Coopers Euro Lager isn't right after 12 weeks

[thedeckking]

If you want a fizzy lager then you're going to have to use bottles, a keg just won't cut it. If it's cloudy chances are there's still yeast there, so if it's only going down the drain anyway maybe try repriming and bottling it.

[cwrw gwent]

Hi Fab 2008.

Welcome to the forum.

I'm wondering whether the fermentation and conditioning temperatures were too high or inconsistent during the intense heat of the Nottingham summer, especially in an outside shed. I've got a European Lager kit ready to start in November and then I'll bottle it and stash in an insulated box in the garage over winter for conditioning before drinking in April. The yeast is a true lager strain but Cooper's instructions say you should ferment at the lower end of their range (ie 21degrees C), though it can ferment as low as 13C. They recommend 12 weeks conditioning but don't clearly specify at what temperature.

[EoinMag]

Hi, this is my first post here, but I've made brew kits about 20 years ago and just started back up again (pub prices are crazy!!!!!! )

I've made a Coopers European lager by the instructions and put it in a barrel in the outside shed. After 12 weeks (recommended time) its cloudy, flat, doesn't have any body and was supposed to taste like Becks but it doesn't taste anything like.

It comes out the barrel under its own pressure (so there is pressure), but when its out, there isn't a bubble in sight and hasn't got a head.

Is this because it been in a barrel?

Thanks for any help.

Did you make it with table sugar? If so it's not going to taste particularly good and won't be anything like a Becks. If you've used spraymalt for it then it'll be closer to the becks you're expecting.

[johnston]

My first euro was conditioned at around 15c and well the bottles didnt last 12 weeks

but my 2nd lot have been in the attic much cooler for 2 months now and got to say the 1st bottle not as good its also alot darker than the previous lot.

[Barm]

Hope this isn't hijacking the post;

I just bought a Cooper's Euro, anyone got a recommendation for the best way to make it up - ie what additional fermentables (eg spraymalt, BKE etc), what brewlength, any extra hopping?

cheers-

[Gazzababbo]

I've made up one of these using a Geordie BKE (1/2 SM 1/2 Brewers Sugar) and it went into the bottles a few days ago. It took two weeks to ferment @ 16.5oC in a fridge, going from 1.040 OG to 1.006 FG. At bottling time it tasted like a flat tinned lager - carling or some other such stuff. It looked quite a dark amber colour, hazy but no visible debris from the FV. Incidentally I added 150g glucose-d in a syrup to the FV just before bottling and gently swirled it around to mix. I was worried about disturbing the sediment at the bottom of the FV but it stayed in place

I hope the conditioning in the same fridge @ 3.5oC will see it 'drop bright' in a few weeks and to that end I have bottled some in clear PET bottles so I can keep an eye on proceedings. I aim to keep the bulk of the batch for Christmas

Fab208, I would follow thedecking's advice and bottle it - you've nowt to lose. Try and stash it somewhere cold though, maybe even bottling it up, put it in boxes and put it at the back of the shed over the next few months. Temperatures will drop and that should help you brew condition. What did you prime the barrel with btw?

(If anyone is wondering at the detail in this post, I found I was searching for tiny details when I did my first kit, mentioned above. I needed the reassurance that someone else had done what I was trying and that it had worked before. This may help others who want a bit of advice/assurance)