Looking for closest to great northern recipe, simple one

[Buzzgb]

Hi lads,  just had my first few bottles of Coopers Lager DIY, I had three bottles the first night and the headache for the whole of next day, it's made me scared to drink more and I normally never get headaches I stuck to the instructions when pouring the beer the head was nice but quickly went down seem to be quite flat although bubbles were appearing from the bottom anyway the reason why I'm asking about Great Northern is I'm a pretty simple man just drink the one beer just looking to find one that I I will like and that is all I will brew so any advice would be great cheers.

[Shamus O'Sean]

Hi @Buzzgb,

You can go to the recipe pages and set some filters for ABV, EBC and IBU to something like Great Northern parameters and see what recipes you might like.

Cheers Shamus

[The Captain!!]

Hey Buzzgb,

Welcome to the forum.

Had a headache all day?..... that ain’t any good mate. I’m only guessing here but that could be from fusel? Alcohols produced at higher fermentation temps. 

As far as lagers are concerned, I’m not the man to comment about them as I think they are terrible. However that aside, there are some great simple recipes in the recipes page that will interest you. 

Do you have temp control for fermentation purposes? 

[ben 10]

1 hour ago, The Captain!! said:

Do you have temp control for fermentation purposes? 

 You NEED that for a lager.

https://www.diybeer.com/au/recipe/true-aussie-bitter.html may work.

Hard to get the complete lack of flavour that black fish has but.

[Beerlust]

3 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

You can go to the recipe pages and set some filters for ABV, EBC and IBU to something like Great Northern parameters and see what recipes you might like.

I don't think Coopers DIY have a listing for a home-brewed beer recipe deliberately that crap.

Cheers,

Lusty.

[Buzzgb]

14 hours ago, The Captain!! said:

Hey Buzzgb,

Welcome to the forum.

Had a headache all day?..... that ain’t any good mate. I’m only guessing here but that could be from fusel? Alcohols produced at higher fermentation temps. 

As far as lagers are concerned, I’m not the man to comment about them as I think they are terrible. However that aside, there are some great simple recipes in the recipes page that will interest you. 

Do you have temp control for fermentation purposes? 

No i don't,  was about 24

[Beerlust]

Hi BuzzGB.

At 24°C you will produce some of those fusel esters & flavours. Ideally down around 18-20°C for an ale yeast fermented brew, & you will avoid those fermentation bi-products.

Cheers & good brewing,

Lusty.

[Marty_G]

1 hour ago, Buzzgb said:

No i don't,  was about 24

Ok temp control is not needed to make good beer but it is needed to make good beer consistently ...  nearly every one here has eventually picked up a cheap or free fridge to use as a ferment fridge and invested in an InkBirk or similar for temp control ... once you have that you will be able to find consistency in process of brewing ... then head off to you local home brew shop and have a chat to them they will be able to point you in the right direction with a kit that will get you a great northern clone ...  also best results to have a beer which hold head is to use Light Dry malt and steer clear of dextrose or table sugar they are fine for priming but make thin beer with no body ... hope you enjoy your new hobby and welcome to the rabbit hole that is home brewing .... 

[Lab Cat]

You can't get a lager style beer brewing at 24c. As others have said, the warmer you brew, the more esters you get into the beer, so you end up getting further away from the cold, wet, bubbly tasteless beer that is commercial lager.

With the headache, wondering how you brewed this? Did you do the standard lager tin to 23l, your beer looks a lot darker than I remember the lager turning out.

[Malter White]

On 10/12/2019 at 10:26 AM, Buzzgb said:

Hi lads,  just had my first few bottles of Coopers Lager DIY, I had three bottles the first night and the headache for the whole of next day, it's made me scared to drink more and I normally never get headaches I stuck to the instructions when pouring the beer the head was nice but quickly went down seem to be quite flat although bubbles were appearing from the bottom anyway the reason why I'm asking about Great Northern is I'm a pretty simple man just drink the one beer just looking to find one that I I will like and that is all I will brew so any advice would be great cheers.

Welcome Buzzgb.
I'm assuming you used the Brew Enhancer 1 that came with the DIY kit. Oddly, Coopers include the cheaper BE1 with the kit but on the 1.7kg Lager can they recommend adding BE2.
BE2 has a higher malt content. BE3 is higher in malt again. The malt and maltodextrin in these BEs assist with head retention. My first lager was like yours, carbonated but the head vanished quite quickly. I didn't really like it that much but it wasn't bad. 
Unlike many on here I don't have an old fridge for ferment temp control but I'm making some beers I really enjoy still. I'm also only Kit &Kilo brewing - Coopers 1.7kg can plus a 1kg box of brew enhancer. I used to be a VB drinker and was like yourself in wanting to make a beer that might be a close replica. To make a decent, crisp, clean lager you'll most likely need temp control (a ferment fridge with an Inkbird thermostat) because lagers are best if fermented at lower temps than ales. However, if all that equipment is an imposition, you can still make some very good ales that can handle higher ferment temps but if you can attain an 18-21C ferment temp range you'll get pretty good results. A cheaper but less effective way to keep your fermenter cool is a swamp cooler - a wet towel or t-shirt over the fermenter and a fan. A tray of water under the fermenter to keep the towel/t-shirt wet.
The folks on here will give you excellent advice. Many of them really know their stuff but can sometimes forget what it's like to be a novice brewer. Not always just sometimes.
If I can make a recommendation for you that keeps things simple it would be to try the Coopers Aust pale ale or the Canadian Blonde with BE2 and for the cooler months try the Dark Ale with BE3.

