Coopers Mexican Cerveza

[Mitcho89]

G'day guys,

I got a kit for Christmas as most fellas do and gave it a crack. I've got lager conditioning at the moment in my old fridge sitting at 24C. I don't know how well it's going to go because I had no choice but to pitch the yeast at 32C when making it. It was a stinking hot day and the tap water I had was horribly hot. Anyway I got the temp of the wort back to 27C through ice bottles and wet towels so I'll find out how she tastes in a couple of more weeks.

I've been reading this thread religiously and a couple of great idea's popped up through out the thread. I have 30 of the plastic brew bottles and I'm trying to work out a way to get that 'citrus' taste for the Cerveza mix. I could stick 3 or so wedges into the tallie bottle and try and drink it like a stubby or pour it into a glass but then I saw boiling a few limes to soften them up and through them as the mix is being made.

What do you guys think, good idea or are there any better idea's?

Thanks and kind regards,

Mitch.

 

[MitchDudarko]

I chucked one of these down about 16 days ago which had the tin of cerveza, 1kg dex, 500g dried wheat malt, US-05, and a fist full of chinook. Just waiting on a filter kit that I bought from Ross, and i'm gonna keg it. Hydro readings have tasted pretty darn good too.
Mitch.

 

[Aus_Rider_22]

G'day guys,

I got a kit for Christmas as most fellas do and gave it a crack. I've got lager conditioning at the moment in my old fridge sitting at 24C. I don't know how well it's going to go because I had no choice but to pitch the yeast at 32C when making it. It was a stinking hot day and the tap water I had was horribly hot. Anyway I got the temp of the wort back to 27C through ice bottles and wet towels so I'll find out how she tastes in a couple of more weeks.

I've been reading this thread religiously and a couple of great idea's popped up through out the thread. I have 30 of the plastic brew bottles and I'm trying to work out a way to get that 'citrus' taste for the Cerveza mix. I could stick 3 or so wedges into the tallie bottle and try and drink it like a stubby or pour it into a glass but then I saw boiling a few limes to soften them up and through them as the mix is being made.

What do you guys think, good idea or are there any better idea's?

Thanks and kind regards,

Mitch.

When you say you've got a lager conditioning, what exactly is the recipe? If it is in fact a lager yeast, which I doubt, then that's way too high. Lager yeasts require a temp range of about 10-15.

In regards to the Corona lime/lemon twist, people have tried a few different ideas. I've heard recommending using Glacier hops as they have a lemony/citrus taste and aroma. I remember one member saying something along the lines of this.. "The lemon or lime taste only occurs from adding the fruit after the beer is opened. If people want this weird taste then they can add a slice to their home brew. by trying to add fruit or specific hops during the ferment, you are probably not going to get the desired results."

I am not tryin to sound negative. I for one really wanted to find a good Corona recipe when I first started brewing. I brewed a Coopers Cerveza kit with a brew enhancer and even after reading people's thoughts on it I thought it would be half close. It wasn't a bad beer, just no where near a Corona. And the more you learn about beer styles and brewing, the more I understand why. Corona is a lager. For a start the Cooper's Cerveza uses a ale yeast. Also, I highly doubt Coopers bitter there Cerveza tins with Galena as Corona does.

All the best!

 

[Caelum]

Just read through this thread - has given me a few ideas on my next brew of the CMC.


My current brew, put down just hours ago is:

1 can CMC
850gr BE 1
125gr sucrose
Stock coopers yeast(will alter this for the next brew, after reading comments here)

I am also going to add to the brew (soon) 75gr of coriander seeds, in that i'll crack them in a mortar and pestle, boil for probably 10 minutes, then let cool and add that to the brew. I'll filter out the seeds themselves, so only the liquid is added to the brew.

For half of the brew, i'm planning to turn into a chilli beer, i currently have 4 (super hot, by most peoples standards) dried chillies rehydrating in 150ml of vodka. I plan to divvy that up into ~15ml doses which will be added along with the priming sugars at bottling.


