Coopers Pale Ale Kit

[pugsbaker]

I picked up a couple of cooper's pale ale kits on special. I've done one before just following the instructions on the can but was trying to think of a way could make them different or better.

does anyone have any ideas.

 

[PostModern]

Welcome Pugs. You can do a lot to this kit. In itself, it is pretty bland and low in bitterness. Dress it up with malt, hops, different yeasts... it's a blank canvas.

 

[razz]

You have done it now pugs. Joining this forum means you are in for a lifetime of fun and adventure in the never ending quest for the perfect drop !
Good luck and don't forget to use the search tool.

 

[DJR]

I picked up a couple of cooper's pale ale kits on special. I've done one before just following the instructions on the can but was trying to think of a way could make them different or better.

does anyone have any ideas.

If you reculture some yeast from a bottle of cooper's (check out the grumpy's website or do a search on "stealing commercial" here) then it will be a nicer drop. THe kit doesn't really taste like real Cooper's PA but it's a good base to start with. Try putting in some pride of ringwood hops (about 10g boiled in some wort for 30 mins) to give it that real cooper's taste or use something else altogether (hallertau/saaz/tettnang/goldings/cascade) if you want to avoid it. Safale US56 yeast will give you a nice finish if you don't want to reculture anything. And steep a bit of cracked carapils and crystal grain together (100g carapils and maybe 50g crystal in a grain bag in a pot of 65C water for 45 mins) for a bit more depth, or just add some dry wheat malt extract.

Just some ideas, really just experiment while you have a lot of beer to play around with a few kits.

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Hey Pugs,

I assume from the fact you last made it according to the directions you are fairly new to this...if not, my apologies (I'm no ace by all means anyway).

Here is one that is sure to please your mates and super-easy to make up, no special equipment required and any HBS can sell you the hops.

Take 2x cans Cooper's Australian Pale Ale.

Pour all but about 1/4 of a can into the fermenter and set fermenter aside.
Put the remaining goop into a fairly reasonable sized stock pot, add boiling water and bring back to boil.
Add hops and honey at these stages:
8g Fuggles (boil for 30 mins)
8g Fuggles (boil for 10 mins)
1 tablespoon honey (boil 5 mins)

Pour the resultant mixture into your fermenter and top up to 21 litres at a temperature of around 18 degrees.

Add both sachets of supplied yeast and ferment at 18-20 degrees for nine days before bottling/kegging.

This is nothing special, but a whole lot better than what you'd get following the instructions...and if your mates get into it you'll be cleaned out in no time

PZ.

 

[Justin T]

Fingerlickin_B, is the honey flavour in that receipe strong or is it just a subtle hint? I was thinking of adding honey to a coopers kit myself and was unsure as how much to use :chug:

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Fingerlickin_B, is the honey flavour in that receipe strong or is it just a subtle hint?

Hey Justin,

Just the slightest hint, a tablespoon is bugger-all really :beer:

PZ.

 

[mike_hillyer]

A simple tweak is to buy an enhancer with malt in it and compare it to the original. The extra malt will give you more fuller beer with a better head.

I found the sparkling coopers kit disappointing but I haven't done the pale ale. I rate the cooper's draught, real ale and the old dark ale.

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

A simple tweak is to buy an enhancer with malt in it and compare it to the original. The extra malt will give you more fuller beer with a better head.

There is dry malt extract in the Cooper's Brew Enhancer #2...which he has already used (the can tells you to)...

Still heaps of yucky sugar and corn shite in there, making for a pretty yucky beer

PZ.

 

[WillM]

I was fortunate enough to pick up a pale ale and a Bavarina on special at Coles as well

Here's what I will do.
Get a packet of dextrose and a packet of light dry malt (also from Coles) and some hops from your local home brew shop.

I'll be using
500g light fry malt
500g dextrose (1/2 a packet)
a good yeast - proably culture the coopers, but will use WLP005 if I am lazy
10g of hops. I have UK Northdown - but Pride of righwood would be my first choice.

Sanitize everything

Boil the kettle
Add the hops to a cup of boiling water & soak for 10 mins
Soak the Tin of goo in the sink in hot water

Bring the kettle back to boil
Pour it all in to the fermenter and disolve in the boiling water
Add the cold water to top up the fermenter
Pitch the yeast

Bob is your uncle.

