, and so few days of the week in which it is acceptable to be completely drunk by 4pm.

 

[manticle]

Really only Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and friday. Saturday is granted I suppose but that's it.

 

[manticle]

Oh and Sunday is included by default.

 

[Lecterfan]

We share a Utopia by the sounds of things. I used to have any number of elaborate excuses to drink on certain days (I was particularly fond of drinking on any day that was named after an ancient god, and thanks to the heathen ango saxon/norse that gave me most of the working week haha).

But unfortunately I have cut it right back. Long story. :icon_offtopic:

Anyway, I have always tended to describe the brews I've done that have had some wheat in them as having a banana-ish or a slightly fruity or sweet after taste...and these were either straight lager styles using wyeast bav lager or amercian pale ales using Wyeast 1056. So what is the proper adjective for that hint of "___________" that wheat provides to an otherwise straight malt beer (i.e. maybe 250gms wheat in 3.5 kgs of 2 row malt)? :icon_offtopic:

Sorry to the original poster, but I had to ask...

 

[manticle]

Brews with a large portion of wheat might give a slight tartness, those with much less seem to get a meringue like head but no major flavour impact in my experience.

Banana is most often associated with isomyl acetate, produced by yeast at certain temperatures. Coopers yeast (the real stuff, not the kit stuff) will give banana at certain temps, wheat yeasts too. Other yeasts will - thos two are just particularly renowned.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isoamyl_acetate

It could be that you've experienced isomyl acetate AND used wheat and learnt to associate the two.

 

[Lecterfan]

Cool, thanks for that...I'm just glad you didn't reply with "wheatiness".

 

[bum]

My understanding was that this beer tastes like corn on the cob. Do a pils partial with a 15min boil.

 

[jakub76]

So obviously there's better beers then Cooper's 62 ... I just want any recipe you can throw at me to make a sort of fruity Pilsner.

I agree, please try Budvar for a great example. I was less than impressed by Cooper's 62 but I did like the bottle.

As for making one - I'd go for mostly pilsner malt or pilsner malt extract (extra light) plus a little carapils, noble hops to around 25-30IBU. I would use a a malty german yeast like WLP833 or Wy2308 fermenting at 10C, but if you really like the 'fruity' yeast profile then you could use any dried lager yeast fermented around 12-14C. Better yet save yourself the hassle and just brew it with US-05 ale yeast at 17C, you'll get some of that fruitiness and you'll be drinking it in 3 weeks rather than lagering.

 

[Bribie G]

I agree, please try Budvar for a great example. I was less than impressed by Cooper's 62 but I did like the bottle.

As for making one - I'd go for mostly pilsner malt or pilsner malt extract (extra light) plus a little carapils, noble hops to around 25-30IBU. I would use a a malty german yeast like WLP833 or Wy2308 fermenting at 10C, but if you really like the 'fruity' yeast profile then you could use any dried lager yeast fermented around 12-14C. Better yet save yourself the hassle and just brew it with US-05 ale yeast at 17C, you'll get some of that fruitiness and you'll be drinking it in 3 weeks rather than lagering.

The problem with doing a 'true' lager at home is that the commercials do it so well and so precisely that they can consistently turn out a super clean tasting product with nothing to hide behind if there is the slightest off flavour. However at home we have to dick around with ingredients, suitable aeration, precise fermentation temperature, long lagering process etc etc and even after a couple of months we can end up with a funny tasting brew which is disappointing. I've recently just finished a couple of kegs of 'true' lagers - a German pils that ended up tasting more like Tooheys New, gawd knows why, and an Aussie lager that ended up with some diacetyl that won't go away.

So jake's suggestion of using US-05 (or better, Wyeast 1056 which is a dearer but 'cleaner' version of the yeast) can get you a cream ale style that is virtually identical to a lager beer in a third of the time. That's why the Americans invented cream ales in the first place to churn out cheap and cheerful but clean and refreshing beer for the masses of industrial workers in the NE USA for Baltimore, Philly etc in that era when they were industrial powerhouses.

I'd go the Cream ale route but with a lager kit, say Coopers Cerveza, plus sugar, some Carapils and a bit of hop such as Galena or Chinook (15g boiled for 20 mins and tipped in) and you should ge a slightly fruity lageresque beer. :icon_cheers:

 

[AussieHomeBrewer]

Alright thanks guys, I will start by trying them suggested better Pilsner beers first to see how much of a better Pilsner I could aim for, then I'll actually start brewing with some of the other suggestions when I'm ready.

 

[flano]

For commercial ones I don't mind the James Squire pilsener.
or
If you are lazy like me, you could try the Brewers selection Pilsner FWK.
I reckon it is pretty good.
no heat needed when fermenting...add some finings near the end .