Bad taste - coopers diy kit

[Jamesbeer]

I'm a newbie and decided to buy a coopers DIY kit which I followed the instructions precisely. Problem is after 2 weeks of conditioning my beer tastes not right...a bit plastic like. Not very good.

It looks perfect but I'm not sure where I've gone wrong. Will the taste improve over time?

I fermented it for about a week as per the instructions and the temp was a little on the high side but within the recommended range. I then bottled it and left for 2 weeks.

Before tasting my first batch I got overexcited and went out and bought an ipa kit and liquid malt extract but don't want to start the new batch until I've learned from my mistakes.

Any help from experienced home brewers or brewers who've had a similar experience would be appreciated

 

[thedingo]

What else other then the coopers can went in? If it was only suger dont expect too much more. I'd suggest aiming for tge lower end of the temperature range around 20deg celcius. The temps on the can are just a guideline and aimed for the High temps of Australia.

 

[petey_c]

Most of the instructions that come with kits are rubbish. You should have given it more time in the primary (about 3 weeks) then another three weeks in the bottles. The taste will improve over time. One thing I've learned about the PET bottles is, you can't use it for long term storage. 6 months is about the max. I use cheap excel labels for my brew. Good luck with the other kits. Keep us informed.

 

[Jamesbeer]

I put the lager kit in, with coopers brew enhancer 1. That was it. Temp ranged from 28 to 22 degrees. I thought it was fully fermented before bottling. Sg reading was consistent over 2 days

 

[Jamesbeer]

Thanks petey. Next time I'll ferment for longer. Petey, dingo do you recommend using glass bottles? Which capper do you recommend?

 

[ronclark]

A third week in the bottles will improve the flavor and remove some of the bitter aftertaste.

Also, if you are looking for a more authentic IPA you will want to buy some hops to add. They are relatively inexpensive and can easily be added by boiling them in 2- 2 1/2 gallons of water for 30 minutes or less. I made a great IPA with a Coopers can, a can of light LME, 1 lb. of Belgian candi sugar, and 4 ounces of Amarillo hops (one used for dry hopping).

Using malt extract is the way to go on the IPA kit. Without hops added, I have no idea what it would taste like.

 

[DannyD]

well I dont know coopers kits, but if they gave you "real" lager yeast for the kit and it fermented at 20-28 you are going to have a not-so-good beer. go for a ale/ipa next and use bottled water from the begining. (let the "lager" stand for at leased 3 monthes and then try)...time heals all....

 

[thedingo]

well I dont know coopers kits, but if they gave you "real" lager yeast for the kit and it fermented at 20-28 you are going to have a not-so-good beer. go for a ale/ipa next and use bottled water from the begining. (let the "lager" stand for at leased 3 monthes and then try)...time heals all....

Nah it's a blended yeast. Not a traditional lager. Brew will turn out More similar to the Aussie lager style. (vb, tooheys). 4wks is plenty in the bottle.

Like others have said add some other small late hop additions and consider using canned extract instead of the dry enhanced stuff. Should give you a better tasting end product. An definitely try keep the temp to low 20s use a wet tale around it if it's a hot day.

As for bottles plastic is fine till you get a collection of glass bottles and a bench capper.

Word of warning about the plastic hydrometer. Make sure it's calibrated as there renowned for being out. Mine was 0.004 out straight from the box. Glass ones are cheap and much more accurate.

 

[BradleyBrew]

I started with a Coopers Kit.. Honestly the only thing good about the kit is the actual equipment. I suggest looking into some solid extract kits that consist of a 60 minute boil. Also, check out some other dry yeast there are much better yeast available. Not trying discourage you but the quicker the move away from the no boil kits the happier you will be! *my opinion of course*

 

[Yooper]

"Plastic" flavors tend to come from chlorine or chloramine in the brewing water. I'd suggest using bottled spring water or reverse osmosis water if your water is chlorinated or uses chloramines.

Also, for fermentation temperatures, try to go no higher than 18C. That's beer temperature, not ambient room temperature. Sometimes an active fermentation will get up to 10 degrees higher than room temperature, so do your best to keep it cool.

Lastly, toss out any Cooper's or Munton's yeast. Try a good quality yeast (dry is fine) like nottingham, Safale S04, or Safale S05 for ales. That would also make a huge difference.

I'm not a fan of Cooper's kits at all, as I've found that the taste just isn't what I want in my beer. But many people use them with "ok" results by tweaking them. I'd keep the equipment, and buy other ingredient kits.

