Coopers Mexican Cerveza

[DarkFaerytale]

hey Gonzo, maybe try putting them somewhere a little warmer, and give them another couple of weeks, i'm sure they'll come up fine

-Phill

 

[Uncle Fester]

My mate and I are new to home brewing, and we started a brew of Cerveza on the weekend. We chucked in the coopers cerveza can, 1kg of coopers brew enhancer 2, 1kg of coopers brewing sugar, and a few grams of Amarillo hops. She seems to be running steadily at 20 degrees celsius.

However, after reading up on it, I seem to think we weren't meant to add the brewing sugar. Anybody want to confirm this? Also, how do you think it will affect the beer? Any advice will be really appreciated

For interests sake, what was the SG?

According to the Brewcraft's (very loose) brew calculator, if you made it to a full 23 litres, it should be about 7.1%



I'm not sure, but I vaguely remember something about this kit using a dy enzyme? If so, the attenuation may be a little better than this.

Festa

 

[DarkFaerytale]

hey fester, thats the same calculator i used, i'v used it on other things befor tho and found it to come out wrong alot of the time, i didn't get any dry enzyme in my coopers, i think there in the other types of kits, i might be wrong tho

-Phill

 

[DrewCarey82]

my cerveza turned out great pity i had to put it in PET bottles i didnt have glass ones.
Tastes good but im a little worried that there isnt enough fizz in any of my beers that i have made at the moment i have them in foam boxes above the cement floor an after 2 weeks some only have tiny bit of carbonation the others heaps, and the one i bulk primed isnt fizzy enough probly didnt put enough sugar in it,

G'day Mate.

If your using the actual Coopers ones they are especially designed for brewing and are good for easily 6-9 months.

cheers.

 

[gonzo]

yeah the coopers ones the ones in PET bottles are probbly not in high enough temps, im not sure if i carbed the Ale enough cause of the high gravity reading i carbed some with drops and the rest with 45g of sugar for the 10L left over

 

[sog]

The Cooper's Cerveza marked my recent return to brewing after a 2-year hiatus (no, not a hernia).

I choose this because:

• my girlfriend (read: brewing apprentice) is a Corona fan
• the supermarket is a LOT closer than my closest HBS
• I cook a lot of Mexican meals

I replaced the kit yeast with a SAF Lager W34/70 yeast as I had not then replaced my broken immersion heater and figured that a lager yeast would me more true to the style (though the low-temp brewing was the real driver).

I also added half a lime to the fermenter (after sterilizing the exterior). I had done this before with a Brewmart Cerveza and was pleased with the results after a few month's conditioning.

We tried one after 3 weeks in the bottle and, whilst it was quite drinkable and washed down the chilli nicely, decided it needs more time. But she was very impressed with her first brew. I can't wait to show her how good they can get with a bit more effort and patience.

The central heating sits on 18C so I have now moved the lager fermenter to an unheated spare bedroom where it sits on about 13-14C.

 

[Cognosis]

Bottled mine today, and I have some questions:

Is she meant to be so orange? (this is the first time I've bottled in glear glass)

 

[Mr Bond]

Bottled mine today, and I have some questions:

Is she meant to be so orange? (this is the first time I've bottled in glear glass)

If by orange you mean not as light as a corona ,Yes

Extracts are always a bit darker,and impossible to get as pale as a beermade with grains.

Keep those clear bottles out of the light(in a box until fridging).

 

[Wardhog]

I've had one of these lagering in the fridge in the shed for two weeks now. I find myself unable to go to the shed without a small glass to hold about 20-30mls of this beer just to sniff it, I absolutely love the smell. It's also the clearest beer I've made.

Using SafLager 34/70, fermented at 12C (took about two weeks in primary)
Cervesa can contents + 750g dextrose + 250 LME
Lagered at 4C for 3 weeks

Bottling this weekend.

Hops:
15g Saaz boiled for 30 minutes
10g Saaz boiled for 5 minutes

This was the first time using hops seriously, I don't think I'll be able to look back after this. The hop additions have made this beer 20x better than anything I've done before, and it isn't even ready yet!

 

[chimera]

Might be the cold weather. what yeast you using?

 

[DrewCarey82]

His saying drinking wise mate, as in he hasnt conditioned it yet.

