Is the Coopers yeast responsible for the "Apply" flavors

Okay, I was thinking back to my first brew. It was a Coopers "Can and a Kilo" type kit. (Yeah, I didn't know any better) so I brewed it up with just the extract and corn sugar and got a apple-cidery flavor twang in the brew.
The thing is since I had no experience and my primary information source was Youtube, (the Craigtube video series to be specific) I was under the impression that if the yeast "smelled like applesauce" then that meant it was good. Then I proceeded to move into non canned kits with yeast that was not Coopers and none of them seem to smell like applesauce. And they don't seem to make apple-esque beer either. I was wondering if anyone had done a Coopers canned kit with a different yeast, and if so, whether or not they got any apple flavor. I'm just trying to figure out if the yeast is the culprit here or the canned extract or the combination of both.
I guess it could be that other yeasts have the applesauce smell but to date the only one that I have tried that did was the coopers. Anyway, any thoughts on this. Experience with the coopers kits is preferred.

I think it's from getting much of the fermentables from corn sugar. Sugar has a place in brewing, but when it's more than about 10-20% of the fermentables, the resulting beer can have a decidely cidery flavor.

Hmm... Good to know.
Just curious though do you know of any other yeasts that smell like applesauce?

Pookapoo said:

Hmm... Good to know.
Just curious though do you know of any other yeasts that smell like applesauce?

Click to expand...

No. There are yeast stains (in fact most of them) that smell "fruity" if fermented above about 70 degrees F. Peachy, fruity, bubblegum, etc. Not apply, though. Young beers will often have a definite apple aroma and flavor- like green apples. That's from acetaldehyde, but it goes away with some aging.

I think I may have been misunderstood. I meant the yeast itself smells like applesauce. I mean just open the foil pouch and take a whiff- applesauce smell!
I wasn't referring to the aroma imparted into the beverage.
Anyone know of any other yeasts that smell like that?

I made a few Cooper's kits back in they day. The yeast smelled like every other yeast (including bread yeast) and nothing like applesauce.

Lots of experience with Coopers kits here. Lots of brewing here including all grain. No applesauce aroma, no apply flavors. Just clean beers.

Hmm, never had a yeast that smelled like applesauce. I can tell you that smell (applesauce or otherwise) is in no way an indicator of good/bad yeast. Well that is unless its VERY old and has undergone autolysis...but that will smell like death, not applesauce.

Thanks for the input guys, and please tell other people about this thread. I want to collect as many responses as possible so that I can determine if the apple-smelling yeast is the the variable that may explain why some people have the apple-esque while others report never having the problem. Maybe it is regional or has to do with time since packaging. I think we may be on the road to discovery here.
Just to let you all know that I'm not imagining the smell on my end, here's a link to a guy who has brewed more coopers kits than I care to count and he mentions in this video ( and several others) that the apple smell of the yeast "means it's good" so it is definitely not a unique phenomenon to the yeast that I have received.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/user/CraigTube#p/search/23/GVxuyyUtuwA[/ame]
He pitches the yeast at 5 minutes in exactly and comments on the apple smell.
Thanks again and PLEASE tell your friends to post their experiences in this thread.

No, no, you have it all wrong. An apple smell to the yeast is NOT an indication of yeast health, viability or the flavors it will produce. Plus, I wouldn't exactly consider craigtube a reliable source for any sort of brewing knowledge.

The apple flavors you are getting in the beer are likely from what Yoop described. When you pitch yeast above 70F, and ferment much above 70F, they produce all kinds of fruity esters. These are a byproduct of their reproduction. To minimize ester production in yeast, it is important to chill your wort below 70F before pitching, and to ferment below 70F. Preferably around 65, depending on the strain and style of beer being brewed. If you aren't properly chilling or controling your fermentation temperatures, that is where the apple and fruity flavors are coming from in the beer. It is also possible that Coopers yeast puts off more apple like esters than other yeasts. If you yeast happens to smell like apples, it has absolutely NO relation.

My suggestion - get away from coopers kits and coopers yeast.

