Coopers Pale Ale #1

Ingredients
1.7kg Australian Pale Ale
500g Light Dry Malt
250g Sugar (Dextrose)

Calculations
Original Gravity - 1.030 (Could have been false reading)
Final Gravity - 1.003
Approx. ABV - 4.2%

Brewing Notes
Mixed up LDM and Dextrose in 2 litres of boiling water. Added the can, filled to 23 litres and pitched the yeast at approx 20 degrees. Fermented at 16-20 degrees (18 degrees on average) using a brew belt on a timer during the night with final gravity reached after 8 days. Made 29 bottles and will condition for 2+ weeks. I think I will invest in a glass hydrometer to get better gravity readings in the future.

Tasting Notes
Cracked a couple after 2.5 weeks in the bottle and it tastes like Coopers Pale Ale! Well, not exactly but in the ball park. I think another week and it will be a nice semi-clone. The next one with extra hops should be closer I think.

Rating: 3/5

Little Creatures Pale Ale Recipe

A Little Creatures Pale Ale clone I would like to try down the track:

Ingredients:

• 1.7kg Coopers Premium Draught
• 1.5kg Morgans light malt extract
• 200g dried wheat malt extract
• 15g East Kent Goldings Hops
• 15g Galaxy Hops
• 10g Cascade Hops
• 11.5g US-05 ale yeast

Method:

• Sit the extract cans in hot water so they can be poured.
• Boil 2L of water and add dried wheat malt extract, bring back to boil then simmer.
• Add EKG & galaxy hops and boil for 15 minutes.
• Add boiled extract to the fermenter with the extract cans and stir.
• Top up fermenter with cold water to the 23L mark.
• Pitch the yeast and ferment at 18-20C.
• After 4-5 days add the Cascade hops to the fermenter.
• Bottle with 2 tspsn sugar (per longneck).

Reactivating Coopers Commercial Ale Yeast

(copied from "Coopers - Talk Brewing" website - http://www.coopers.com.au/the-brewers-guild/talk-brewing?g=posts&t=1876)

Coopers encourage home 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 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 dextrose/sugar 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 (ie. 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 and
- don’t forget to drink the decanted beer

Coopers Lager

Ingredients
Coopers Lager Brew Can
Coopers Brew Enhancer #1

Calculations
Original Gravity - 1.040
Final Gravity - 1.012
Approx. ABV - 4.3%

Brewing Notes
Fermentation started off quite high at 26C for two days and dropped quite low to 16C-18C for the last two days. Stable specific gravity reached on day 8. Made 29 bottles and conditioned for 2+ weeks.

Tasting Notes
Tried a few bottles right on the 2 week mark and on first impression it had that "Home Brew" taste. After the 2nd bottle it became a lot more palatable. Not bad for my first effort but not great. Hoping it improves over time!

Update - after 3+ weeks this became quite nice although I prefer ales myself....

Rating: 2.5/5