As you can see, the base beer is actually going to be fairly 'stock standard', but i think i'll have a play around with some hops and use pure dextrose rather than BE 1 next time...


Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread - appreciate it!


edit: OG of ~1040, before pitching.

 

[Parrothead]

For what it's worth, I have a list of the yeasts that Cooper's uses in thier kits - I no longer remember where I got it - but it lists the Mexican Cervesa as being supplied with a lager/ale blend.

 

[jivesucka]

1st attempt at this product. previous experiences were brigalow pale ale (which is pretty awful) and the brigalow apple cider which i can already guess is going to be inferior.

pretty sure i put my foot in when i added the yeast last. dunno if this was the right move but the instructions were pretty vague.

 

[bum]

Yeast last is correct, mate. I wouldn't worry about it. From what I hear the Brigalow cider is about the best tin they make (but as you've noticed this isn't the same thing as the best tin anyone makes). Give it as long as you can in the bottle and I'm sure it'll be alright.

If you're finding the tin instructions a little inadequate (they all are, regardless of brand) have a look at this article: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum//ind...;showarticle=13 While it isn't exhaustive it is a pretty good starting point for most types of kit you can buy. For even better advice just keep reading everything here that you can.

Best of luck and welcome aboard!

 

[kevspud]

I did a Coopers Mex Cervensa as one of my first brews. All I added was 600gm Dextrose, 400gm Maltodextrin. First tastes were not very good but left it for two months and improved. Got better with age and was actually a nice refreshing beer.

I don't touch any of my bottled beer now for at least 4 months. You'd be suprised the difference it makes and 6 months is even better!!

 

[Caelum]

Firstly a correction to my previous post: 15gr of coriander, not 75!


Anyway, just tested the SG of the brew, has quietened down and not bubbling anymore for the last day(at all), and it is still sitting at 1015... From what i've read that indicates there's still some residual sugars in the brew, not exactly intended.

Though it *might* work with the chilli i intend to add to some of the brew... who knows.


I'm wondering if maybe the coriander has reduced the effectiveness of the yeast, due to an antibacterial action?


Will check SG again tomorrow, see if it's still the same, and if so, will likely bottle sunday night or monday...

 

[rendo]

Here here Kev! +1 +1 +1

6months minimum for me, but i usually brew lagers. I did a toucan and after 9months it was GOLD. Its been 12months now, drank one for lunch....top stuff.

I did a Coopers Mex Cervensa as one of my first brews. All I added was 600gm Dextrose, 400gm Maltodextrin. First tastes were not very good but left it for two months and improved. Got better with age and was actually a nice refreshing beer.

I don't touch any of my bottled beer now for at least 4 months. You'd be suprised the difference it makes and 6 months is even better!!

 

[Mitcho89]

Hey there guys,

My apologies for the late reply, I've been on holiday for a week. I just had my first brew of lager curing for 2 weeks and only just tried it. Not too shabby for the short amount of time. No doubt it will get a lot better after a month +. As far as lager yeast, I have no idea what so ever. I just used what came with the home brew kit which was a kilo of brew sugar and the Coopers "Lager" mix. It said in the manual to keep at 24C (19-27) for a minimum of 2 weeks when bottled and then keep at room temperature for up to and beyond 3 months for best flavor.

Today I mixed the Cerveza brew and all seems to be going well.....Except I got the temperature wrong again! I used 2L of boiling water the first time and ended up with 32C' for about a day with the Lager so I used a liter and a half of just hot tap water and got 30C !!! Very irritating... It's gone down in temperature quite a bit in my brew fridge to 24C and I pitched the yeast straight away so I shouldn't run into too many problems hopefully...

Thanks very much for all the advice and kind regards,

Mitch.

 

[Caelum]

OK, did a test run of my vodka chilli extract, to see how much i need to add to the CMC when bottled.


