The Supermarket Challenge

[staggalee]

Hi, strangely enough the Coopers leaflet had virtually no instructions about how to pitch the yeast, although it does point out that this is a 'true lager yeast' and so behaves differently to other yeasts. So I rang the Coopers help line (first time ever) and asked their advice. The guy on the phone was extremely helpful and pointed out that bubbles aren't the only sign of primary fermentation - condensation under the lid of the fermenter and froth on top of the mix are sure signs too. My brew had both of those signs, so he thought there was probaby air escaping from the lid of the fermenter. I have now taken the lid off, given the o-ring a good clean-up and put it back on. We'll see how that goes. Should see bubbles within 24 hours if he's right. If not, might have to abandon that mix because I think it will be too late to add another yeast, even though it's now at 14 degrees.

Tony

While you were on the Coopers Help Line, you should have mentioned your previous post about priming 22.5l. of beer with 500g. of sugar. I know what he would have said.

stagga.

 

[andrewg1978]

Guys,

I have been through the coopers range as well. By far the pale is the best from my view, however with the winter months coming up I just invested in a genuine Guiness tap from ebay and and brewed 22ltrs of standard coopers stout. The result - AWSOME, even the creamy head with smaller bubbles (No nitrogen, just CO2). I never have to go out for a pint of Guiness again. The first night I tapped the keg with my mate we drank it all night until we could not drink any more at about 5am the next morning while sitting around a fire watching the footy and rugby (only interuppted by a few coopers draughts on the other tap).

Re commercial beer I even invested in a chiller plate so I can take my own brew to friends houses using gel pack ice, there is nothing better!!!!!

Yet to try

Coopers Ale, Blonde, euro larger but I think these will be my next 3.

 

[tgilbert]

I am so pleased to hear other home brewers rave about how much better their own beer is than the commercial equivalents. I was starting to think that I was "drinking my own piss", so to speak. I have felt this way since about the third brew I made. Every now and then I don't plan properly and I have to buy commercial beer (and when we go out for dinner), but I really don't enjoy it the way I used to. Prefer my home brew any time.

And Stagga, I hope you've never made a mistake

Tony

 

[tgilbert]

Just keep watching the krausen (froth) and keep testing the SG with your hydrometer.

Hi Jono, what precisely am I watching for in the froth? Am I looking for it to disappear, or to change in some way?

Tony

 

[microbe]

Hey Tony,

The krausen (froth) is an indicator that fermentation is taking place. When (if) it dies down it indicatates slowing or stopped fermentation.

A better indicator is your hydrometer - you should be able to estimate your FG (Final/Finishing? Gravity) using something like this, once you have a stabilised reading over two-three days, you're good to bottle/keg.

Cheers,

microbe

 

[ibast]

I have been through the coopers range as well. By far the pale is the best from my view, however with the winter months coming up I just invested in a genuine Guiness tap from ebay and and brewed 22ltrs of standard coopers stout. The result - AWSOME, even the creamy head with smaller bubbles (No nitrogen, just CO2). .

I find the Cooper's stout too sweet. Try the Morgans with with 1.5 kg of liquid dark malt.

BoT. I don't really consider Cooper's a supermarket brew, though I suspect their basic kits (lager, bitter etc) could be classified as such.

The Coopers yeast will handle low-mid 20s, temperature wise. The others won't handle mid-twenties.

I find a lot of kits yeast is too sensitive to brew in Sydney without a brew fridge.

 

[RobboMC]

Don't abandon any mix until you measure the gravity. If the gravity is reducin' then she's fermentin'.

Also try pouring boiling water over the lid and seal before twisting onto fermenter. This softens the ring and makes a better seal,
but be warned, this can make it farking hard to get off a week later.

You won't kill a yeast by cooling, just send it dormant. If it doesn't start to fire up let the fermenter warm to 20 deg. I have found the Coopers yeasts to be pretty robust temperature wise, I've brewed the old Bavarian Lager down to 14 deg C and the ales down to 15 deg C without problems.

 

[tgilbert]

Hi all,

Just a quick update on my supermarket challenge series so far. The situation is:

- On tap: Cascade Golden Harvest (in fridge at 1 degree)
- Carbonating: Cooper's Cerveza (in fridge at 1 degree)
- Fermenting: Cooper's Euro Lager (in fridge at 14 degrees)

The Golden Harvest just gets better and better with each glass I pour from the keg (and I don't mean as I get drunker!). It's a very creditable brew and one I will definitely be brewing again. But I might experiment more with yeasts and I wouldn't mind trying this with a double kit brew for more flavour. A touch subtle.

I sampled the Cerveza tonight and was very suprised. I thought I'd accidentally kegged it too early because I misread the final SG readings (in a hurry). I expected it to be very immature and low in alcohol. But it's neither. It has a crisp and slightly fruity flavour and a very decent kick to it. I think it will mature very nicely. Will update later.

The Euro Lager is looking very promising too. After a near disastrous start when I thought I had killed the yeast, it has now been brewing for two weeks at 14 degrees and is showing an SG of 1030 which is better than I would have expected given how little fermentation activity I've been able to observe. This translates to an alcohol content of 5%. It has a sharpish but interesting flavour (hell, can't let a hydrometer full go totally to waste) that I look forward to tasting with some gas behind it.

