Coopers Australian Pale Ale Kit

[Pineys]

Hi Guys,
I had a bit of a search and didn't see any threads matching my questions. (Not to say there were not there)

Yesterday i did 2 coopers pale ale kits. Stock standard approach as i just want to see what its like before i play with it.
I used the Brew Enhancer 2 and added 400g Dextrose (To make up for the bottling sugars in my keg.... and up the ABV a little)

SG 1.049
Yeast: Supplied on the can

I did consider US05 as majority reviews online were that they didn't like the supplied yeast, too cloudy and taste had some "Twang" ?
I ended up thinking to myself, "I like drinking the commercial Pale Ale. Its also not clear and has sediment. So why would i want it clear?" It seems to me that lots of brewers strive for characteristics like clear even when its not the intended style of the kit etc. I respect everyone has their own idea of what is good for them, And that is how it should be when we are creating.

Ive got my fermenters in a chamber at 21DegC Fermenting has kicked off well on both batches after less than 24 hours.
I have noted that some brewers suggest to lower the temp after a few days? suggesting the supplied yeast is a hybrid ale and lager so it makes use of both yeasts etc.. Thoughts?

What are your thoughts on this stock standard kit, stock yeast etc?
To me it certainly seems far different to the "Premium" kits i am used to MJ's etc. So i am curious to see how it works out in my glass.

Cheers

 

[Hangover68]

I agree on the twang, you'll never recreate the bottled version from a coopers kit.
I use US05 for all my PA's and also just did a stout using it, good yeast makes all the difference along with temp control.

 

[raturay]

I've only made two Coopers brews so far, albeit it all grain and not kits. For both brews I cultured the yeast from a few Coopers Sparkling Ale (red) stubbies. Both have turned out great and on that basis I wouldn't use any other yeast. Certainly worth the effort.

 

[Pineys]

Well guys, I just tested 1.010 from SG: 1.049 after 5 days @ a solid 21deg in the chamber, I am pleasantly surprised.
Looks and actually tastes good. No sign of any "twang" so far.

I am actually looking forward to a session of this beer.

 

[Pineys]

This is on tap now. Worked out well. I ended up Cold Crashing in the fermenter, Transferred to Keg. The outcome is a "Light Coloured- Clear/Crisp" easy to drink 5.2%Abv.
I have no sign of any "Twang" Which makes me wonder if this "Twang" people describe is due to fluctuating temps during the ferment.

It kind of reminds me of a low carb ****** commercial beer like a Pure Blond or a TED's... even a Carlton Dry . Nothing special but very easy to consume.
For the price of these kits in the supermarket, Ill definitely do it again with the addition of a Hop tea or something. I also would not flinch at using the supplied yeast also. No problems here.

 

[Brads Biabs]

Well done Pineys like the way you have gone about this.
Scientific approach start with the base and build from that that gives you the experience of your own makings with that your on your way.
Extra malt instead of enhancer give you more body straight up and the hop tea the bittering profile of what you want to achieve.
All Downhill from here bud once the bug bites your Done.

 

[Hangover68]

Conditioning helps a lot to remove the twang as does temp control, i noticed that my local woolies have removed all HB kits from the shelves after discounting them a few weeks back.

 

[beerbong]

Reculture the yeast from a 6 pack of Coopers Green, according to the instructions (and video) on the Coopers DIY website. Use that next time with same as what you did and you will definitely get more of that Coopers flavor going on if you like that. Its a good voracious yeast too and cleans up all the fermentables even in a higher gravity beer like their Coopers Vintage recipes.

 

[yankinoz]

Twang is a vague descriptor, sometimes blamed on the yeast, sometimes on too-old LME. One "twang" may be very dffferent from another. In this case you may well be right about the cause, but what was the date on the bottom of the can you used?

In any event, cold conditioning has often helped.

 

[Nick the Knife]

I have no sign of any "Twang" Which makes me wonder if this "Twang" people describe is due to fluctuating temps during the ferment.

IMHO your assessment is correct, I'd guess most folks using the stock yeast wouldn't have access to proper temp control - but as others have said it's a pretty generic term and essentially just implies the taste wasn't great.

The Coopers APA kits are regarded as a good baseline to 'pimp' with partial steeps, hop additions, 3rd party yeasts etc and lend themselves to multiple different end beers styles. That said I do think that you'd be well served to consider doing all the hop additions yourself and just using plain LME - really no more complex than straight kits and a lot more tweakable without stepping into the AG realm.

I believe the Coopers Mid is regarded as the best option to reculture their commercial yeast from - if nothing else it's cheaper than the Red/Green etc.

 

[BrewLizard]

I have no sign of any "Twang" Which makes me wonder if this "Twang" people describe is due to fluctuating temps during the ferment.

I think it's ingredient-related, rather than process related; though I do agree that beginners probably have fusels and other hot characters contributing. It could be the isohop, adjuncts in the kit, or just the process of making extract, but something in the core ingredient causes "twang" to many brewers.

I always use a healthy pitch of healthy yeast, good water and temperature control, and I've dumped 3 out of 4 kit brews due to some kind of twang. Only one had the keg finished. All cans were well within best before dates.

I've done 50+ all-grain batches without this twang (though some sucked for other reasons), and the above kit brews were spread amongst them, so it's not like I was stuffing them up because I was a beginner. I've also done successful (non-hopped) extract brews with steeped grains, which were significantly better, albeit not as good as all-grain.

I'm jealous of those who don't taste it.