Coopers kits

[UnderThePorchBrewing]

got a couple of cans (muntons) and the LHBS said 1 lb of DME plus the can for a 3 gallon batch would give a good brew. Just bottled Muntons Irish stout this way and the flat beer tasted very good. the Mountmellier brown ale had a very molasses taste so the black treacle was probably set up to be more diluted but as it ages it is mellowing and is becoming very good. anyone else do this?

 

[tom777]

A couple of the coopers kit's I've had good luck with are:

• Australian Pale Ale -- 3rd batch I'd ever brewed and I still used corn sugar on this one -- turned out great
• Bavarian Lager (now European Lager): added a couple lbs of DME and 1/2 oz of hops; turned out great also.

Actually, I just brewed another one of the European Lager Kits. I bought it when a LHBS was closing and I had to use a gift certificate.
For this one, I added a 3# can of Munich LME, and 1/4 oz Hallertau hops, 1/4 oz of German Tradition hops (left over from a Kolsch kit due to reducing hops for a late extract addition). I also used Safeale S-04 yeast. It's approaching 2 weeks in primary and I'm eager to see how this one turns out.

 

[Finnagann]

I don't believe the yeasts are all the same. Here's a link to what they are thought to be for each kit http://homebrewandbeer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=571

The lager yeast is thought to be saflager S189, which is very temp tollerant, and not nearly as sulferous during fermentation. This makes sense to me as I have a Coopers Pilsner bubbling away in my bedroom @ about 14C and it does smell a touch sulferous, ales do not smell at all like this, but it is only noticable right off the airlock (for the most part).

And some are said to have a mix of ale and lager yeast so you get dif properties depending on your fermenting temps.

I think they all do best @ 18C or less... they make less esters and need less time to condition.

A note on Muntons!! The regular Muntons kit yeast is not meant for all extract brewing... it needs a healthy dose of dex or it will power out. I've had this happen and won't use their kit yeast ever again as I don't like the flavour of dex.

 

[Shooter]

I used to think that Coopers just included a 7g pack of their standard yeast under the lid, but I have recently noticed that there is a different product code that seems to indicate they are different. For example, the Mexican Cerveza has an INT code which seems to suggest it is some sort of international blend.

 

[jbanta]

I have done 4 Muntons kits recently and I love them - however I didn't brew any of the 4 as they suggested in the instructions with ingredients. All for kits (2 Stouts, 1, Draught, 1 Nut Brown Ale) I used DME instead of corn sugar.
All 5 Gallon Batches -
The Draught was the least changed as I only added an apricot extract to the secondary.
1 Stout I did addition of cocoa powder and coffee in secondary, as well as Belgian Dark candi sugar added with the dme.(also boiled 1lb Chocolate Malt and 1/2lb of Black Patent in before adding the DME and Candi Sugar)
1 Stout I did addition of cocoa powder and coffee in boil of dme as well as in secondary
Nut Brown ale had the addition of honey put in with the dme in primary.

The Honey Nut is about to be bottled but tastes great so far. The other three tasted great and received compliments from several homebrewers as well as BMC drinkers.

 

[rocketcrab]

As for the Cooper's kit yeasts, I posted this on another topic. I got it from an Aussie forum:

To summarise some previous posts on what yeast comes with what Cooper's brew:
<ul><li>The International Series Australian Pale Ale and the Premium Selection Sparkling Ale, Australian Bitter, Traditional Draught and Heritage Lager come with a blend of lager and ale yeasts.

<li>The Original Series (Lager, Real Ale, Draught, Bitter, Stout and Dark Ale) are all ale yeasts.
<li>International Series Canadian Blonde is ale.
<li>International Series Bavarian Lager and Brewmaster Selection Pilsener are Saflager (P is stamped next to useby date).
<li>Brewmaster Selection Wheat Beer is a wheat beer yeast (W next to useby date).
<li>Brewmaster Selection Nut Brown Ale is (was, as it's now discontinued) an ale yeast (but different to the Original Series yeast).
<li>Brewmaster Selection India Pale Ale is an ale yeast, but I'm not sure what type.
<li>The Irish Stout comes with an ale yeast.
<li>The International Series Mexican Cerveza is an ale/lager blend
</ul>


While on the topic, I know that many brewers might look down on kit brews. Over the last 11 years that I've been brewing, I've done kits, extract with grains, all-grain....and have made some great beers and some stinkers with all methods. But right now, with time at a premium for me, modifying a Cooper's kit with some specialty grains, a good yeast, and some hops, I can make a beer that tastes great and is better than anything I can buy. All in about an hour. And after all, isn't that what we're all trying for?

 

[Shooter]

As for the Cooper's kit yeasts, I posted this on another topic. I got it from an Aussie forum:

To summarise some previous posts on what yeast comes with what Cooper's brew:
<ul><li>The International Series Australian Pale Ale and the Premium Selection Sparkling Ale, Australian Bitter, Traditional Draught and Heritage Lager come with a blend of lager and ale yeasts.

<li>The Original Series (Lager, Real Ale, Draught, Bitter, Stout and Dark Ale) are all ale yeasts.
<li>International Series Canadian Blonde is ale.
<li>International Series Bavarian Lager and Brewmaster Selection Pilsener are Saflager (P is stamped next to useby date).
<li>Brewmaster Selection Wheat Beer is a wheat beer yeast (W next to useby date).
<li>Brewmaster Selection Nut Brown Ale is (was, as it's now discontinued) an ale yeast (but different to the Original Series yeast).
<li>Brewmaster Selection India Pale Ale is an ale yeast, but I'm not sure what type.
<li>The Irish Stout comes with an ale yeast.
<li>The International Series Mexican Cerveza is an ale/lager blend
</ul>


While on the topic, I know that many brewers might look down on kit brews. Over the last 11 years that I've been brewing, I've done kits, extract with grains, all-grain....and have made some great beers and some stinkers with all methods. But right now, with time at a premium for me, modifying a Cooper's kit with some specialty grains, a good yeast, and some hops, I can make a beer that tastes great and is better than anything I can buy. All in about an hour. And after all, isn't that what we're all trying for?