So my conclusion at this early stage is that supermarket kits (using only what I can buy at the local Coles) can produce surprisingly good results for less than $20 a brew. That works out to around 30-35 cents a glass. Cheap beer by anyone's reckoning I think.

Anyone for a beer?

Tony

PS: Any suggestions about what to brew next? My brother is raving about his Hefeweizen, but I don't think Coles sells it. However I might have seen a Cascade (?) wheat beer on the shelf that could possibly benefit from a honey infusion. Mmmmm....

 

[Daawl]

TonyG

Sounds great looks like you are on a winner.

I have a toucan homebrand lager going at the moement happily bubbling away.

but

I have a sneaking suspicsion that I have picked up an infection, :angry: seems stronger than normal and almost a touch of sourness, although every other aspect seems allright.

My first tocan though So I am just going to let it take its course and see what happens. <_<

 

[white.grant]

I set up my brew fridge on the weekend with my new fridgemateII and tonight in the spirit of supermarket challenge I will be starting a Coopers Pale Ale with brew enhancer 2.

As part of my learning curve I was planning to rack this one to a secondary for conditioning for a week or two after primary fermentation has finished - and then bulk prime for bottling.

I've never bulk primed (or racked) before so, can I drop the sucrose mix straight into the secondary and stir? or should I rack into a "bottling bucket" on top of the sucrose mix?

Grant

 

[tgilbert]

I set up my brew fridge on the weekend with my new fridgemateII and tonight in the spirit of supermarket challenge I will be starting a Coopers Pale Ale with brew enhancer 2.

As part of my learning curve I was planning to rack this one to a secondary for conditioning for a week or two after primary fermentation has finished - and then bulk prime for bottling.

I've never bulk primed (or racked) before so, can I drop the sucrose mix straight into the secondary and stir? or should I rack into a "bottling bucket" on top of the sucrose mix?

Grant

Hi Grant, I don't think you should drop the sucrose directly into the secondary. Others may disagree, but usually my secondary has a whack of sediment in the bottom that it's better not to mix up into your final brew for bottling. I like clear beers, though, and I know others don't care about that.

My next beer will be a Coopers Pale Ale, but I am using Brew Enhancer 1 because the supermarket is out of 2 - has been for a while which is annoying as I prefer to use 2.

Good luck. Conditioning is an important step in my brewing process now.

Tony

 

[Daawl]

&lt;br /&gt;I set up my brew fridge on the weekend with my new fridgemateII and tonight in the spirit of supermarket challenge I will be starting a Coopers Pale Ale with brew enhancer 2.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As part of my learning curve I was planning to rack this one to a secondary for conditioning for a week or two after primary fermentation has finished - and then bulk prime for bottling.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I've never bulk primed (or racked) before so, can I drop the sucrose mix straight into the secondary and stir? or should I rack into a &amp;quot;bottling bucket&amp;quot; on top of the sucrose mix? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Grant&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;<br /><br />G'day Grantw<br /><br />TonyG is correct. To bulk prime with the best results it is best to rack to your &quot;bottling bucket&quot; with the sucrose/dextrose/DME already disolved in 500ml of hot water.<br /><br />Some info states that you can add it to secondary by stiring gently but this only negates what you were trying to achieve by racking to secondar anyay.<br /><br />Lots of info on bulk priming &amp; racking so the best of luck.<br /><br />Cheers Daawl

 

[samhighley]

I always rack the beer onto the dextrose in another fermenter.

It's a minor pain, but the bottling fermenter is easy to clean afterwards.

Sam

 

[MCT]

&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;<br /><br />G'day Grantw<br /><br />><br />Some info states that you can add it to secondary by stiring gently but this only negates what you were trying to achieve by racking to secondar anyay.<br /><br />Lots of info on bulk priming &amp; racking so the best of luck.<br /><br />Cheers Daawl

I've never racked to seconday, is there a big yeast build up on the bottom that would ruin clarity if stirred? What would be wrong with mixing up the priming sugar in 500ml, boil it and let it cool a bit then adding it to 2ndry..then bottle?

 

[white.grant]

Thanks Guys,

I thought that'd be the go. I'll nip down to bunnings tomorrow and get another bucket.

Brew is down and tucked away. Cool evening here in the gong. Fridge is set at 19, fermenter showing 17, ambient in the garage = 14.

Grant

 

[white.grant]

Hi Grant, I don't think you should drop the sucrose directly into the secondary. Others may disagree, but usually my secondary has a whack of sediment in the bottom that it's better not to mix up into your final brew for bottling. I like clear beers, though, and I know others don't care about that.

My next beer will be a Coopers Pale Ale, but I am using Brew Enhancer 1 because the supermarket is out of 2 - has been for a while which is annoying as I prefer to use 2.

Good luck. Conditioning is an important step in my brewing process now.

Tony

Thanks Tony,

I've never used these enhancer products before so am interested to see how they taste. Years ago a kilo of sugar seemed to do the trick - my how things have changed.

grant

 

[soupbones]

I have been brewing for a number of years now, and done many of the Coopers kits, as well as other kits and a few extracts ( not game enough to go to AG as yet).

