Coopers Traditional Draught - And Other Questions :)

[lopeman]

Hey guys.

Have had my third batch going for about a week now. Coopers traditional draught with 1.5kg of liquid malt. It will sit in the fermenter for about 12-13 days before i bottle it.

Just wondering if this sounds like an ok brew. I know its very basic and all that but want to get into the whole business of home brewing and drunking. . . .i mean drinking .. . . .slowly and carefully.




ALSO, my first batch, just the coopers larger and sugar that comes in the kit, tastes real citricsy and fruity. I'm pretty sure it fermented at to high a temp and also when in bottles prob stored at a bit high a temp as well. . . . does that lead to the taste or is it infection based? also will the taste improve with time or should i just pour them out and reclaim the bottles.



Also wondering if temprature is as big an issue after botteling as it is while fermenting. Currently have them outside but the curent brew is going on at about 20-21deg and will keep bottles at same temp.


thanks guys

P.S. sorry bout the newbieness of the questions

 

[booyablack]

I've just done a brew of the Coopers Traditional Draught myself. I also used the 1.5kg of light liquid malt plus ~300g Coopers Brewing Sugar (dextrose/maltodextrin mix). I also dry-hopped some Cascade pellets when I racked to the secondary after 7 days. So I think your brew sounds OK because mine is quite similar and I'm hoping for a nice drop myself!

If your lager has funny fruity tastes then I'd put it down to both the high fermentation temperature (can produce funky tasting esthers) plus replacing sugar (even dex) with malt can help get rid of the twang and give you a maltier beer. Also the Coopers original cans (ie your green lager can) are not nearly as good as the Coopers Premium Selection cans such as the Heritage Lager.

I don't think you've got an infection because even though I've never had one I'm pretty sure it makes the beer undrinkable rather than just taste funny. I read on a website once that time heals all brews. Not sure this works for ALL brews but if you're patient then you will find that beer conditioned over months and even years will certainly round out nicely.

Once bottled it is still recommended to keep the beer in a cool, dark place. I keep my bottles in an old cupboard in my brick garage. It stays reasonably cool in there even in the summer and keeps the bottles out of the light. If you're keeping your bottles at 20-21 degrees then you should have no problems there.

 

[manticle]

Your brew sounds fine. Keep it at that temp (slightly lower is ok too) and you should end up with something nice.

12-13 days sounds good but how do you know it's ready? Are you measuring the gravity and making sure it's stable or just taking a punt?

The fruitiness from your first brew is most likely the high temps as you've highlighted.

While I think malt is a good addition to any kit beer there's no point getting purist and completely dismissing sugar like dextrose. It has its place - a small amount in each brew can prevent overly sweet beer and give a dry balanced finish. If you use (for example), 1000 - 1500g of dried malt extract and add 250g dextrose, they will work together to make a full bodied but well attenuated beer.

It's better to store bottles in a cool dark place but less important than fermenting the beer at the right initial temperature. The first few days of ferment are the crucial ones although stable temperature is best throughout.

Infections can take many forms - they are not always totally 'undrinkable'. However yours sounds like fruitiness associated with high temps. As for tipping it - can you drink it? Do you want to drink it? Age will round out some of the flavours (it won't make everything necessarily magnificent) - it just depends what it's worth to you. If you do decide to tip it, put aside 3 or 4 bottles and taste them in 2-3 months just to get your own idea of how things change.