Shoutout for Coopers Ale Yeast

[seabrew8]

When i got back into brewing in 2010 i used a number of brand name yeasts mostly notty and US-05.

But man, cooopers ale yeast is very fast! I have my second batch of coopers going right now, after just 2 days the massive krausen has fallen!

If you want quick beer - don't we all especially to get up a nice pipeline - coopers yeast is the fastest i've seen!

I'm suprised coopers yeast is not more popular frankly.

Edit: I should of put this in the yeast section...

 

[kh54s10]

IDK... Fast is not necessarily good in my book??? Never used it so I cannot say if it is good or bad. I have also never even seen the yeast available anywhere I have shopped for yeast.

 

[masskrug]

Fast? good.

Does it clean up well? How is the taste? Does it reach FG?

 

[seabrew8]

IDK... Fast is not necessarily good in my book??? Never used it so I cannot say if it is good or bad. I have also never even seen the yeast available anywhere I have shopped for yeast.

Fast is not necessarily good but its fast! I think its an excellent yeast to get into brewing personally. I have some harvested US05 and because cooopers is so quick i'm not even going to bother to use it. I'm going to harvest some coopers yeast instead for my next batch.

Note: If you have loads of homebrew i'm sure there's better yeast. In Canada i think most people get into brewing because beer is so expensive. Right now a dozen of %5 bud is $18.71USD where i live. And we have no local or less known cheaper beers where i live.

 

[clone63]

Any time I used it, it was too fruity.
Did a side by side with Nottingham and its Irish stout kit-provided yeast. Was not a fan of the Cooper's.
Has done well with a cider or 2 though.

 

[douglasbarbin]

Fast is not necessarily good but its fast! I think its an excellent yeast to get into brewing personally. I have some harvested US05 and because cooopers is so quick i'm not even going to bother to use it. I'm going to harvest some coopers yeast instead for my next batch.

Note: If you have loads of homebrew i'm sure there's better yeast.

Why waste your time harvesting it? Isn't it like 79 cents per packet?

 

[seabrew8]

Why waste your time harvesting it? Isn't it like 79 cents per packet?

Not here, it comes with a kit beer.

Just some context - i don't live near a homebrew shop i have to order everythiing. Thats why i harvest yeast if i need it,

 

[seabrew8]

Any time I used it, it was too fruity.
Did a side by side with Nottingham and its Irish stout kit-provided yeast. Was not a fan of the Cooper's.
Has done well with a cider or 2 though.

Yeah its a bit fruity. But i made crystal clear beer that was slightly carbed in 9 days! It was a partial mash with 4lbs of maris otter and a can of coopers bitter. My friend said it was delicious and i agree its pretty good, i've tasted better of course.

 

[brisboy]

The most notable flavour I'd say I've noticed in Coopers commercial beers is pear in their Australian pale ale and mild. I believe it's from the yeast as they only do a bittering hop addition. I've cultured some up hoping to use it and reading this I now definitely will.

 

[unionrdr]

Midwest & Northern Brewer carry the Cooper's ale yeast in the larger 15g size that's fresher than you get in the can's false lid. Their ale yeast is high flocculation as well, so it settles out fairly quickly to give crystal clear beer. Especially when rehydrated. Rehydrated, it works as well as US-05 in a side by side test SWMBO & I did between her pale ale & mine. The US-05 was pitched dry @ like 11g's. The Cooper's was the usual 7g packet. It was an interesting observation, to say the least. Anyway, I still get crystal clear beer with the 7g Cooper's rehydrated. The fruity esters lessen a bit between 65F & about 68-69F. My latest batch of the English Bitter used Munton's plain extra light DME instead of light. When combined with the rehydrated Cooper's yeast, the bittering in the can shines through more. Tastes a lot better to me!

 

[seabrew8]

Midwest & Northern Brewer carry the Cooper's ale yeast in the larger 15g size that's fresher than you get in the can's false lid. Their ale yeast is high flocculation as well, so it settles out fairly quickly to give crystal clear beer. Especially when rehydrated. Rehydrated, it works as well as US-05 in a side by side test SWMBO & I did between her pale ale & mine. The US-05 was pitched dry @ like 11g's. The Cooper's was the usual 7g packet. It was an interesting observation, to say the least. Anyway, I still get crystal clear beer with the 7g Cooper's rehydrated. The fruity esters lessen a bit between 65F & about 68-69F. My latest batch of the English Bitter used Munton's plain extra light DME instead of light. When combined with the rehydrated Cooper's yeast, the bittering in the can shines through more. Tastes a lot better to me!

Yeah i was pleasantly surprised it cleared so fast! 3 or 4 years ago when i was using DME, crystal, hops, irish moss with a 60min boil and us05 or notty, it usually took at least 3 weeks to clear.

I rehydrated the current batch actually. The activity is down significantly in only 3 days. Fermenting in 19-20C ambient.

 

[seabrew8]

The most notable flavour I'd say I've noticed in Coopers commercial beers is pear in their Australian pale ale and mild. I believe it's from the yeast as they only do a bittering hop addition. I've cultured some up hoping to use it and reading this I now definitely will.

I didn't know coopers actually produced there own beers!

 

[unionrdr]

They have been for more than a century down under. All I've found up here is their sparkling ale. Not bad at all. Cool bottle shape, but twisties up here. I understand some of their bottled beers down under come in pop tops. I'd like to get some of'em, if they're the Victorian bottle shape.