Currently drinking one of the Coopers Euro Lagers, which I got from Big W, and used Brew Enchancer 2 as well ( So your basic supermarket brew ). Probably one of the best beers I have made. I brewed it for 2 weeks. Gave it a dietic restfor a week before racking for another week, then cold conditioning in the secondary for another 2 weeks, before bottling. Left it for two weeks in the bottle before drinking. One of the fastest dissapearing brews I have done, as people come over and seem to want to have more then their normal share of this one.
Think next time I do this one I'll chuck in a tea bag of Hallerteu in the secondary to dry hop it for some aroma.

Still. In my opinion, the best kit beer Coopers have ever done. For a cheap and nasty beer, it comes out rather good. Will get better when aged to in the bottles. Even the instructions state that.

 

[vb4me]

What a great discussion. I have brewed for a lot of years and just started again this year after a couple of years break. I have always brewed from cans and not tried with mashes and such as I find there is a huge range of favours and brands to try still. Also when on a good tasting beer or three I tend to stick with them. I have found the range in supermarkets has improved over the last few years from just the coopers basic range and homebrand. I am now brewing a coopers pale ale and tooheys lager. The pale ale when brewed to their instructions is beautiful, just slightly off the bottled version.
Biggest downfall to the supermarket though is them running out of stock. Went to coles this morning for a box of brew enhancer No2 but none left, so I bought a 500g box of light dried malt and a 2kg bag of white sugar (no 1 kg bags left ). The misses is trying to convince me to use the whole 2kg + the malt. Would I have to use another satchet of yeast for this to brew out properly? Or should I buy a couple of stubbies of pale ale and culture the yeast from that??

 

[tgilbert]

Currently drinking one of the Coopers Euro Lagers, which I got from Big W, and used Brew Enchancer 2 as well ( So your basic supermarket brew ). Probably one of the best beers I have made. I brewed it for 2 weeks. Gave it a dietic restfor a week before racking for another week, then cold conditioning in the secondary for another 2 weeks, before bottling. Left it for two weeks in the bottle before drinking. One of the fastest dissapearing brews I have done, as people come over and seem to want to have more then their normal share of this one.
Think next time I do this one I'll chuck in a tea bag of Hallerteu in the secondary to dry hop it for some aroma.

Still. In my opinion, the best kit beer Coopers have ever done. For a cheap and nasty beer, it comes out rather good. Will get better when aged to in the bottles. Even the instructions state that.

Hi and welcome the to discussion. What's a 'dietic rest'? And what is the difference (in a cold lager brew) between racking and cold conditioning? I brewed mine for three weeks in the fridge, then decanted it to plastic cubes to condition for another three weeks. I've now bottled it and I am wondering if it's OK to carbonate on the shelf or should it go back into the fridge? I am hoping not to drink this one until our family camping trip in November. Should be real good by then.

By the way, why do you call supermarket kits 'cheap and nasty beer'? Some of what they sell in Coles (e.g. Cascade kits) is also on the shelf in my local HBS (for 25% more) and the results from most Coles cans so far have been at least as good as I get from Morgans and other HBS cans. If you really want cheap and nasty, my local Coles had a few cans of Bi-Lo Lager last week and I grabbed one for $6.50 to see what it tastes like. Will let you know.

Happy brewing, Tony

 

[mauriceatron]

I loved reading this discussion! It actually goes to show just how good Woolies and Coles are with support of home brew. It's not just the Coopers Original Series and the house brands, it's also Toohey's, Cascade and Coopers Internation Series as well; and the different sugars available.

When I read this yesterday, I actually got inspired to see just how cheap a brew can be and still taste okay. While I don't like my chances of massive success, this is what I've done:

1. Homebrand Draught - $7.75
2. Cooper's Brewing Sugar 1kg - $5.18
3. Cooper's Carbonation Drops - $2.89 (probably use 1/2 the bag so $1.45)
4. 100 Home brand Crown Seals - $1.79 (need around 25 so $0.45 ea)

Mixed to 21 Litres and brewing at around 21 deg C for 11~14 days. Looking for a FG of around 1008 or less.

So, at the end of it for $15.83, I want to know what I can get. I know I won't have anything flash but will it taste better than budget brand name beer like Toohey's Draught or VB? I think it will. If I can produce a brew better than a commercial beer then Supermarket brewing has a chance!

I could have used Dextrose for the sugar but I know that would definitely be stretching the friendship. Would have been cheaper but would be lacking essential body and head retention, not worth it for saving $2.

It will take a while as I won't go high in temp and it will need conditioning for 3 weeks or more. So in 5 weeks or more, I would have an answer. Thread will probably have died off by then but I reckon my commercial beer drinking mates will think it's better than their piss. Anyway, will only tie up one of my 3 fermenters for the next 2 weeks while I see what happens.

Now that's supermarket challenge!! It's the cheapest brew I have ever made (yes, I'm sure the resulting taste will reflect that but I'm still going to have fun doing it)

Started tonight...

Cheers!
Mauriceatron