Coopers Pale Ale Kit

[Rubes]

Well she's in the fermenter. I went for:

Kit
1.1KG JW Trad Ale mashed @ 63oC for 60 mins (boiled for 40 mins)
400G Dextrose
Yeast pitched @ 23oC
Aerated for about 5 minutes with the spoon (I use a hand shower attachment to fill the fermenter when I do kits cos it gives a lot of froth so I assume it is getting plenty of o2 in there)

I added literally a couple of pellets of POR to the boil just to help with the break as well as 1/4 a whirlfloc tab. Aimed to get a very dry wort to get the F.G. down to 1004. Didn't add any extra hops as a few have mentioned how the kit is quite high on that front.

My effficiency was ********* so I had to up the Dextrose from the planned 250G to get 20L @ 1040.

Let you know how it goes.

 

[Rubes]

From the Cooper's website....

Australian Pale Ale
Due to popular demand our master brewers have developed a beer concentrate in the style of the famous COOPERS ORIGINAL PALE ALE which is considered an Australian icon. The finest 2-row barley, hops and specially selected yeast combine to produce a beer with fruity and floral characters, balanced with a crisp bitterness and compelling flavour perfect for every occasion. Recommended to be brewed with 1kg of Coopers Brew Enhancer2.


They do suggest that the yeast in this kit is different.

 

[Boots]

I noticed the different sized grains in the yeast, but took the larger ones to be nutrient ?? They seemed too big to be yeast.

 

[Batz]

OK some of you must have tried your Coopers Pale Ale kit brew by now,
what's the verdict ?

 

[wee stu]

Sorry Batz, mine's still in cc fridge - bottling on Sunday.

This one did taste and look the goods from primary though - done by the Coopers book, accept for a small amount of POR dry hopping.

Actually looking forward to this one :chug:

Rubes - this is the "Oor Wullie's Pail Ale" - "brewed in a wee plastic thingy"

 

[warrenlw63]

I don't do too many kits these days but ....

I'm highly tempted to maybe use one of these kits and perhaps supplement it with a bit of pale malt, add some POR like Wee Stu and have it on tap for guests that expect a beer that's a bit like what they're used too. But maybe a little better.

Always good to see people's reactions when you can replicate their commercial faves.

Warren -

 

[PostModern]

I chucked a Coopers Sparkling Ale kit on the other day for that exact purpose. Kit, 1.2Kg of DME, 300g of dextrose boiled for 10 mins with 12g of POR flowers and 15g of Hallertau pellets.

Smells and tastes like Coopers Sparkling so far (10 days in the fermenter).

 

[SJW]

PostModern: i am drinking the exact same brew now and other than being slightly more cloudy than the original in tastes bloody good. It takes about 8 weeks before it losses the big sweet taste but its a cracker.

 

[warrenlw63]

Sold me guys,

As soon as my current batch is off the yeast cake (6x clone) I think I'll chuck together a quickie and rack it on... It's always good to have a general purpose batch in the kegs for the guests. Might even consume a bit of it myself.

Warren -

 

[Kai]

I did one last month. When I racked it off for some 'cool conditionioning' I bottled the dregs from my fermenter out of curiosity. That was on the 25th, tasting one on the 9th of this month it was, strangely enough, a little yeasty, but wasn't bad. The rest I bottled on the 9th, and they've only just finished secondary ferment so I'll be trying one tonight.

 

[wee stu]

The Oor Wullie's Pail Ale goes into bottle this sunday. Time will tell as to the quality of the beer B) , but the label is a Caledonian work of art

View attachment oor_wullie__s_pale.pdf

 

[deebee]

Pure class, Stu. Love it.

 

[bibtracker]

:chug:

Okay, you've convinced me, guys.
Saw this one in my local Woolies supermarket this morning, put it in the trolley, and then put it back on the shelf.
Will get one tomorrow and give it a go.
What about trying it with a liquid yeast, (I have a Wyeast 1056 slurry looking for work) or is that a bit over the top?
Might also cut it back to about 20 litres and try amounts of DME and dexie suggested in earlier posts.
Alternatively, what about a two-can job?

 

[jgriffin]

I've got one down that i used with 1KG DME, and 250g of steeped crystal malt. Can't tell you what it tastes like yet, but it seemed pretty good at bottling time.

 

[barfridge]

that label is sheer brilliance!

nice work guv

 

[Kai]

While we're sharing labels, I slapped this one on a couple pale ales tonight. My pales are shaping up nicely but they still have a way to go due to a rocky start stored outside in the cold.

There's been a few threads on cats at Grumpy's forums lately.

 

[warrenlw63]

Just tapped the keg of my Coopers Pale Ale Kit (with grain added).

Can't say totally what the kit is like because I pushed it up to a 40 litre batch with the addition of some JW Pils Malt (5kg), Light Crystal (200g), POR hops, CSA yeast and sugar.

Early impressions are very bloody nice indeed, very close to Coopers itself. It's not too often that I have beers that are quite good after 1 week in the keg. This is a very good quaffer that will be quite popular with megaswill fans.

:chug: :chug:

Warren -

 

[barfridge]

my coopers kit (made with 1.5kg LLME) has been in the bottle for 2 weeks now, and it is a tasty brew, not too far off the original at all

I'm quite happy with it, and will be giving this a go again.

btw, I just had to try one early, and after a week in the bottle, it managed to taste almost exactly like newcastle brown ale, with the sweetness from the priming DME.

 

[jgriffin]

I made up the coopers kit with 250g of Crystal malt and a brew booster bag, was one of the nicest kit brews i have done.

 

[wee stu]

mine's all gone!!!

brewed exactly as the Doctor (Tim) ordered, but with a t bag of POR added for good measure, this proved very popular with mega swil friends and real beer drinkers alike.

Great to drink straight from the stubby, whilst watcing the footy. (unless the Crows are playing Brisbane at the Gabba :angry: , then it tastes very bitter).

and, if you are quick you can still catch cans of this. with Coopers recommended brew enhancer no. 2 thrown in free, for around $12 at Harris Scarfes (of all places), not sure but I think this is true until around 5 August.