still not a fan of OS lager

[Greg]

So, with the hype of the new Coopers DIY kit, with the revised ingredient pack including BE1, i thought i would give it a crack - OS lager + BE1. I decided to ferment around 18 using the kit yeast and no additional hops (i have a temp mate and a brewing fridge). Firstly i must say that i have never used BE1 in my 7 years brewing experience. I was sceptical using the BE1 due to its high simple sugar ratio.

 

The result at 8 weeks of which should be drinkable beer, to my taste is undrinkable. To my taste, it tastes very cidery. Now i am always very careful with my cleaning and sanitising - and i know what "off" beer tastes like. This beer isnt off per se. rather is very very cidery. I suppose it would work well as a shandy.

 

In my (limited) brewing experience, i would have thought Coopers would make a better attempt to educate new brewers to make drinkable beer, by adding say, 1kg of LDM instead of the BE1 to the new DIY kit. Heck, BE2 would have been better. Alot of new brewers would be quite disapointed i reckon, even if they are good with their cleaning, sanitisation, and temperature control.

 

My advice to new brewers is to chuck BE1 in the bin or use it for cooking (im guessing you could use it for cooking?). Get 1kg LDM, and a (very) small amount of dextrose for your fermentables and you will get a drinkable beer using this or any other kit. Adding hops to the OS lager is necessary in my opinion as it is very bland. I suppose, it makes a good lawnmover beer - though im not a fan of it.

 

I mainly brew all grain or partials so perhaps this is what i am tasting as the difference. However, i occasionally do brew kits when i need beer fast, mainly the Thomas Coopers Lager or Draught which is top notch beer when made with liquid or dry malt.

 

/end rant.

 

 

Greg

 

 

 

 

[BrendanS8]

G'day Greg, i've been brewing since April this year and have been a bit wary of useing dextrose since my brother did home brewing a few years ago and he used dextrose in his brews, and i could never drink them due to the cidery flavour.

My first six brews i used malt extracts and steeped grains with a couple of them, the one i did two weeks ago, the local brew shop suggested to use 1 kg of their 'beer improver' which contains malt extract and dextrose, which was to be mixed with 1 TC sparkling ale, 1 coopers light malt extract and safale s-04. I kegged it the other day and tried it yesterday and was very disappointed, it tastes cidery. Not happy! Anyway still learning.

But i have noticed that on this site (talk brewing) that some recipes call for the use of dextrose??

Maybe someone out there has an answer!

Cheers, Brendan.[unsure] [unsure]

[LeonardC2]

When I got my micro brew kit,I was given the OS Lager,& 1kg of their brewing sugar. It has less maltodextrin than the BE1. It came out malt forward,like a Sam Adam's summer ale,minus flavor/aroma hops. Rather nice,& no cider flavors at 3 weeks+ in the PET bottles.

This time,I'm going to have my new brewer wife brew it,since she really liked it.

I've got bags of dextrose,maltodextrin,& 1lb (1.454kg)of Munton's plain light DME. I'm thinking of mixing 500g of DME,300g of dextrose,& 200g of maltodextrin.

The maltodextrin is a long chain sugar molecule,so it can't be fermented by yeast alone. So it gives more mouth feel,a bit creamier too.

And keep the pitch temp at 20-21C,as well as the ferment temps in general. That should minimize the cidery flavor,since it's not just caused by excess sugar.

[CraigsALE]

My brother in law who lives i the country is a very old fashioned brewer. He brews his own beer for only one reason. Its cheap. The cheaper the better as far as he is concerned. His tried and true recipe is thus.

1 Coopers OS draught bought at the local Wollies.

1 kg of the no name white sugar.

Hot water to dissolve it.

Yeast that come with the tin.

In the FV with a airlock. Not that it does any good as he threw the deteriorated rubber seal years back. Just screws the lid and seals it best he can. Sticks it on top of the fridge so gets warmth of the back of the fridge.

Now its not the best beer that's for sure but we always drink it when we visit and his mates keep coming back for more.