 

[HopHeadGrady]

I find that the coopers carb tabs add a bit of an off taste, but that could just be my experience. At first I thought it was my water, and when I ran out of coopers tabs and started bulk priming with corn sugar, the taste went away. It was also a tad bit phenolic (plasticy). I have no visible chlorine taste in my water, but I may try a brew with bottled water just to see if it makes even more of a difference. My Coopers DIY lager tasted kinda funny too. I had it in the fermenter for 3 weeks, 2 weeks in the bottle. By the 3 week mark they started to taste ok. I agree with Revvy above, use a different yeast. I use Nottingham and it makes a huge difference.

 

[TaylorInOK]

I'm pretty new to brewing and my first batch had an off taste that i couldnt describe. It wasnt undrinkable... just gave me that "what is that" feeling.

After trial and error i found that it's the brewers yeast that i'm not acustom to tasting ( it was also a cheap one). When you chill your bottles, try chilling them for "at least" three days before opening and it will take that taste out or at least enough where you arent scratching your head.

Hopefully that helps.

 

[Jamesbeer]

Thank you all. Some great advice there! I appreciate it.

Next batch is going to be Thomas coopers Ipa with 1kg liquid malt extract. I have some muntons hops bags to add. Will keep the temp cooler, use bottled water and leave longer in primary.

I'll see how this goes and then possibly move on to the other style kits...don't want to run before I can walk!

 

[Jamesbeer]

Oh and I'll buy sone different yeast...not use the one with the kit

 

[BradleyBrew]

Thank you all. Some great advice there! I appreciate it.

Next batch is going to be Thomas coopers Ipa with 1kg liquid malt extract. I have some muntons hops bags to add. Will keep the temp cooler, use bottled water and leave longer in primary.

I'll see how this goes and then possibly move on to the other style kits...don't want to run before I can walk!

get a package of hops for some dry hopping!

 

[unionrdr]

First off,you're all wrong. the cooper's OS lager comes with a 7g packet of their ale yeast. Not lager,not a mix. Those come with the higher series cans. And through some experimentation,cooper's ale yeast likes temps between 64-70F. And I use a 3lb bag of palin DME with the cooper's cans(munton's). I use half the DME in a 3 gallon partial boil for hop additions. The remaining DME & cooper's LME can at flame out. Steep for 10 minutes to pastuerize (this happens at 162F). Then into an ice bath down to pitch temp.
Those things mentioned will give yo better beer from the cooper's cans,trust me. With re-hydrated cooper's yeast as well. I started using the fresher 15g cooper's ale yeast packets from Midwest & Northern Brewer. Def better re-hydrated. Not to mention more than double the yeast being better for cooler temperature fermenting.

 

[Brewzer84]

Australian Beers do tend to be on the bitter side which I believe is way better than sweet beer.

 

[jmprdood]

I don't think the problem is the Coopers yeast or kit, the problem is the beer still needs a some time in the bottle and your fermentation temp was high. Try to keep it in the mid 60's, leave it in the primary for at least 2 weeks and in the bottle for another 2-3 wks and you should see better results.

Cheers!

 

[HopSong]

The fermenter is great, IMO. The kits leave a lot to be desired. The yeast if fine but there are NOT enough fermentables. Unionrer made a good point about adding more. I've only done one Coopers kit.. and it will be my last. I'm currently using extract and grain kits from MoreBeer and Brewers Best. Both very good. Coopers can probably be good if they weren't so dern cheap and added some DME or another can of LME. Also, I'd add some aroma and/or dry hops at the end.

 

[soberJim]

Coopers is basically all I use, I find there is a yeasty kind of taste, but that dissipates as it ages.. but, I usually use different kinds of sugar, if that would make any difference.. I find organic raw sugar works alright, along with brown sugars for the darker brews.. I currently have one brewing that's a coopers Irish stout, with a can of their dark malt extract, 850g of golomden syrup and about 350g of treacle, and that seems to be working great, smells really sweet.. maybe next time I'll use more treacle and less golden syrup, it fairly strong, currently at 7.9%. Just tasted it out of the hydrometer, mmmmm can't wait til its ready! Hello winter

just noticed the amount of typos in this post

 

[soberJim]

Also, just thinking, did you rinse your diy kit well with hot water? A plastic smell/taste may come from that... I believe I have the same type of setup, which the first step said something like 'although there's no need to sanitise for the first use, rinse well under hot water' there's a strong likelihood that wasn't followed. Mate, go with good south Aussie beer experience we know what we're doing!