 

[mike_hillyer]

The Bavarian is reasonable. Years ago my old man made it with 800g of white sugar and put it in crown lager bottles and it was surprisingly drinkable cold out of the bottle.

 

[Adamt]

Got a coopers pale can and real ale can on special the other day and I'm thinking of making a vintage'ish ale out of it.

1x Can of Pale
1x Can of Real
500gx Dry Wheat Extract
500gx Light Brown Sugar

500gx Medium Crystal Malt - Steeped

Not sure if I'll hop it anymore as its got 2 hopped extracts and might add another kilo of DME, making it 1.089OG instead of 1.071OG.

I'll probably use an English Ale Yeast that can handle the alcohol.

Still forming what I'm exactly going to do but theres a lot you can do.

 

[mike_hillyer]

Adamt looks great! Apparently the Vintage uses the Cooper's yeast. Mighty be an option to do a reculture on some Cooper's Sparkling. (and an opportunity to have a few kb's of Coopers )

 

[RobboMC]

For an easy drinking brew try 600 g of Brew Enhancer 2 and 600 g of Light Dry malt.

I've also made this kit with all liquid malt, both light and amber, but there's not enough bittering in the kit to balance the liquid malt. So I now add 25 g of Fuggles and /or 25 g of Goldings. Boil one 30-45 min and steep the other.

Alternatively, just add 25 g of aroma hops to the HOT fermenter when mixing the kit with the hot water, but the 30 min boiled hops adds flavour as well.

Personally I wouldn't go too hard with the POR hops, the taste can get a bit strong with even small additions. More british hops like Goldings go better with the bittering already in the kit which is allegedly Styrian Goldings ( from another thread )

Hey Fingelicken - I made a 'lawn mowing ale' last simmer with just 1.2 kg of Brew Enhancer 2, and the kit of course. Intended for quaffing after mowing the lawn. My beer fridge is right in the garage where I store the mower, so the first long neck doesn't even leave the garage, I drink it there.

Anyway, a few got left over from the summer, and I drank the last one in July, after 8 months in the bottle. It was great. Yes a thinnish beer, but very tasty, and after a decent time in the bottles turned into a really nice beer.

I have also sometimes added morgans caramalt which gives a slight caramel note to convert to a traditional english pale ale.

 

[petesbrew]

I just mixed this one up on sunday with Brew Enhancer 2 and 25g of Nelson Sauvin.
Couldn't be bothered trying too much with this one, but let's see how it goes. OG was 1056.
Almost made the other half yock by getting her to smell the N.S out of the packet. Not a good move!

 

[peas_and_corn]

I wouldn't go near the coopers brew enhancers- they don't have nearly enough malt in them to make the beer any good. At my LHBS he sells packs wich are like those enhancers, but have more malt in them (a great mix). Also, you could get one of those bags with malt and some grain in it- they make good beer at times.

 

[blackbock]

I just mixed this one up on sunday with Brew Enhancer 2 and 25g of Nelson Sauvin.
Couldn't be bothered trying too much with this one, but let's see how it goes. OG was 1056.
Almost made the other half yock by getting her to smell the N.S out of the packet. Not a good move!

25g?? I hope you like the flavour, 'cos if you boiled it, it's gonna be overwhelming!

:excl:

 

[mike_hillyer]

Lawnmowing beer and it's a summer ale, I like it.

I'm doing my light summer ale now but I can't go past my cooper's real ale, 1/2 kg of light powdered malt, 1/2 kg raw sugar, a couple good spoons of honey ( as apposed to a couple of bad spoons of honey) and a good splat of saaz cones.

 

[petesbrew]

I just mixed this one up on sunday with Brew Enhancer 2 and 25g of Nelson Sauvin.
Couldn't be bothered trying too much with this one, but let's see how it goes. OG was 1056.
Almost made the other half yock by getting her to smell the N.S out of the packet. Not a good move!

25g?? I hope you like the flavour, 'cos if you boiled it, it's gonna be overwhelming!

:excl:

Yeah, the NS flavour's definitely there! :blink: I was a bit dubious in the HBS when the bloke sold it to me, but it tastes pretty good so far!
By the way, I just dry hopped it.

Peas & Corn, yeah I know I should've bought a better kilo bag at the HBS while I was there. Oh well, Next time.

 

[petesbrew]

cracked the first one last friday night. the N.S is intense!!! 6.8% on the richter scale, and it's a damn fine ale!