Brewing Coopers Lager

[RuddyCrazy]

G'day Guy's,
Well saw a Coopers Lager in foodland for $11 so instead of grabbing a slab of pales this weekend I'm going to grab that brew and have my first go at beer for over 12 years. Now as we live off the grid and use rainwater for our water as SA water isn't fit to drink to a human let alone ya dog. As a precaution I will boil the water and use it cooled to ensure any wild yeasts in the water are gone. I'm going to go for a low temp fermentation and as it does get close to or under 0'C here at night I'm going to put the brew in my old gas fridge along with a light bulb and a simple pic circuit programmed with some fuzzy logic to keep the temp within 12-15 degrees.
After reading a few threads here tonight I will re-hydrate the yeast so it can get a good start and for my fermenter I have a brandnew 30 litre sealed tub which I'll put the airlock in the lid.
Hopefully in a couple of weeks everything going well I'll be bottling my first brew.

Cheers Bryan

[Tipsy]

Hi the yeast that comes with that tin is actually an ale yeast and will need a temperature of around 20c

Good luck with it.

[RUM57L]

I've recieved good results + feeback from the stock Coopers Lager kit + Yeast.
Easy drinking ahead !!

[Oliver]

Definitely +1 to what Tipsy said. You won't get any fermentation at all if you use the kit (ale) yeast at lager temps. Grab a Saflager from your LHBS or use the kit yeast and ferment about 18C.

Oh, and welcome to the forum, and welcome back to homebrewing!

Cheers,

Oliver

[RuddyCrazy]

G'day Guy's,
Thanks for the tips, well dear wifey said she's going down the hill on Tuesday and will stop at a homebrew shop for me...

So the shopping list a decent brewers fermenter with the temp sticker on. Now as I do luv a good lager what would be the best one to go for and what yeast for doing a low temp lager brew. I will go the coopers lager in future brews but I'm thinking eh if I'm getting stuff from a homebrew shop might aswell go for a good lager to start. Also what hops will go best for lager as I'll grab some too.

Looks like I'll have to get busy and write the code for the fridge fermenter box which will use a 75 watt light bulb (the banned ones). I'm also thinking of data logging the temps so one can be sure the brew has stayed within the temp range. Eh once I get this project done if any of you guys are interested I will make it open source so one can build it themselves and if needed I can program the pic too....

Cheers Bryan

Note.. which is the best homebrew shop not too far from Belair SA guys ????

[Oliver]

Hi Bryan,

Coincidentally, I was just reading this thread, which contains a discussion about the relative merits of brewing lagers and ales. Give it a read because it may cause you to rethink your brewing of lagers

You have quite a wife there! If she's going to the HB shop, get her to grab some Saflager S-23 if you're intent on brewing with a lager yeast. Also, some hops such as Saaz are good in a lager. Chuck, say, 15g in 5 mins before the end of the boil. With that amount you don't need to worry about straining them out; just check em all in the fermenter.

If you go with the lager yeast, a constant low temperature for an extended period of time (because fermentation will take a lot longer at 9-12C) is essential to get the best results.

Instead of the light bulb (remember that light is the enemy of beer) you could always get her to pick up a heat pad from the LHBS.

Good luck with all that techie stuff. Let us know how you get on.

I can't help you with the Belair HB shop sorry.

Cheers,

Oliver

[RuddyCrazy]

G'day Oliver,
We found a Brewcraft shop not too far away so I had a look online and came up with a shopping list

1kg of muntons spray dried extra light malt extract
2 x saflager S-23 yeast satchels
2 x Saaz 12 gram hops flower bags.

Now I noticed they do have a heap of lager brews there so which one would be the best to go with ?

That should be enough to do 2 brews and for the first I reckon I'll go with a cooper lager, keeping the 9-12 C will be easy here as it only gets to 12-14 C here through the day. Thanks for the tip on the light too and now I reckon I'll use an old hot water heating element which will pump out the heat with not much power needed. Hopefully on Monday my mate at work will have a couple of brewing containers for me but if not i'll have to go with one of the brewcraft ones @ $40 ouch.

Cheers Bryan

[Oliver]

Now I noticed they do have a heap of lager brews there so which one would be the best to go with ?

Not knowing what brands they have, I'd consult the HBS proprietor when you can get there. Bear in mind that some kits come with a true lager yeast, so be sure to check, otherwise you might just be chucking away a lager yeast and replacing it with ... a lager yeast Some of the Coopers range - Pilsner, Heritage Lager and European Lager to name three - come with a lager yeast or blend of lager and ale yeast.

Cheers,

Oliver

[RuddyCrazy]

G'day guy's,
Well my mate came good and got me a 30 litre fermenting pot and man is it a good one. I grabbed a can of cooper lager for a tad over $11 and tomorrow Dear wife is going to the homebrew shop. As she is being so nice to me for going I'm going to do the cider first provided she can get the right yeast. One thing I do need to know with the cider is the ideal temp to ferment it at.

Anyway my homebrew adventures are one BIG step closer.

Oh and what do you think of the Black Rock Lager as that is one of the lagers the HBS has.???

Cheers Bryan

[Oliver]

Hi Bryan,

Ideal fermentation temperature for the cider depends on what type of yeast it is. If it's the kit yeast the instructions will probably say to ferment at between, say, 18C-25C or so. If that's the case then stick to the lower end of that range, say 18C-20C.

You can also get liquid cider yeasts (which I wouldn't bother about just yet; save that until you've got a few more brews under your belt), use a dry champagne yeast or even ferment with a beer yeast. Many have used Safale US-05 in ciders with success. Do a search and you'll uncover a few threads about it.

I have no (recent) experience with the Black Rock kits sorry. But in the good old days they were good. In fact, I have made the cider a few times and it was a winner.

Cheers,

Oliver

P.S. I just had a look at the Black Rock site and the product info was last updated in 2002 and the brewing instructions say to brew between 18C and, wait for it, 29C Doesn't instil one with confidence.

P.P.S And quite hilariously (if you're a geek, anyway) the link to the brewing instructions on the Black Rock site is a Windows 3.1/NT 3.1logo! Only a little bit out of date

P.P.P.S I just noticed that the site has links to "instructional videos". To watch them, you have to select your connection speed. The choices are:

Low Speed (56K)
Med Speed (128k)
High Speed (300K)

How last century!

[RuddyCrazy]

Hi Oliver,
Well got my goodies today and Dear Wifey got some SN9 yeast for the cider. The guys at the HBS shop thats the best yeast as it is champane yeast for cider. This weekend I'll make up a solid frame and make up a heating element to suit the 24 volt batterybank we use for the fridge. I'll aim for 16-21C for the cider and if it takes a bit longer that will be alright. I can get a heap of 330ml PET bottles from work for free although for my beer I'll be using 750ml VB longnecks with crown seals.

So hopefully this weekend the first of many homebrews will begin.......

Cheers Bryan

[RUM57L]

Hey Bryan,

I've also heard the champagne yeast is good for ciders but i did hear that it may end result in a dry tasting cider.

Happy brewing + good luck