Thanks, I already quit with the coopers. I was just thinking that maybe since the only apple smelling yeast I have ever used produced the only appl-ish tasting beer that I ever made, that there might be a correlation.
Still, I'd like to know if anyone has any other experiences with apple -smelling yeast. NOT THE BEER The yeast itself prior to pitching or getting wet.

Pookapoo said:

Thanks, I already quit with the coopers. I was just thinking that maybe since the only apple smelling yeast I have ever used produced the only appl-ish tasting beer that I ever made, that there might be a correlation.
Still, I'd like to know if anyone has any other experiences with apple -smelling yeast. NOT THE BEER The yeast itself prior to pitching or getting wet.

Click to expand...

This is the first time I've ever heard anyone mention apple smelling aromas from yeast. I've been involved with three brew boards, and read a couple of others, and never heard anyone mention it before. I've also read a number of brewing books and texts and never heard of it.

This is an interesting thread for me. Recently, I brewed what was supposed to be a Coopers Sparkling Ale clone, but in the end, I got something I've dubbed "Adelaide Mild". In doing a side-by-side comparison, I think what's missing is a slight apple flavor that is present in the Coopers, but absent in mine. (I used an English ale yeast and fermented warm enough to throw esters, but not apple. Next time, obviously, I'm going to have to culture some yeast from a bottle of CSA.)

I have done a couple of the coopers canned kits (they were gifts). The first tasted like you were sucking on a beer flavored bandaid with a great medicinal flavor till it sat bottled for a few months then was just bitter and drinkable......it was pretty good after 5 months............the second was their canadian blonde kit jazzed up with some flavoring hops and it has that green apple taste and a cider like smell after a couple weeks in the bottle. Most likely it will need to age 5 months like the psudo lager did. Best thing I did was try other extract kits from my LHBS and Austin home brew and read through the treasure trove of knowledge here and put it to use. :rockin: Night and day difference.

When brewing with a Coopers kit, I use another yeast, usually SafAle 05. I toss the Coopers Yeast in the boiling wort towards the end. That kills the yeast and provides nutrients for the SafAle. Or so my thinking goes.

i brewed a few coppers cans with cane sugar since i can get them really cheap to help build up the pipeline. at first, they were undrinkable. but after months of aging the apple flavor has faded for the most part and is drinkable

My first brew was also a Coopers kit and I also ended up with an apple taste. IMO the reason is the kit instructions tell you to wait untill FG is 1.010 and then bottle - this normally takes less than a week (five days in my case) which is too soon to bottle as the yeast havn't had time to clean up the esters created during fermentation. The instructions should tell you to leave it alone for at least two (ideally three) weeks and then bottle. The apple taste in the bottles will dissapate with time at room temp.
How long did you wait before bottling ?

Have done 4 different Coopers kits with no issues or apply taste/smell. Plan to put some in a corny soon.

I have brewed two Coopers kits now. The Pilsner one had an appley flavor to it, but I likely brewed it too hot since I thought I wasn't getting any fermentation and thought it might have been too cold. Turns out it is just a slow acter.

Then I did an Irish Stout and there is definitely that same flavor in the background. At first I thought it added to the beer but the more I concentrated on it the more overpowering it became, even in a stout.

My actual packs didn't smell but the yeast definitely leaves appley esters behind.

Curious what other no-boil kits you all are using besides Coopers. Northern Brewer seems to offer a lot of selection. Is Muntons Gold any good?

coopers yeast is terrible in my opinion, when i did my first few kits (all with coopers yeast) i thought it was impossible to make good homebrew, as soon as i got away from it the sun came up

I have brewed up about a dozen batches of coopers with no apply or cider flavors. I never use sugar or booster, only DME and sometimes steep some crystal 10 or 20. Also I bring the full volume of water to a boil and never top up with tap water. Sure all grain taste better but coopers can be made to taste really good. Never tasted any twang either and the yeast ferments out pretty quick although I do let it ride for 3 weeks before bottling.

i have a feelling but no direct experience, that coopers yeast might be "cleaner" and less apple flavors at warmer ferment temps

i know its the opposite with most strains, but i think a lot of youtubers use it above 70F with good results