<Caelum> just put 2.5ml of my vodka chilli extract in 285ml of cascade stout, to test how much i need to put in my coopers mexican brew...
<Caelum> it would NOT want to be any hotter, in a stout!
<Caelum> going to put 5ml per longneck, i think.
<Caelum> lips, tongue, throat, top of mouth... all letting me know something isn't quite right!
<bimbo> how did you make the vodka chilli?
<Caelum> 150ml vodka, 5 habeneros.
<Caelum> dried habs, i should note.
<Caelum> chopped
<Caelum> left for about 1.5 weeks




Will let you all know how it goes in 2 weeks time, after the bottles are carb'd.

 

[RetsamHsam]

they're pricey but apparently if you pick them up from their shop you only pay for the hops but postage is free..

:huh:

 

[Pennywise]

:lol: :lol: There go's that mouth full of coffee

 

[Bribie G]

Evil, if that 12g of hops consists of the 'teabag', what I would do personally is slit its throat and boil the pellets with some of the LDME for about 20 minutes and tip that into the fermenter - that should give a bit more bitterness and flavour and still some aroma, Cerveza is more malt driven less aroma. :icon_cheers:
Doing all grain Cervezas I never add finishing hops, it's surprising how hoppy they turn out even with just a bittering addition .

 

[Arghonaut]

After a bit of help with my recipe, i picked up one of these kits on sale and want to get it on this weekend. I have 90g of glacier hops, carapils, LDME and a jar of rice malt extract. I want to try and produce a fairly hoppy beer, and just wanted some tips on balancing this out.

Something like:

1x Coopers Cerveza Kit
500g ldme
500g Rice Malt Syrup
100g carapils
20g Glacier @20,
20g Glacier @ 5
30g @ flameout
US05 yeast
Any advice?

 

[bignath]

After a bit of help with my recipe, i picked up one of these kits on sale and want to get it on this weekend. I have 90g of glacier hops, carapils, LDME and a jar of rice malt extract. I want to try and produce a fairly hoppy beer, and just wanted some tips on balancing this out.

Something like:

1x Coopers Cerveza Kit
500g ldme
500g Rice Malt Syrup
100g carapils
20g Glacier @20,
20g Glacier @ 5
30g @ flameout
US05 yeast
Any advice?

I just started drinking something quite similar as i needed a quick n easy one for a keg filler.

Mine was:

Cerveza goop
500g cooked rice
100g Med Crystal
bittered with Magnum
US-05

It's come out pretty decent actually. You can get the nutty aroma from the rice and it shows up a little in the taste department too. What % is your Glacier? Haven't used that hop before so i don't know what to recommend.

As i said i was hoping for an easy to drink sessionable beer, and it's come out good. I have other kegs with AG Bright Ale (tony's recipe) that i am painstakingly avoiding drinking due to an upcoming party in a few weeks, so i'm drinking this one instead.

Keep an eye on the bitterness, and i am sure you'll like it...Ferment at 17/18 degrees.

 

[Arghonaut]

If i use the kits spreadsheet it comes out to 25.2 ibu, the glacier are 6%, was mentioned alot thorugh this thread, its meant to have lemony taste, havent tried it yet myself either.

Want to get this through the fermenter now and bottled for summer, got an AG amber ale im also itching to do, but had this kit sitting there for a while now and want to use it

 

[bignath]

If i use the kits spreadsheet it comes out to 25.2 ibu, the glacier are 6%, was mentioned alot thorugh this thread, its meant to have lemony taste, havent tried it yet myself either.

Want to get this through the fermenter now and bottled for summer, got an AG amber ale im also itching to do, but had this kit sitting there for a while now and want to use it

go for it i reckon. 25IBU is pretty good for most commercial beers. Coopers Pale for example is bittered (i believe) to around 27 as an example. It seems most Aussie beers would be around this number. Would be keen to hear the results if you do your recipe with Glacier.
Keep us posted...

 

[Arghonaut]

Just pitched the yeast following the recipe above, OG was 1040. Had a taste of the wort and has good bitterness, the hops had a lemony smell when i opened them, cant taste much of it at the moment though, think i'll dry hop the remainder of them and see how it turns out.