Coopers sparkling ale

[sparky Paul]

Never liberated a yeast from a commercial bottle, but plenty of folk have, and I reckon it's just a matter of making a yeast starter with the sediment.

One thing you have to be careful of, some beers use a one yeast for fermenting, then filter and add a different yeast for conditioning. I don't think this is the case with Cooper's Sparkling Ale, if you can find a bottle.

[yoshimitsu]

Howdy all,

Long time reader, first time poster here - also sorry to hijack this thread.

I bought this kit this morning as it sounded like a nice one to do for my second ever brew.

So, i got the Sparkling Ale kit, and the 1.5kg Coopers LME. I was also going to go with what it also says on the can (500g LDM + 300g Dextrose), but the homebrew shop (homebrew centre Keynsham) had no Dextrose, so the guy sold me 1kg of Burton Bridge Beer enhancer (made up of Spray Dried Malt and Dextrose) to replace the LDM and Dextrose.

Will it be OK to add the 1kg of Enhancer in place of the 800g LDM + Dextrose or should i just use 800g of that?

I've also noted the tendency for these kits to be a bit on the frothy side whilst fermenting, so if i start off with 20l in the fermenter, when is a suitable time to make it up to 23l - right before bottling? when it looks like it's settling down?

One final question - can i use regular cold water for this, or should i boil it beforehand?

Should also say that this forum has been a massive help in getting started - so thanks to all for that.

Yoshi

[Normski]

If it's made to 23L it wont be 6.8%

The gravity and alcohol can be calculated fairly easily by multiplying the weight of the ingredient by the yield and dividing by the volume ie

1.7kg of liquid malt extract x 300/23 = 22.17
+
1.5kg of DME x 374/23 = 24.4
+
0.3kg of dextrose x 300/23 = 4

= 50.57

or 1051 (rounded up)

it'll ferment roughly down to 1010

and alcohol can be estimated by subtracting FG from OG and dividing by 7.45

(51-10)/7.45 = 5.5%

i've no idea where 6.8% comes from if it was made to 23L The actual Coopers Sparkling Ale is 5.8% http://www.coopers.com.au/beer.php?id=127&pid=1

Hi All
Im sure my reading of the Hydrometer was 1062at OG. Chris in the example above you didnt include all of the fermentables used as recomended by Coopers. Maybe the extra 500 Ldm will make the difference.
Coopers Sparkling Ale - 23 litres
Ingredients

1.7kg Premium Selection Sparkling Ale
1.5kg Thomas Coopers Light Malt Extract
500g Coopers Light Dry Malt
300g Dextrose/Sucrose

I used the 1.7kg sparkling Ale.
1.5 LME
600ml Munton's Beer Enhancer
200ml Light Spray malt

[JayBee]

Thought I`d post a link of how to reculture yeast from a bottle of Coopers.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/13108832/Coop ... Culturing-

[sparky Paul]

Howdy all

Welcome to Jim's forum!

So, i got the Sparkling Ale kit, and the 1.5kg Coopers LME. I was also going to go with what it also says on the can (500g LDM + 300g Dextrose), but the homebrew shop (homebrew centre Keynsham) had no Dextrose, so the guy sold me 1kg of Burton Bridge Beer enhancer (made up of Spray Dried Malt and Dextrose) to replace the LDM and Dextrose.

Will it be OK to add the 1kg of Enhancer in place of the 800g LDM + Dextrose or should i just use 800g of that?

800g of the Beer Kit Enhancer will be okay, it's near enough to the recommended ingredients. There's no problem adding the whole 1Kg either if that's what you want to do, but you could always save the 200g for priming. It does need to be stored in a sealed container though, it absorbs moisture from the air and goes solid.

I've also noted the tendency for these kits to be a bit on the frothy side whilst fermenting, so if i start off with 20l in the fermenter, when is a suitable time to make it up to 23l - right before bottling? when it looks like it's settling down?

You shouldn't have a problem, it's the darker coloured Cooper's kits which erupt like something from Quatermass. The lighter coloured beer kits are tame by comparison.

One final question - can i use regular cold water for this, or should i boil it beforehand?

I use my water straight from the tap, but quality can vary considerably around the country. One good recommendation if to add half a crushed campden tablet (homebrew shop) to the water, before it comes into contact with any ingredients, if you have any doubts that your supply has a lot of chlorine. This neutralises excess chlorine, and chlorine can react with malt extract to give odd flavours in your beer.

Hope this helps!

[Manx Guy]

Hi!

Welcome Yoshi!

Jaybee thanks for the link, that looks like it'll work... I follow that procedure when the time comes...

FWIW: my aussie lager also decided to take an expedition out of the air lock, however i suspect that was partly due to the fermentation temp being 24C.
I did a Coopers pale ale at 18C and that was lively but stayed in the FV...

I have a dark ale (or OLD as they call it in Oz) lined up so i'll take precautions with that!