 

[seabrew8]

They have been for more than a century down under. All I've found up here is their sparkling ale. Not bad at all. Cool bottle shape, but twisties up here. I understand some of their bottled beers down under come in pop tops. I'd like to get some of'em, if they're the Victorian bottle shape.

You mean swing tops? There really neat.

 

[unionrdr]

No, pop tops/ crown caps as I heard it. But the old school shapes are cool.

 

[seabrew8]

Coopers blond kit with 1lb of DME and 3.5 gallons Dec 2th first pic.

4 days later fermenting at 19-20C ambient.

 

[unionrdr]

Looks like it fermented like a boss! That's one big krausen ring! Should be good eventually.

 

[podz]

Cooper's has at least 5 different strains of "ale" yeast, not just one.

I've never seen faster finishing or tighter flocculating yeast than their Stout. It's a monster.

In my experience, usually 5 days from dry-pitch to tight yeast cake. Never rehydrated once.

 

[unionrdr]

I like to rehydrate all dry yeasts. It cuts lag time for me. Around here anyway. I never saw them talk about 5 different ale yeasts on the Cooper's forums. Maybe 4 of them are for their commercial beers? I know they use different yeasts in their own brews.

 

[seabrew8]

Cooper's has at least 5 different strains of "ale" yeast, not just one.

I've never seen faster finishing or tighter flocculating yeast than their Stout. It's a monster.

In my experience, usually 5 days from dry-pitch to tight yeast cake. Never rehydrated once.

I'm seeing the same results. I can actually pour all - no cloudy beer - the liquid of my beer bottle in the glass, the yeast is that compact/tight.

 

[podz]

I like to rehydrate all dry yeasts. It cuts lag time for me. Around here anyway. I never saw them talk about 5 different ale yeasts on the Cooper's forums. Maybe 4 of them are for their commercial beers? I know they use different yeasts in their own brews.

There is a list that was published by one of their product managers for their extract kits. It's been listed a few times on this forum as well. They have like 7 different yeasts for their extract range. For example, the yeast in the stout kits is not the same as the yeast in the wheat beer kits... Some of their yeasts are developed in-house and then farmed out to a lab for production, whereas others are well-known commercial yeasts that they are not allowed to disclose the real name according to the terms of their contract with the producers.

I started a toucan stout last tuesday, and it's done now - 1.016 - the expected terminal gravity according to my calculations on brewer's friend. I pitched both packs of dry yeast into 26C wort and stirred it in, in violation of their instructions. It was blowing hard 6 hours later. 10 hours after pitch, I had a hell of a mess on top of my bucket lid ;-)

 

[unionrdr]

Huh. I'd like to see that list & catch up a might. Sounds intriguing...

 

[mattrox]

I like to rehydrate all dry yeasts. It cuts lag time for me. Around here anyway. I never saw them talk about 5 different ale yeasts on the Cooper's forums. Maybe 4 of them are for their commercial beers? I know they use different yeasts in their own brews.

From Coopers site:

"Coopers, encourage DIY brewers to use the yeast from naturally conditioned Coopers ales. The same ale strain is used across the range - Mild Ale, Pale Ale, Dark Ale, Sparkling Ale, Best Extra Stout, Celebration Ale and Extra Strong Vintage Ale.

There are numerous documented techniques, with varying levels of complexity, for re-activating the yeast in naturally conditioned beer. The method described below may leave some readers, experienced in growing yeast cultures, aghast. “What! No stir plate, no malt, no alcohol swabs, no nutrient, no way! However, for Coopers yeast, it works...

Method
1. Buy a six pack of Coopers Original Pale Ale and place upright in the fridge for about a week for the yeast to settle.
2. Mix about 600ml of boiling water and 4 tablespoons of sugar (60g) in a pyrex jug, cover with cling-wrap and leave to cool in the fridge for about 30mins.
3. Open 4 bottles and decant the beer into a jug, leaving behind the yeast sediment - about a couple of centimetres.
4. Pour the sugared water equally into each bottle, cover with cling-wrap and secure with a rubber band.
5. Shake the bottles then place them in a dark spot at a temperature in the mid 20’s.
6. Give the bottles a shake in the morning and at night to keep the yeast in suspension.
7. After around 2 to 3 days the yeast should become active and begin forming a head.
8. Pitch the active yeast into a brew immediately or store in the fridge for about a week. Just remember to pull it out of the fridge to warm for couple of hours prior to pitching.

Some additional points to keep in mind;
- start with more yeast by using all 6 bottles,
- buy beer with the freshest yeast (latest “Best After” date),
- lower alcohol content is better (mild ale or pale ale),
- it’s okay to hold the culture at slightly higher temps to promote a quicker reactivation,
- one sanitised vessel (approx 1 litre) may be used rather than separate bottles,
- make sure the culture smells okay before pitching,
- buy another 6 pack for each culture,
- don’t forget to drink the decanted beer,
- use malt extract rather than sugar when re-activating yeast from your own bottles or other commercial brands."

 

[unionrdr]

I remember now that I read this on the Cooper's forums some time ago. I'll have to try it again sometime, as I let the bottles of dregs sit too long in the fridge last time. the gang down under says ithis method works fairly well...