This guy even makes his own bio fuel from the local greasy joes to run his car.

 

[Beer Loving Trent]

1 Coopers OS draught bought at the local Wollies.

1 kg of the no name white sugar.

 

Well if it works for him well and good but I would exchange the white sugar for dextrose it's about $1 more expensive, than no name sugar from Woolies (I priced checked them also), and as i was told by the bloke who owned and ran one of the local home brew shops here "White Sugar has no place in home brew". I used white sugar in my first batch of home brew just for the secondary fermentation and my beer tasted cidery, but then again I made the mistake of using a Toohey's Special Lager kit and I have since been told all Toohey's home brew turns out bad.

 

[Matty A]

White sugar is great for priming bottles. Since its only a small quantity it doesn't create any off flavours or anything. Infact using Dextrose will have the same effect as white sugar and create cidery flavours.

 

I generally don't use Dextrose unless the style calls for it ofcoarse.

[Beer Loving Trent]

White sugar is great for priming bottles. Since its only a small quantity it doesn't create any off flavours or anything. Infact using Dextrose will have the same effect as white sugar and create cidery flavours.

 

I generally don't use Dextrose unless the style calls for it ofcoarse.

 

I have used dextrose for at least four batch with no cidery taste, I guess I must be lucky

 

[Matty A]

For priming Dextrose won't make much differance but for brewing with it can. I know of brewers that buy the kits and add 1kg of dextrose to brew with. They often have cidery flavours but I think its a mixture of really high temperatures as well.

[Beer Loving Trent]

They often have cidery flavours but I think its a mixture of really high temperatures as well.

 

Well that may explain it as I brew in a cupboard in my back shed and temps are down because of winter, my batches usually sit at about 13 - 18 degrees. I wrap them in a sleeping bag and a handmade quilt for a week then I change them to being wrapped in three flannette style shirts, because I use the sleeping bag/quilt combo for the most recent batch pitched, as I run two fermentors, so every Friday night I bottle, every Saturday I pitch, each batch in the fermentors for about 13 days

 

[Matty A]

This one brewer I know has no concept of beer quality. The quicker he can have it in the keg the better.

 

He has a brew fridge setup to brew at 25C constantly and he kegs his beer after only 4 days in the fermenter. He also brews double batches and kegs into a 50L keg.

[Beer Loving Trent]

Yeah i started home brewing mainly to save money but since i pitch every week I now have enough beer not to risk trying it early, I try each batch at the two week mark to see how it is maturing, my other cupboard in the shed won't close properly due to the amount of boxes of beer I have stored it in

[Muddy Waters]

I agree with you Greg - I'm on record as saying the OS Lager kit, when made to instructions in the brewing kit, tastes like crap. It was drinkable after a few months but only in a VB, Tooheys New, only if I absolutely have to kind of way - I evetually tipped it out [pinched]

 

It is a very poor introduction to brewing and probably puts a lot of people off trying to make their own beer again. I have since gotten over my fear of OS Lager and have succesffuly used it as a recipe base a few times but is well down my list of preferred ingredients.

 

Brendan - Don't be afraid of dextrose but just don't overdo it. While my beers are primarily malt and hops based I regularly add about 250g of dextrose and have no ill effects. I have no tolerance for cidery tastes but when used in moderation dextrose can be your friend [biggrin]

[Hairy]

The OS Lager was my first brew and it was made with the Brewing Sugar that came with the kit.

 

At the time I thought it was pretty good. Not spectacular but decent. I thought that was what home brew tasted like.

 

That was until I started using other ingredients; being malt, gains and hops. Now I know what it is supposed to taste like.[love]

 

When I went back to taste the early beers that I made I realised it actually tasted cidery and wasn't that good. I tipped the remaining (and offending) bottles out.

 

I think puting LDM in the DIY kit would not only make better beer but encourage people to stick at it.

[CraigsALE]

1 Coopers OS draught bought at the local Wollies.

1 kg of the no name white sugar.

