Coopers Homebrew Lager (is it really)

[Vini2ton]

Tooheys Old and Abbottsford Invalid Stout would be surely be lagers wouldn't they? Anyway, those kit yeasts are the foolproof workhorses they've got to be and I'm sure for everyone of us, they were the first yeast we pitched or rather sprinkled. I reckon that coopers euro one goes ok. Mauri?

 

[panzerd18]

I did a Coopers Original Lager with W34/70 yeast, 0.5kg of LDME and hallertau hops added as a tea.

It was amazing. Feeling very good about myself when friends/family say its better than commercial lagers.

 

[superstock]

Here is a more definative list of Coopers kit yeasts.
After not getting very far with my question about the difference between the two types of Ac+L yeast packs and ultimately the preferred ferment temperatures, I spent some time this weekend doing my own searches for preferred temps and adding my results to Coopers list of kit & yeast, as Coopers coulda/shoulda. Most of this information comes from Coopers own web site and their answers to forum questions.

Sachets carry a Julian date code and may also carry letters to denote the type of yeast. For example, if they were packaged on the 25th of September 2007 = 268th day of 2007:

Original Series:- Ac (26807) with the Coopers Original Series - Lager, Draught, Real Ale, Dark Ale, Bitter and Stout) will ferment as low as 16C and it produces clean “lager like” characters. But you need to have much higher pitching rates than 7g to 23litres - more like 1g per litre (about 3 sachets to a 23 litre brew or grow up the 7g culture in a 500ml-1litre mini-wort). At 12C it is most likely to fall out of suspension. Recommended temp 18-21’c. (21’c preferred.)


International Series:-
Australian Pale Ale - Ac+L (26807 Int) preferred ferment temp 18’c (18-21’c recommended)
Mexican Cerveza - Ac+L (26807 Int) “ “ “ 18’c (18-21’c recommended)
European Lager - L (26807 P) “ “ “ 13-15’c
Canadian Blonde - Ac (26807) “ “ “ 18’c
English Bitter - Ac (26807) “ “ “ 18’c

Thomas Coopers Selection:-
Wheat - A (26807 W) “ “ “ 24’c
IPA - Ac (26807 IPA) “ “ “ 18’c
Irish Stout - A (26807 IS) “ “ “ 21’c
Pilsener - L (26807 P) “ “ “ 13-15’c
Australian Bitter - Ac+L (26807 PS) “ “ “ 13-15’c
Heritage Lager - Ac+L (26807 PS) “ “ “ 13-15’c
Sparkling Ale - Ac+L (26807 PS) “ “ “ 13-15’c
Traditional Draught - Ac+L (26807 PS) “ “ “ 13-15”c

Note:
Ac = Coopers ale yeast (our own strain, not the same as the yeast in our commercial ales, developed in-house and propagated under contract).

A = ale yeast and L = lager yeast (these strains are commercially available dry yeast and their details are held in confidence).
If you plan to ferment at low temperatures you need to increase pitching rates. In most cases, it's a good idea to start the brew at 22C-24C for the first 12 hrs then draw it down to the low ferment temp. You only need to go down to 13C-15C to get good results with most strains of dry lager yeast.

PB2 correct me if I am in error with any of this info.

 

[Nizmoose]

Not true. What about the Hybrids? BJCP Styles 6a, 6b, 6c and 6d. Not everything is in black and white.

Point taken my point was more that methods and ingredients such as lagering and pilsner Malt have no weighting to whether a beer is a lager or not. For the most part with some special exceptions as you point out, what makes a lager a lager is the yeast and what makes an ale and ale is the yeast.

 

[Vini2ton]

Point taken my point was more that methods and ingredients such as lagering and pilsner Malt have no weighting to whether a beer is a lager or not. For the most part with some special exceptions as you point out, what makes a lager a lager is the yeast and what makes an ale and ale is the yeast.

If you put moose antlers on a merino and let it loose in the northern wilderness, its still a sheep. Your point perzackally. Whether or not.

 

[bonk1972]

So while we r talking lager yeast... My question is how long do I leave it in the FV for before bottling. I've only used Ale yeast at 18c and decided to try lager yeast.. I'm using brew craft premium lager and keeping temp around 13c and if I'm bottling ale after 14 days and conditioning for 4 weeks...so I guess I'm asking when should i be able to drink my lager

 

[Rocker1986]

How long's a piece of string? Once it reaches FG it's really up to you when to bottle it, although I'd give it at least two weeks at near freezing temps if you have the capacity to do that. They reckon longer is better, but is it?

I'm currently trialling a method for brewing lager that is a lot faster than the traditional drawn out timeframe that can take months, but reputedly results in an equally good end product. This method takes about 4 weeks from pitching yeast to bottling/kegging. It's all to do with temperature manipulation. I'll be bottling the first of these batches on the weekend - it started at 11C (OG 1047), was half done in 4 days, then I raised it to 19 and it reached FG of 1007 (lower than I wanted but I think I buggered the mash up a bit) after about another 6 or 7 days (10 or 11 days from OG to FG), and I've given it a couple of weeks at 0C before bottling it. This was using Wyeast Urquell lager yeast which going by reviews is very slow to ferment, but that certainly wasn't my experience with it. The FG sample tasted promising though, despite the apparent quick fermentation and lower than desired gravity.

I am not one of those who subscribe to the idea that just because it's a certain style of beer it absolutely HAS to be aged for some pre-determined amount of time before it can be consumed. If I try one after 3 weeks and I'm happy with it then I'll keep drinking it. If the flavour improves over time, then I know for the next time I brew it where its best is at. If it doesn't improve then I will continue to begin drinking them as soon as they are carbonated. It's all about personal preference in the end, guidelines are helpful but they aren't set in stone either.

 

[spog]

Your interesting comment certainly adds to the knowledge pool of this thread Mr. Spog. Do you chuck tuna's?

Nah, just one of those days.