This is some good info here. I'm trying the Dark Ale right now and am fermenting at ale temps. I've made the Mexican Cerveza before with success. I see that it's a lager/ale blend. I have another can of it to brew in the next few months I may try to shoot for the low end of the ale, but high end of the lager temperature range on my next try.

I'm with you, I like the Coopers products in general. They seem popular enough that you can find pretty fresh cans of extract. I also still make Mr. Beer kits. So far I've only worked my way up as far as partial mashing, but plan an all grain brew in the near future. It's just a matter of what I have time or am in the mood to tackle that brew day. There are days when it's a bit much to haul out the burner, propane tank, the steeping pot and the brew kettle. Sometimes I just want to do a quick partial boil on the stove and Coopers is great for that. As you note, I've made some good and bad beers and it's not necessarily dependent on the type of kit I started with.

 

[rocketcrab]

I have done 4 Muntons kits recently and I love them - however I didn't brew any of the 4 as they suggested in the instructions with ingredients. All for kits (2 Stouts, 1, Draught, 1 Nut Brown Ale) I used DME instead of corn sugar.
All 5 Gallon Batches -
The Draught was the least changed as I only added an apricot extract to the secondary.
1 Stout I did addition of cocoa powder and coffee in secondary, as well as candi sugar added with the dme.
1 Stout I did addition of cocoa powder and coffee in boil of dme as well as in secondary
Nut Brown ale had the addition of honey put in with the dme in primary.

The Honey Nut is about to be bottled but tastes great so far. The other three tasted great and received compliments from several homebrewers as well as BMC drinkers.

They all sound very tasty!

 

[jay7792]

For one can it is 1 pound dme and 1 pound of corn sugar 1/4 pound of Malto Dextrin (optional but improves the beer)
and priming sugar.

Hi all, sorry for bringing up an old thread but I am very new to home brewing

I plan on doing a Coopers Canadian Blonde lager next and want to improve on the standard kit by adding the above quoted ingrediants, my question is are the above ingrediants used aswell as coopers brew enhancer, or instead of the brew enhancer?

Thanks in advance

 

[EoinMag]

Hi all, sorry for bringing up an old thread but I am very new to home brewing

I plan on doing a Coopers Canadian Blonde lager next and want to improve on the standard kit by adding the above quoted ingrediants, my question is are the above ingrediants used aswell as coopers brew enhancer, or instead of the brew enhancer?

Thanks in advance

They would be used instead of, they are actually vert close to being a home made brew enhancer. Brew enhancers contain DME and Glucose and I think sometimes maltodextrin for the body and mouthfeel.

 

[Finnagann]

In general the less sugar and the more dme u can use the better. You may want to add a second yeast packet if you replace all the sugar though. Some yeast nutrient is also a good idea either way.

And if you still find you're getting a "kit taste" you'll likely want to get some grain in there, you can make a very good beer with a partial mash.

Have fun brewing!

 

[ron,ar]

I read most of this thread, all 8 pages...one interesting thing I would add.
I used to brew Muntons Connisuers series of kits. I always added 1-3 lbs of DME and avoided sugar like the plague. I also boiled the whole thing for close to 60 minutes. I have since backed off of boiling kits for such a long time as the LME tends to carmalize easy and it makes just as good a beer IMO.
The thing that I remember is that the guy at the LHBS always gave me a packet of Coopers gold pack yeast because the Muntons pack would not handle the added fermentables. I thought this strange because Muntons was a fairly reputable brand I thought.
I have also brewed several Coopers kits and found the wheat and ales DO seem to taste a lot alike. The Muntons wheat however turned out really good....darker, crisp and heavy head, which I like in a wheat.
All in all, if you are brewing extracts you can't beat Coopers for the price, and as a base to build on, they lend well to personal innovation, which we all are familar with.

 

[unionrdr]

First off,I want clarify that the Cooper's cans make 5 imperial gallons,which at 23L,equals 6.072 US Standard gallons. Keep that in mind when brewing/adjusting them.
I've been mixing cooper's cans with Munton's plain DME's since my 2nd brew. I came up with the formula of 1 Cooper's can,1) 3lb bag plain Munton's DME,& minimum of 2oz hops per batch. I brew them to 6 US gallons generally,& get from 5.3-5.9%. I used that formula with 6oz of hops in my BuckIPA,& it came out to 57c per bottle.
I think combining the cooper's cans with DME & hops to def be a good formula for some very good ales. But not all of the series cans use their ale yeast. That depends on the series & the beer involved.
But I haven't followed the Cooper's directions since my 2nd brew. Check out my recipes for ideas & my way of using them.

 

[LTownLiquorPig]

I've never followed the directions, just mixed and matched "acknowledged truths of home brewing" I've found on here. I'm thinking I might try to make something per the recipe to see what the difference is.

If I'm just making a session beer, why go through the 3 weeks + 3 weeks scenario if I get something decent from 5-10 days +3 weeks, following what the hydro tells me of course.

 

[unionrdr]

It seems to depend on the gravity & color of the malts used as to how long it'll take to complete successfully. Lighter color & lower gravity tend to finish quicker. Darker colored ales take a bit longer to finish,& carb/condition. Fridge time goes up as well,ime.