 

Well if it works for him well and good but I would exchange the white sugar for dextrose it's about $1 more expensive, than no name sugar from Woolies (I priced checked them also), and as i was told by the bloke who owned and ran one of the local home brew shops here "White Sugar has no place in home brew". I used white sugar in my first batch of home brew just for the secondary fermentation and my beer tasted cidery, but then again I made the mistake of using a Toohey's Special Lager kit and I have since been told all Toohey's home brew turns out bad.

If it is that bad why do coopers insist on keep putting it in the instructions.

I made Coopers IPA with just white sugar and kit yeast and I love it.

 

[Beer Loving Trent]

If it is that bad why do coopers insist on keep putting it in the instructions.

I made Coopers IPA with just white sugar and kit yeast and I love it.

 

Dunno maybe Paul could answer that, it might before first time brewers, or they haven't updated the label, I was going off what the bloke at the local home brew shop told me, he also told me he was invested in my brewing because if he gave me bad advice I most likely wouldn't return there which is true

 

[Matty A]

I have always wondered the same thing. Maybe its just to make the experience a whole lot easier and cheaper. 1kg of Dextrose cost $3 here but if I was to buy 1kg of LDM it would be more around the $12 mark.

 

I have always had trouble with cidery flavours with Dextrose, maybe I am just really prone to it.

 

Nevermind I am starting not to use the kits alot anymore (unless I am making the 2can stout) [biggrin]

[PB2]

To which instructions do you refer?

[BrendanS8]

When i made the above mentioned brew the other week, i pitched the yeast at about 25 degrees. Would that temp have been part of the problem?

[CraigsALE]

To which instructions do you refer?

 

OS instructions,

Requirements.

Coopers Wort Concentrate, Yeast Sachet & 1 KG of White Sugar. (other recommended fermentable sugars maybe used instead).

 

[PB2]

A significant number of brewers, using the Original Series (OS) beer kits, make the brew up exclusively with cane sugar (white, raw, caster, etc).

 

So with this in mind, we've taken a "baby steps" approach when revising the OS underlid instructions. [whistling

 

Of course, these instructions are not accessible when the customer is at point of sale. Our hope is that the shiny red boxes of Sugar Blends catch their eye and they take the time to pick them up and have a read of a recipe on the side panel. Then become inspired to give them a try.[w00t]

 

Our surveys show that the majority of people who make beer for the first time are accustomed to the taste of mainstream Aussie lagers. This is why we pack the OS Lager + BE1 with the DIY Beer kit (the old Micro-Brew kit had Brewing Sugar).

 

Yes, we recognise that some first time brewers (or more experience brewers) will not be enamoured by the beer made with OS Lager + BE1. However, OS Lager is the highest volume beer kit in the world.[sideways]

[Canadian Eh!L]

I've never made the OS lager kit taste good.[annoyed] The only batch I've had tipped out was a OS Lager Toucan with Fuggles[sick].

 

Chad

 

 

[Matty A]

However' date=' OS Lager is the highest volume beer kit in the world.[sideways']

 

I don't mean to be a jerk Paul but could this be because they buy the Microbrew kit and after they taste it, they don't like it so don't go back.

 

Although in saying that I tried my OS lager that I made to proove it wasn't a bad kit and actually really enjoyed it. Maybe I just stuffed the other one up heaps good.

[PB2]

I'm not sure what you mean?? Are you suggesting we sell more OS Lager because it's packed with the starter kits?

 

We produce an average of about 25 thousand starter kits per year. OS Lager outsells the next highest performer by about 95 thousand units.

[Matty A]

That squashes any theories I had [bandit] .

 

Do you sell those 25 thousand starter kits every year?

[Biermoasta]

Most of the other homebrewers I know have only ever tried two kits, Coopers Lager and Coopers Draught. They might not appeal to a true beer lover who wants something with more hop or malt presence, but for those people who just want a cheap, light coloured beer they get the job done.