I am saving my cervaza for the summer.

 

[DJR]

Keep those clear bottles out of the light(in a box until fridging).[/color]

Actually the kit uses tetra and sylvan which are light-stable and won't skunk in clear bottles, as long as you don't add any other hops. So clear bottles are fine.

 

[Wardhog]

His saying drinking wise mate, as in he hasnt conditioned it yet.

I am saving my cervaza for the summer.

Yeah, I'll leave it in the bottle for at least two weeks before testing one. At the moment, it's still lagering in the HDPE jerry cans in the fridge, so there's no carbonation yet, but I still can't stop sniffing and tasting it. Stocks are going down 20ml at a time.

My intention is to leave this for the summer too, but I don't think I'll be able to resist.

 

[Mr Bond]

Keep those clear bottles out of the light(in a box until fridging).[/color]

Actually the kit uses tetra and sylvan which are light-stable and won't skunk in clear bottles, as long as you don't add any other hops. So clear bottles are fine.

If you read this post cognosis states that he added hops so my original statement is valid

 

[DJR]

If you read this post cognosis states that he added hops so my original statement is valid

My bad... just trying to remind people that clear glass is fine for this kit as long as there is no added hops. I should really read things before posting h34r:

 

[Cognosis]

The 'orange juice' colour is clearing up nicely as all the sediment sinks to the bottom, and she's taking on a nice corona-ey colour (we've got a bottle to compre it with). Here's hoping for a kickarse brew

 

[gonzo]

im so happy with my result on this one
did the simple can + brew enhancer 2 and it tastes great even better than coronas

 

[JCG]

Ive done this one before, when I first started brewing this year picked up 2 cans for $8. I did the first one with a kilo of dextrose came out very clear and very light. My only concern was it did not hold a head. I have taken my concern to my HBS he thought it was my glasses, but when I tried my ESB IPA it held head all the way down and it laced the glass (and that was done with goo and dextrose, nothing else). Again I tried CMC in same glass as my next drink and still no head.

I am planning to another brew this time using brewiser liquide brewing sugar (plus a little hersbrucker hop), will this give more head than dextrose?

 

[DJR]

Ive done this one before, when I first started brewing this year picked up 2 cans for $8. I did the first one with a kilo of dextrose came out very clear and very light. My only concern was it did not hold a head. I have taken my concern to my HBS he thought it was my glasses, but when I tried my ESB IPA it held head all the way down and it laced the glass (and that was done with goo and dextrose, nothing else). Again I tried CMC in same glass as my next drink and still no head.

I am planning to another brew this time using brewiser liquide brewing sugar (plus a little hersbrucker hop), will this give more head than dextrose?

You could steep a bit of wheat malt, or use malt rather than dextrose, but that will make it too dark and not light enough. I'd go with steeping the wheat malt personally. 200g of cracked wheat malt grain in a grain bag, put in some 65C water for about 45 mins then boiled for 30 mins with a bit of kit goo or dry malt (maybe about 100g or so), and you can boil up your hops for the last 15 mins of the boil to add some aroma. Alternatively you could get some dry wheat malt powder if you can find it. Wheat malt is great guns for head retention.

 

[JCG]

put in some 65C water for about 45 mins then boiled for 30 mins with a bit of kit goo or dry malt (maybe about 100g or so), and you can boil up your hops for the last 15 mins of the boil to add some aroma

Wheat malt eh? If I boil that will as you suggested will it get darker like LDME does? As would like to keep the beer as light (in colour) as possible.

JCG.

 

[grod5]

I 've used a Morgan's Extra Pale extract 1.5kg for my last 2 brews (Morgan's Golden Saaz and Brewcraft Pilsner) and found that it was very light in colour and the head was fine.

I might even attempt the CMC with this as well.

daniel

 

[DJR]

put in some 65C water for about 45 mins then boiled for 30 mins with a bit of kit goo or dry malt (maybe about 100g or so), and you can boil up your hops for the last 15 mins of the boil to add some aroma

Wheat malt eh? If I boil that will as you suggested will it get darker like LDME does? As would like to keep the beer as light (in colour) as possible.

JCG.

