bad batch of beer

[bdupree]

I had this coopers extract pilsener kit. I was supposed to add malt extract to it but i had just watched this vid on youtube where a guy made one, didn't add DME, and just used sugar, and said it turned out great. I assumed it was corn sugar he used. I used table sugar. The beer sat in a primary for 16 days, in a secondary now and has been for about 6 days. It's red as hell, almost purple. Tastes like ****. kind of like alcohol and rubber. It's only about 5% abv. A little hoppy, it basically sucks. Should I add some malt extract, mix it up, and repitch some yeast? I know it's gonna end up 8% abv or so. Also I had thought about making something really malty and mixing the two. I just don't want to have 10 gallons of ****. Any suggestions? Do those coopers kits just taste foul? Is it the table sugar? Am I just missing the malt?

 

[Walker]

What was the full recipe? 1 can of liquid malt extract, a bunch of table sugar, and some yeast?

How much table sugar did you add?

I wouldn't rush into trying to improve this this just yet.

Oh.... and I would stop watching youtube videos and ask questions here instead!

 

[klyph]

I've only made one coopers kit, and I was not impressed. The hopped extract is a little too "instant beer" for me.
That being said, a bunch of white cane sugar wouldn't help matters.

 

[bdupree]

That was the recipe, 5 gal batch, 1 can of liquid malt extract, 3 cups table sugar, 24oz of pure cane sugar. It was one of those no boil kits. It's crystal clear, just tastes pretty bad. I may just bottle it and plan on getting back to it in a few months. I've seen a lot of guys on youtube make those coopers kits and swear they're great. I just wanted to see for myself. I'm not sure i can have very high expectations without adding any DME.

 

[Walker]

Confused. are those two sugars mentioned separate ingredients, or were you just clarifying that 3 cups of table sugar weighed 24 oz?

At any rate.... I wouldn't put cane sugar into my beer ever.

 

[944play]

If you added unfiltered water or sanitized with bleach, the rubber is likely chlorophenol. Drainpour.

Your process is going to make the difference between "tastes like ****" and good beer. The most important things are sanitation, temperature control, and yeast health. This applies whether you're brewing a no-boil canned kit or a 1000bbl batch of macrolager.

 

[klyph]

It was one of those no boil kits.

I didn't even realize they were no-boil, I boiled the Irish "Stout" that I made, but it was the lightest stout I've ever had, wouldn't have qualified as a porter.

 

[JJL]

If you're gonna buy the malt extract anyway, you should just start over. Listen to some of the guys on here, and do a few searches on here to learn some solid basic techniques, and consider this a learning experience. Don't go trying to salvage it by mixing a bunch of ingredients together. If it tastes that bad now, it's not going to get better by adding a little malt extract and more yeast. Don't turn a $30 learning experience into a $60 learning experience.

 

[mattd2]

If you added unfiltered water or sanitized with bleach, the rubber is likely chlorophenol. Drainpour.

Your process is going to make the difference between "tastes like ****" and good beer. The most important things are sanitation, temperature control, and yeast health. This applies whether you're brewing a no-boil canned kit or a 1000bbl batch of macrolager.

+1
I have made plenty of the no boil coopers kits and they have turned out good, even using the suggested 1 can + 1kg dextrose. I have heard the the twang from using table sugar is a myth and is more likely from drinking the beer to early.
Sounds like you added way to much sugar if you are expecting this to end up at 8%, most of the time I would struggle to get more than 4 - 4.5% from these kits for 23 litres (OG 1.038ish) and very thin beer from the kg of sugar!

 

[FiddleTilDeath]

bottle it andforget about it for a few months

 

[bdupree]

The batch was around 5%. I meant that If i added some DME then i'd get up around 8%. It sucked too bad. smelled and looked like cognac in the glass. This definately wasn't beer. It needed some malt added to it. I'm not really into extract brewing anyway. I just wanted to make this kit and see if it was any good. I'm sure a lot of people make them and they turn out great, It's just not for me. I learned my lesson: no more table sugar, follow instructions, and when in doubt, ask someone. I did just keg a fuggles IPA, and it's great. Best advice i've had in a while was " don't turn a $30 learning experience into a $60 learning experience." Thanks JJL and everyone else who had some input.

 

[mattd2]

I'm not really into extract brewing anyway. I just wanted to make this kit and see if it was any good.

Yeah, I would say if you have made beer any other way and then tried the no boil kit and kilo you would be dissapointed with the results, I think you can make beer with them, and you should be able to drink the beer made from them, but you really have to expect a product equal to the amount of effort put into it - bugger all!