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Coopers European Lager tins, got a few on hand....


Davidt15

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Any cool ideas on using these E-Lager cans. Scored 4 for $5 each as they had been trashed in transit(yes they are still good use dates), only two have yeast sachets with them though. Have a Lager s23 in the fridge so might use that with one and some extra LME I have.

Any other ideas most appreciated.

 

Dave

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Nice score!

 

I put a Euro Lager down about 6 weeks ago, with 1kg Brew Enh 2, and 500g LDM. Tasted only one so far, still a bit ripe. Plenty of body but lacking some flavor/aroma for my likes, but it is still only young.

 

Next time I think I'll try a dry hop addition of Hallertau or Tettnanger for some extra flavor and aroma.

 

Good Luck[biggrin] .

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My wife is not too keen on ales and prefers lagers; so I made this one for her. As if I needed an excuse to make beer [biggrin]

 

I took it from PB2's Oktoberfest (Marzen) recipe from Beer & Brewer magazine.

 

1 x Coopers European Lager

500g Light Dry Malt

200g Cara Munich I Malt

Yeast - 2 x Saflager W-34/70

Made to 20 litres

 

It was a nice tasting, easy drinking lager which I think ended up at around 4% alcohol.

 

If I was doing it again I would probably add some hops like Hallertau.

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Terry, I am curious as to why the 2 packets of yeast?... I would have thought 1 packet would have been suffice unless they are only 7g packets or thereabouts. I just used a W-34/70 recently and that was 11.5g so 2 of these would be very close to over pitching, considering there is not a lot of sugar in the recipe.

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Yeah, not 100% sure what the reason was. I probably did over pitch given the amount of fermentables.

 

I don't normally brew lagers and therefore I don't use lager yeast.

 

I was pitching the yeast at a much lower temperature than I do for ales so I must have figured that I would give the yeasties more of a fighting chance by pitching more. I thought the colder temperature may hamper the multiplication of the yeast.

 

What are the consequences of over pitching (apart from forking out an extra $5 for the yeast)?

 

Cheers

Hairy

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What are the consequences of over pitching (apart from forking out an extra $5 for the yeast)?

Two of the big issues at least in terms of off flavors in overpitching are low ester production and increased risk of autolysis and its resulting off flavors.

I actually know people who over pitch to achieve a different flavor in their beer and personally I don't like their beer. It is drinkable but I'm not fond of it.

 

I recall reading somewhere that overpitching rates are just a little over double the preferred pitching rates. Can't remember where I read that now sorry.

 

I also believe that by over pitching the yeast may increase the pH in the brew which in turn will give some "different flavors".

 

I do have the book "Yeast" but am at work at the moment so can't reference that until later and I haven't read the whole book yet. I am sure it would say something in there about over pitching.

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Thanks Bill.

 

The beer was still drinkable and a nice drop so I don't think it is worthy of being added to the "Biggest Brewing Blunders" thread.

 

On the other hand it was nowhere near the best beers I have brewed.

 

I had just put it down to the fact it was a lager. I do like lagers but they don't really excite me. Perhaps it was the over pitching [crying]

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[rightful] 2 x W-34/70 sachets to 20 litres' date=' assuming they are the 11.5g sachets, is not overpitching. [rightful']

That's good to know and would explain why there were no issues [cool]

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have just gone back to try this lager and it tastes like I am eating a green apple.

 

Is this Acetaldehyde? Could it have been caused by pitching the extra yeast?

 

There was a slight taste of this in my early tastings but it was very subtle and I figured it was just a young beer that needed to condition longer.

 

However, now it has been bottled for 4-5 months and the taste appears to be stronger and more pronounced.

 

I originally brewed this beer for my wife and she loves the taste of it. She reckons she can't taste the green apple flavour.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions on clearing this up or will it have to remain a Wife Only beer?

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Hairy - I am assuming you bottled this brew.

When fermentation was finished if you used a lager yeast like W34/70, did you let the temp rise for a while so the yeast will then clean up any/most Diacytl and Acetaldehyde?

Lagers are slightly different than an Ale to brew.

 

To do a D-rest, which is slightly different but also helps, I believe you need to raise the temp to around 18C about 3/4 the way through primary fermentation for 24-48 hours.

 

It will also depend how hot your wort was when you pitched your yeast and how long it took before you got to lagering temps.

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Here is the process from memory.

 

I brewed this at around 9-10 degrees for 3 weeks in primary before bottling. I didn't let this warm up apart from sitting it on the bench for an hour prior to bottling.

 

I then left the bottles for 2 weeks to carbonate. This would have been at around 20 degrees.

 

I then cold conditioned in the fridge at 3 degrees for 4 weeks.

 

Since then they have sat in the garage. We had a bit of a cold snap for a while there so the garage was fairly cool.

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I didn't think that a Diacytl rest was necessary if bottle conditioning your beer.

 

Maybe just give it some time, from what I understand the yeast will clean it up and make it taste better. The only issue is that the time is Months rather then weeks.

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No, I didn't suggest a d-rest was necessary, I only explained the process of doing one and stated earlier in the post that it would have been ideal if the temp was raised for the yeast to clean up prior to bottling.

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I don't know if prior to bottling would make a great deal of differance. The only reason being is that the yeast don't know if they are still in the FV or in the bottle.

 

So raising the temperature to 20C whilst in the bottle would have the same effect, unless you have another reason as to why you raise the temperature.

 

Also raising the temperature to 20C to bottle condition will allow it to condition faster although I would probably trying to store it in a cooler location and wait that little bit longer.

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The great thing about secondary fermentation is that it also doubles as a diacetyl rest.[cool]

 

Acetaldehyde will diminish over time in the bottle so perhaps the "green apple" character is more like acetic acid (vinegar) because this is likely to get worse over time (until it reaches a peak).

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well, I went back to this again after an extra 4 weeks conditioning and it wasn't too bad.

 

The green apple taste was still there in the background but it is now only a slight, subtle taste.

 

Perhaps last time I had eaten something prior to drinking it that exagerated the flavour (and it wasn't a green apple).

 

This time I actually found it enjoyable to drink.

 

I will leave it another 4 weeks and try it again. Its looking positive though.

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