Slainte!

[yoshimitsu]

Thanks sparky and Manx.

That all sounds fair enough - probably what i'd have ended up doing but good to check with those more knowledgable!

Just got to save up some more bottles now.

Yoshi

[Manx Guy]

How's the sparkling Ale coming along Yoshi?

I've not started mine yet, due to other commitments...
Partly due to the fact that my TC is due to be racked off today...
I had a couple of bottles of Coopers Saprkling Ale in the fridge so I used the link (http://www.scribd.com/doc/13108832/Coop ... Culturing-) supplied by Jaybee and cultured said yeast deposits from the bottles of the 'real stuff'...
There appears to be some foaming and bubbling so we'll see how that all goes...

Be good to hear how you got on & to see if the brew tried to 'go walkabout'... lol

[yoshimitsu]

@Manx Guy

Not got round to it yet - was just waiting to get the bottles together (got some mates from work collecting for me). Should be good to go this weekend mind - so i'll let you know how i get on - fingers crossed - it'll only be my second brew.

I've read about reculturing the yeast from a bottle - i saw one in tescos the other day - might just stick to the supplied stuff for this one though - still getting to grips with the sterilisation and keeping everything spotless.

Will try to post some pics aswell.

Good fun mind this brewing lark.

Yoshi.

[Manx Guy]

Hi all!

Just a quick update - I used a couple of bottles of Sparkling Ale to culture the yeast... Which appears to have been a success!

I checked it and the OG has dropped to 1010 and it smell fine (like a yeasty beer). Is it ok to add to my sparkling ale when i make it in 2-3 weeks time?
Should I rack it off into another solution of malt & warm water to 'nourish' the yeast and keep it active or wil it be ok to keep at room temp?

Yoshi - How is your Sparkling ale coming along?

The Coopers PAle Ale I made (bottled 09/05/09) is delicous even after a short conditioning period! My friends are really imprtessed and cant beleive I made it! lol Not a bad result for my 2nd ever brew!

Slainte!

[gaztop]

If it's made to 23L it wont be 6.8%

The gravity and alcohol can be calculated fairly easily by multiplying the weight of the ingredient by the yield and dividing by the volume ie

1.7kg of liquid malt extract x 300/23 = 22.17
+
1.5kg of DME x 374/23 = 24.4
+
0.3kg of dextrose x 300/23 = 4

= 50.57

or 1051 (rounded up)

it'll ferment roughly down to 1010

Chris-x1, where do you get the yield values? (liquid extract= 300, DME= 374 etc).

[Manx Guy]

Hi all!

Just a quick update - I used a couple of bottles of Sparkling Ale to culture the yeast... Which appears to have been a success!

I checked it and the OG has dropped to 1010 and it smell fine (like a yeasty beer). Is it ok to add to my sparkling ale when i make it in 2-3 weeks time?
Should I rack it off into another solution of malt & warm water to 'nourish' the yeast and keep it active or wil it be ok to keep at room temp?

Yoshi - How is your Sparkling ale coming along?

The Coopers PAle Ale I made (bottled 09/05/09) is delicous even after a short conditioning period! My friends are really imprtessed and cant beleive I made it! lol Not a bad result for my 2nd ever brew!

Slainte!

Any one got any suggestions on how long my 'cultured yeast' will last in the (sealed) bottle it was cultured in?

I have reduced the frequency of gas release to once every few days- in the hope of keeping a Co2 blanket in there to keep it fresh...

I won't be able to brew my sparkling ale until the 13th June so need to keep the cultured yeasta t its best until then....


Slainte!

[yoshimitsu]

Update:

Got the brew all mixed up Monday night - the recent hot weather helped with fermenting i think as it was foaming out the crack in the lid of the bucket, but its calmed down a bit now. will take a gravity reading tomorrow.

hopefully it'll be loads better than my first attempt - i took no gravity readings, i think it was too cold, and the resulting 'beer' hadn't really fermented at all - doesn't taste too bad, but its tough trying to get through 40 pints of low/zero alcohol beer.

Yoshi

[Manx Guy]

Hi,

I found a 'window' to do a brew so I made up my Coopers Sparkling Ale last night (04/06/09) as follows:

1 Can Coopers Sparkling Ale
1.5kg Can Coopers Light Malt Extract
500g Hopped Dry Light Malt Extract
500g Dry Light Malt Extract
200g Dextrose
My recultured yeast was pitched at 22c (I have the yeast sachet from the kit in reserve...)
I anticipate that the ambient temprature will drop in the next 48 hours and acheive a fermentation temp of ~18-20C
The OG reading was corrected at 1058 (!)

There is already some condensation on the lid of the FV after12 hours, so it looks like my yeast is active!

I will keep you guys posted!

Slainte!

[JayBee]

Nice one MG. I`m really keen to know how this one turns out, I believe its needs a longer than normal conditioning time to get the best from it though.