Coopers Brewer Select Pilsner

[reveler]

Howdy,
I bought a tin of the Brewers select Pilsner for my next brew, And I am wondering what you guys think I should do with it..

it says

Tin of Pilsner Extract
500gm Light Dry Malt
300gm Dextrose

I was thinking some finishing hops? maybe some Saaz?

Anyone got some idea's to improve this brew?

Cheers!

 

[mika]

What you've got is going to be pretty decent without getting off into partial mashes and that kinda thing. I'd be throwing some Saaz in, something like 25g at flameout and perhaps use a better yeast like W34/70 or S23 if you're not up to liquid yeasts yet. Ferment it cold, rack it (if you want to) should turn out as a really nice drop.

 

[reveler]

the instructions say to ferment at 21 celcius.

should i do it at around 18 instead?

 

[Slurpdog]

If you're going to use a better yeast (Saflager maybe) then you should try to keep the ferment as low as possible.
9-11 degrees would be perfect if you have a temp controlled fridge.
The lower temp will give you a much cleaner beer.

 

[mika]

Reveler, probably the biggest thing wrong with kits, is that all the instructions recommend to ferment way to warm.
18-20deg for ales and wheats (though wheats can go higher, gives you a more characterstic taste)
And for Lagers/Pilseners and the such, anything less than 15deg is good and as Slurpdog mentions, 9-11 is perfect.
Don't be too put off if you can't achieve those temps, just ferment it as cold as you can and it will still end up being a fine beer.

 

[Ross]

If you can't ferment at lager temps, invest in a good neutral dry yeast like Nottingham. Will ferment down to 14c, but will still give great results at 20c.

cheers Ross

 

[mike_hillyer]

The bro' in law used to Rheinheitsgebot this one with 1 kg of light powdered malt and finish with saaz hop flowers. It was the mothers milk!

 

[kitkat]

in Canberra you should be able to leave it to ferment outside to get the lower temps possible (unless you live with the windows open ).
Works fine if you don't have a brew fridge. Of course as soon as day temps hit 18-20, time to start ales. Then no brewing in summer - that time is for drinking ...

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

I've got some S-23 you can have :beer:

PZ.

 

[reveler]

anyone know what type of yeast is in this kit?

I heard its a true lager yeast, is this correct?

 

[simpletotoro]

hi...
"Tin of Pilsner Extract
500gm Light Dry Malt
300gm Dextrose"
this looks good i'd go with it....i made this kit early last month and it came up really beaut...except as you'll see i added only a steeped teabag for hops ...lacks flavour...but fermented out really clean with no off tastes IMOH...which i was stoked about ...b'cause like i said you'll need to hop it up as any off tastes will really stand out .
recipe i used...
INGREDIENTS: Tin: Thomas Coopers Pilsner (1.7kg)
Sugars: 250g dextrose, 500g light dried malt, 250g corn syrup
Hops: Morgans Saaz 12g infusion bag steeped for 15-20 mins
Yeast: Coopers pilsner yeast 6g (steeped 15-20 mins)

fermented at 15-18/c ....was b4 i understood the kit instructions were crap...i'd certainly be using a different yeast next time...and lower fermenting temps say 10-12/c ...or maybe i'll try ross's suggestion of
"invest in a good neutral dry yeast like Nottingham"...love this site always something to learn.

"I was thinking some finishing hops? maybe some Saaz? "
up to you but i'll certainly be hopping up my next pilsner from this kit ...maybe 15-20 grams Saaz in a boil for 10 mins then another 10 grams at flameout...
cheers simpletotoro

 

[pint of lager]

Is this the Brewmaster selection with a black label? I thought they had a true lager yeast.

The standard supermarket lines have ale yeasts.

If you want some more hops flavour.

Dissolve the 500gms of malt extract in 5 litres hot water. This will need a pot of volume 8 litres. If your pot is smaller, scale back the amount of water and malt extract.

Bring water to the boil, a gentle boil is perfect. You are going to boil for a total of 30 minutes.

Simmer low boil for 5 minutes.

Add 15 gms of a good lager hops (saaz, hallertauer, tettnanger or hersbrucker)

Simmer/low boil for 15 minutes

Add 15 gms of the same hop

Simmer for 10 minutes

Add 15 gms of the same hop.

Put on lid

Turn off heat.

Put some water in the sink. Put the saucepan in the sink. You don't want the saucepan floating and unstable, just sitting in water. This will cool the contents of the saucepan down. Change the water a few times.

Add the contents of your saucepan to the fermentyer via a strainer, add the kit, dextrose and rest of malt extract.

Make up to 10 litres, stir to dissolve extract, make up to 23 litres, stir and take sg reading, pitch yeast and put on lid.

If a lager yeast is used ferment at 10-12, if an ale then 20 degrees.