No it won't go too dark. If you're using the dry stuff you should only need to boil for 30 mins - adding the hops at 15 mins (maybe about 20g of hops to start with). You're only trying to add the head retention, so using dextrose for the rest of it will mean you still have a light coloured beer. But the one time i tried the MC kit i found it was way darker than Corona, even with just brew enhancer 1.

 

[adamj_008]

Whats a good hop variety to use in this style of beer. Im either going to try a Hallertau or Pride of Ringwood, but what are some suggestions. Ive heard cascade been thrown around. what type of flavours would that add to the brew? Any others that i might consider? Cheers.

 

[Grasshopper]

Boy, there sure seems to be alot of interest in this particular kit on this thread.

Can anyone tell me what the heck the brew enhancer actually is? I've looked at some Coopers kits in my grocery store (in Canada) and I haven't come across them and several kits of theirs ask for it.

Drews idea about adding some chilis is very interesting and something I'd like to try. A friend did this with pickles once and they were wickedly good.

Up here Corona is popular in mexican food restaurants and in the summer. A wedge of lemon or lime is nearly always dropped in the bottle when you get it at a restaurant. My wife and I enjoyed the novelty of it until reading that the practice is a way of hiding "off" beer. A clear bottle in a hot climate... you can see why this might have become a habit. Personally, I don't think the beer is that remarkable. But I sure like the clear ceramic labelled bottle, the wedge of lime, and notion of the beer with spicy food. And on a hot day. I think they've done very well selling the "ritual" of it to people. I find that dropping some lemon in any beer that I'm not fond of makes it more drinkable.

I'm dying to hear more people discuss their batches of this stuff. Especially brewing with chilies. I had no idea that was feasible.

A very interesting thread.

 

[Steve]

Boy, there sure seems to be alot of interest in this particular kit on this thread.

Can anyone tell me what the heck the brew enhancer actually is? I've looked at some Coopers kits in my grocery store (in Canada) and I haven't come across them and several kits of theirs ask for it.

Drews idea about adding some chilis is very interesting and something I'd like to try. A friend did this with pickles once and they were wickedly good.

Up here Corona is popular in mexican food restaurants and in the summer. A wedge of lemon or lime is nearly always dropped in the bottle when you get it at a restaurant. My wife and I enjoyed the novelty of it until reading that the practice is a way of hiding "off" beer. A clear bottle in a hot climate... you can see why this might have become a habit. Personally, I don't think the beer is that remarkable. But I sure like the clear ceramic labelled bottle, the wedge of lime, and notion of the beer with spicy food. And on a hot day. I think they've done very well selling the "ritual" of it to people. I find that dropping some lemon in any beer that I'm not fond of makes it more drinkable.

I'm dying to hear more people discuss their batches of this stuff. Especially brewing with chilies. I had no idea that was feasible.

A very interesting thread.

Grasshopper, an article on chili beer:

http://www.byo.com/feature/605.html

Cheers
Steve

 

[Tyred]

Grasshopper, information on brew enhancers

Brew enhancer 1 (coopers) - dextrose and maltodextrin
May also be called Body Brew
Probably 400g Maltodextrin(Cornsyrup).600g Dextrose
Brew Enhancer 1 improves the body, mouthfeel and head retention of your favourite brew without altering the flavour.

Brew enhancer 2 (coopers) - dextrose, maltodextrin and Light Dry Malt
May also be called Brew Booster
Probably 250g Maltodextrin(Cornsyrup).250g Light Malt.500g Dextrose
Brew Enhancer 2 improves the flavour, body, mouthfeel and head retention of your favourite brew.

Most of this from http://www.coopers.com.au/homebrew/hbrew.php?pid=7

 

[Grasshopper]

Thank you both for the information!

 

[Team_Beer]

i'm bottling one of these tomorrow night so i hope it turns out I just used the packet yeast and brewers no 2 so i'll let you all know in a few weeks how it went!

 

[sluggerdog]

cough cough... 10 pages of talk on this kit and only 1 comment on www.hbkitreviews.com ??

http://www.hbkitreviews.com/view-id-283-co...an-cerveza.html

100% Affiliated (not for profit though) :beer:

ADD YOUR COMMENTS HERE: http://www.hbkitreviews.com/post-id-283-co...an-cerveza.html

 

[Grasshopper]

Stupid question: how did you navigate to that page? I can't seem to find the submit review feature for some other kits I've made.