Coopers European Lager: Double Tin Recipe

[nickh]

Hi all,

Been a long while since I posted (I have spent the last year or so brewing from fresh wort vats + dry hopping from Bacchus and All Inn Breweries- little art applied but quality outputs). Anyway, I wanted to have a particularly strong lager ready for the hot Queensland summer to enhance post-mowing and camping activities. This will give me some balance to a black IPA I already have in the fridge.

I saw a recipe on Coopers' website that called for 2x1.7kg tins of Heritage Lager + 1kg dry malt that ended in a 6.3%abv brew. This led me to the below basic lager idea, which I was hoping for some feedback on how stupid the below is, and some advice as to alternatives to use these ingredients:

2 x 1.7kg Coopers European Lager Can
1kg Brew Enhancer #3 (can't remember the ratio of light fry malt to dextrose in this)
2 x yeast sachets that came with the Coopers cans (is there really much point playing with specialist yeasts if you start from a canned beer?)
Pitch at 21degrees but allow to ferment around 17degrees

90g of Hallertau Hop pellets added for 6days after fermentation has finished for dry hopping

Happy to receive any and all feedback.

Thanks guys

 

[LAGERFRENZY]

I think that the yeast supplied with this kit is actually a true lager yeast. Coopers recommend brewing at 15c (after pitching around 24c).

 

[nickh]

Thanks LAGERFRENZY.

I note you are from Brisbane too.

Do you think doing this would be ok or a disaster? I should also mention that I was thinking about perhaps brewing up 25 litres rather than 23litres (seeing as I am using two kits. Any tips on volume of water to add (1 kit is usually 23litres) would be appreciated.

Thanks for your attention

 

[LAGERFRENZY]

I honestly couldn't say if the brew would be a disaster - some of my own experiences of toucan hopped brews is that they can be too bitter, too malt forward or some other form of imbalance. I haven't brewed the Euro lager and I can see where you are going with it but lagers can be a real buggar to nail with kits as there is nowhere to hide with them. To be honest I stopped experimenting with kit brews a long time ago as I got sick of tipping the ones that were failures.

I can speak from experience of being a gardening professional that when I come home from a day of lawn mowing in the Brissie summer then I am definitely not looking for a 6.3% brewski. I would be more tempted to go for something like this one:

http://store.coopers.com.au/recipes/index/view/id/11/

All the best whichever way you go mate.