Coopers Lager Yeast

[Jim - Perth]

Has anyone had any direct experience re optimum brewing temp. for yeast that comes with Coopers Bavarian kit?

I understand it is a lager yeast however Coopers instructions suggest brewing @ between 18 - 20 deg. which seems a bit odd.

I brewed this one last year at temp. of 15 - 16 deg. There was some fuitiness & banana present which I suspect may be due to fermenting at too high a temp.

I'm going to give this one another burl @ around 12 deg. I would be grateful for any input.

 

[Jovial_Monk]

Coopers sell their stuff all over Australia (and the world,) incl Broome etc, so in their instructons they cannot assume a buyer ever experiences low temperatures.

If you want to ferment the Bav lager at lager temps go one step further and buy a packet of Saflagr 34/70, a damn nice dry lager yeast.

Jovial Monk

 

[Bobby]

not a bad yeast teh saf lager. really needs to be racked and lagered though. it isnt as flocculant as you would like.

 

[redbeard]

just out of interest, have recorded that coopers bavarian lager, pale ale & bitter all have gold foil yeast packets, while the ipa had a silver with a different barcode. i dont know if there is any difference between gold or silver (would have thought ale & lager at least different yeasts), so im guessing one standard all purpose ale type yeast (18'-26'c)

like previous repsondents, if you want to brew at lager temps (~10'c), i suggest buying a saflager or a liquid lager yeast...

cheers

 

[dickTed]

I made up one of those in November (It was discounted at Safeway) but I didn't know about lager yeasts at the time. I found out as I was about to sprinkle it. Had it fermenting in my bedroom wardrobe, which in my panic, I thought would be cooler than the pantry. It bubbled slower than my heartbeat. CO2 didn't suffocate me. But by God, it went until the fifth day. Bottled it on the eighth. 1.005 two days running.

My worst tasting brew so far. When I opened a stubby, I had to pour it within 30 secs the foam would poke up in a little mound out the top of the stubby and wobble over the side. Then if I poured it normally it would end up all head, which would die rapidly. Far too tangy for me. I have to admit I used Home brand white sugar. I must therefore admit further guilt in I exceeded the max recommended temp of 21. It was 21 most of the time but hit 22 in spite of a wet towel and fan.

Oh well, I paid for my sins by drinking 4 stubbies of it a day, and I don't like sour piss, so I'm learning. I've made 3 ales and one lager since, all using liquid extract rather than sugar or dextrose. The lager just got worse the older it got, but the ales have all been good. No sourness.

The latest was Thomas Coopers Sparkling Ale, with 1.3k extract and 30g Hellertau pellets boiled 5 mins, then Safale. I must say how impressed I was with how that yeast solidifies and coagulates, unlike the Coopers (& other) dry yeast I've used, thus leaving the beer nice and clear. Tried it today after one week bottled. Grouse! Has a nice aroma. Anyway I just won't be making lager in the summer again. Oh also, don't be fooled by a label mentioning "temperature tolerant yeast".

 

[Jim - Perth]

My experience with SafLager is that it takes a while to get underway.

My current approach is as follows:
1)Re-hydrate yeast in 1 cup of boiled water @ 38 deg.

2)After temp. has dropped to apprx room temp. add one squirt of wort.

3)15-20 min later add further squirt of wort.

4)Approx 30 min later pitch yeast when brew temp = approx 24 deg.

5)Bring brew temp. down to 12 deg over next 12hrs.

Is there a better way than this?

 

[jaytee]

I used the instructions from the DCL Craftbrewing page to rehydrate Safale - though I didn't manage to stir continuously for 30 minutes !

I used a 200ml beaker and the yeast really grew in volume, nearly over the top, got a real good start too.

DCL Craftbrewing

Rehydration Instructions

1. Add the dried yeast to approximately 10 times its own weight in water or wort at:

27C 3C for Safbrew and Safale
23C 3C for Saflager

After a 15-30 minute rest, maintain a gentle stirring for another 30 minutes.
Pitch into FV.

 

[cubbie]

1. 38C seems a bit high to me, should be closer to your pitching temp, try for 24-26

2. definately no need to add a squirt of wort when re-hydrating dried yeast.

3. as above.

 

[pint of lager]

Have a read of John Palmer's book too. It has a good section on rehydrating.

Many instructions lead to confusion about rehydrating and proofing.

These are two seperate processes.

Rehydrating is done first, to give the yeasts an easy time.

Then you proof the yeast to make sure it is still viable.

Jim, there was an earlier thread about pitching temps of lagers. There has been much debate about wether to picth at around 20 degrees or at the correct fermenting temperature.

 

[Jovial_Monk]

The DCL yeasts definitely need to be rehydrated at the coolish temperatures of 27 and 23C. For Nottingham and Windsor Lallemand advises rehydration at 30-35C.

The yeast should not be left in the rehydration water for more than 30 minutes or all the energy stored in the yeast starts being used up.

Re adding wort, Lallemand advises attemperating the yeast to the wort temperature by adding wort after the right amount of rehydration time. 15 mins later (I think) you add another lot of wort, mix all together and pitch. By this time the starter mixture should be at the same temperature as the wort.

Jovial Monk

 

[rodderz]

Now i get why you blokes hate the Coopers yeast. The last brew I did, an Irish Ale (Coopers draught kit, 1kg brew enhancer 1, 300gm golden syrup in 21lt water) was kept at a stable 16-18C for 6 days. The OG started at 1050, and went down to 1018 but no lower.

Does this yeast ever bloody finish properly or is it just the contents that have given it a higher gravity reading? If so the alc% would end up below 4%!

Might have to try the safale or better yeasts next brew...get a better result

 

[kitkat]

Did you try shaking/stirring your fermenter? Did you check your hydrometer by taking a reading in plain water?

AFAIK, the amplitude (OG - FG) is the main component when calculating ABV, so 1050 to 1018 is the same thing as 1042 to 1010.
How did you get to below 4%? Even 1050 to 1018 http://www.brewcraft.com.au/wa.asp?idWebPa...6&idDetails=117 says it's 4.9 % (keep in mind you'll add priming sugar)

Also, I think I read somewhere that the recommended amount of yeast is around 0.5g/liter, so the coopers 7 g seems a bit on the low side. I think the SAF yeats I used had about 11g of yeast.

Maybe use 2 packets of coopers next time?

 

[rodderz]

Did you try shaking/stirring your fermenter? Did you check your hydrometer by taking a reading in plain water?

AFAIK, the amplitude (OG - FG) is the main component when calculating ABV, so 1050 to 1018 is the same thing as 1042 to 1010.
How did you get to below 4%? Even 1050 to 1018 http://www.brewcraft.com.au/wa.asp?idWebPa...6&idDetails=117 says it's 4.9 % (keep in mind you'll add priming sugar)

Also, I think I read somewhere that the recommended amount of yeast is around 0.5g/liter, so the coopers 7 g seems a bit on the low side. I think the SAF yeats I used had about 11g of yeast.

Maybe use 2 packets of coopers next time?

[post="48209"][/post]​

Yup your right mate, after doing the calcs again somehow I stuffed the figures and it's well over 4%. I also forgot to put in that I added 250gm's of coopers LME, whiuch may make the FG higher?

During the fermentation I gave the fermenter a slight shake every 2 days to stir it up and get the yeast to mix everywhere, seems to have worked ok if I judge by the limited amount of sediment left over in the bottom after bottling

Hydrometer is ok, reads 1.000 in plain water. Can the yeast packets be purchased separately? Next brew I think I'll go to the local HBS and get the real stuff anyway