 

[Buzzgb]

On 10/13/2019 at 12:00 PM, Lab Rat said:

You can't get a lager style beer brewing at 24c. As others have said, the warmer you brew, the more esters you get into the beer, so you end up getting further away from the cold, wet, bubbly tasteless beer that is commercial lager.

With the headache, wondering how you brewed this? Did you do the standard lager tin to 23l, your beer looks a lot darker than I remember the lager turning out.

Yeh just the one that came with the kit,  and said to brew between 21 and 27 as the coopers dyi video said.  Giving me a bum steer are they lol? 

[Buzzgb]

11 hours ago, MUZZY said:

Welcome Buzzgb.
I'm assuming you used the Brew Enhancer 1 that came with the DIY kit. Oddly, Coopers include the cheaper BE1 with the kit but on the 1.7kg Lager can they recommend adding BE2.
BE2 has a higher malt content. BE3 is higher in malt again. The malt and maltodextrin in these BEs assist with head retention. My first lager was like yours, carbonated but the head vanished quite quickly. I didn't really like it that much but it wasn't bad. 
Unlike many on here I don't have an old fridge for ferment temp control but I'm making some beers I really enjoy still. I'm also only Kit &Kilo brewing - Coopers 1.7kg can plus a 1kg box of brew enhancer. I used to be a VB drinker and was like yourself in wanting to make a beer that might be a close replica. To make a decent, crisp, clean lager you'll most likely need temp control (a ferment fridge with an Inkbird thermostat) because lagers are best if fermented at lower temps than ales. However, if all that equipment is an imposition, you can still make some very good ales that can handle higher ferment temps but if you can attain an 18-21C ferment temp range you'll get pretty good results. A cheaper but less effective way to keep your fermenter cool is a swamp cooler - a wet towel or t-shirt over the fermenter and a fan. A tray of water under the fermenter to keep the towel/t-shirt wet.
The folks on here will give you excellent advice. Many of them really know their stuff but can sometimes forget what it's like to be a novice brewer. Not always just sometimes.
If I can make a recommendation for you that keeps things simple it would be to try the Coopers Aust pale ale or the Canadian Blonde with BE2 and for the cooler months try the Dark Ale with BE3.

 

 Cheers muzzy, much appreciated,  have a coopers pale ale ready to have a go at Friday so fingers crossed,  living in the tropics so may have to get another fridge. 

[Malter White]

According to most on here it's really worth it in regards to making better beers. I'm still procrastinating about getting one because of where I'd have to position it at home but I'm sure I'll do it eventually.

[Buzzgb]

55 minutes ago, MUZZY said:

According to most on here it's really worth it in regards to making better beers. I'm still procrastinating about getting one because of where I'd have to position it at home but I'm sure I'll do it eventually.

 What temp should it be at,  i have an old chest freezer, might have to get an inkbird thermostate for it

Edited October 14, 2019 by Buzzgb

[Malter White]

I'm still a novice but I'm pretty sure ales are best around 18-21C. Lagers around 12-18 but others with more experience can probably enlighten us further. 

Edited October 14, 2019 by MUZZY

[Lab Cat]

2 hours ago, Buzzgb said:

Yeh just the one that came with the kit,  and said to brew between 21 and 27 as the coopers dyi video said.  Giving me a bum steer are they lol? 

The Coopers instructions are pretty simple, it's intended for those who have no gear or fridges. You'll have got a generic light ale of some description, but not a lager. There are far better kits that will brew at low 20C

[Shamus O'Sean]

8 hours ago, Buzzgb said:

 What temp should it be at,  i have an old chest freezer, might have to get an inkbird thermostate for it

I use an old chest freezer too with an Inkbird controller.  Works a jiffy.

18°C +/- 0.3°C for ales.

12°C +/- 0.3°C for lagers.

[MitchellScott]

1 hour ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

I use an old chest freezer too with an Inkbird controller.  Works a jiffy.

18°C +/- 0.3°C for ales.

12°C +/- 0.3°C for lagers.

This^
But my InkBird is set to +/- 0.5C. Doesn't really make any difference though.

[Otto Von Blotto]

I do the same a Shamus. Although some ales I'll ferment warmer around 20-21, and some lagers I do a bit lower at 9 or 10. Always +/- 0.3 degrees though (temp probe taped to FV underneath foam - temp changes much slower than the air). Just depends on the yeast and what I want from it. 

[Aussiekraut]

On 10/15/2019 at 7:29 AM, MitchellScott said:

This^
But my InkBird is set to +/- 0.5C. Doesn't really make any difference though.

If I'm not very much mistaken, my InkBird only does .5C steps

[Otto Von Blotto]

It might depend on the model. I can make the difference in 0.1 degree increments down to 0.3, same as with the STC on the other fridge. 

[YeastyBoy]

 

1 hour ago, Aussiekraut said:

If I'm not very much mistaken, my InkBird only does .5C steps

My ITC does .1 increments however my set points are .5 above & below as do not want to flog the fridge to hard!!

[YeastyBoy]

On 10/12/2019 at 10:56 AM, Buzzgb said:

 

Lovely jubbly. Looks the goods enjoy, may you find the recipe that is best for you.

Cheers YB

[Otto Von Blotto]

My fridge runs less often with a batch in it and the controller set to 0.3 difference than it does when it's just operating as normal. If it's set up right, nothing to worry about. 

[MitchellScott]

Yeah mines the same at Kelsey's with 0.1 increments down to 0.3C.

The 0.2C difference between that and 0.5C has never worried me. Either work just fine.