Coopers European Lager - Sulphurous Nose

[scottish69]

I fermented this kit at @13 degrees, and decided to have a little taste after only 1 week of conditioning as the bottle was perfectly clear.

Lager tasted amazing, but the head was very sulphur smelling. Will this go with more conditioning (i know they recommend waiting 12 weeks before drinking)?

Just wondered!

[brysie]

from what ive read, a sulphur smell is not unusual with lower temp brewing.
the whole `lager` process is cold storage for a long time . hard to resist tho isnt it?

[scottish69]

Very hard yeah - esp when it tastes as good as this kit does. So will the sulpherous nose go after a few months conditioning, the wife is refusing to drink it as it is!

[brysie]

that sounds like a plan. make the beer smell of farts and er indoors wont touch it!

yeah, the whole lagering process as i understand it, allows the yeast in the bottle [given sufficient time] to clean up any off flavours in the beer which
are less notiecable in stronger tasting brews. i do however reserve the right to be talking completely out of me arris and be corrected by more
knowledgeable brewers on this forum. ahem.

[johnston]

Wish you hadnt posted this mine will have been bottled a week tomorrow, looking at some of the bottles I'm tempted to put a few in the fridge

I had been convincing myself it will be undrinkable yet

[brysie]

i hear ya.
ive got one of these bad boys down the cellar myself thats only been bottled about ten days and yes, i have partaken of a sample.

but in my defence, i now always bottle a few half pints in each brew, for sampling ,so that i can monitor my brews on a weekly or fortnightly basis.
and early tasting of this european lager kit put it head and shoulders above all the other lagers ive done so far.

[mat69]

johnston,dont put them in the fridge just yet,after only a week conditioning then in the fridge will make them go hazy(ive done it before)leave in the shed or cellar to clear a bit more(at least a week more),then put them in the fridge a couple of hours before drinking,i know its hard to keep ya mits of em but it will be worth it mate

[joel_m]

I was looking at the Coopers European in wilko's the other day but decided not to as I have no where cooler than 21. How important is the temp? If i don't have a cold place is it just best to stay away from largers and make sparkling light ales instead as I have been?

[johnston]

I was looking at the Coopers European in wilko's the other day but decided not to as I have no where cooler than 21. How important is the temp? If i don't have a cold place is it just best to stay away from largers and make sparkling light ales instead as I have been?

I think most come with ale yeast so it brews at a higher temp but it changes the taste slightly. I went for the coopers partly as the 'space' I was allowed to use stays around 15c and the euro seemed to be the only one that came with a proper lager yeast.

[Mogwyth]

I fermented this kit at @13 degrees, and decided to have a little taste after only 1 week of conditioning as the bottle was perfectly clear.

Lager tasted amazing, but the head was very sulphur smelling. Will this go with more conditioning (i know they recommend waiting 12 weeks before drinking)?

Just wondered!

From the Coopers European Lager instructions "4. It is common for lager yeast to produce a smell like rotten eggs when fermenting, this should dissipate as the beer conditions in the bottle."

Or as they say RTFM

Cheers

Bill

[Mogwyth]

I was looking at the Coopers European in wilko's the other day but decided not to as I have no where cooler than 21. How important is the temp? If i don't have a cold place is it just best to stay away from largers and make sparkling light ales instead as I have been?

Coopers recommend 21-27 for fermenting the European but best at nearer 21 although it will go down to 13. Mine is at about 20 and has been fermenting for nicely now for 5 days, longer than most of the ales I have done.

Cheers

Bill

[timothio]

I was looking at the Coopers European in wilko's the other day

Hey Joel,

Was that really a Coopers EURO lager in Wilkos, or was it the bog standard Coopers Australian lager? I wanna get a Coopers European on the go, but refuse to order online 'cos of the stupid delivery costs. I just checked WIlkos online store, and they only stock the Australian lager. I've heard that they will order in anything that another store stocks for no extra cost... If it really is the Euro kit, let me know which store you're shopping at! Maybe I can get it after all...

[joel_m]

Hi It could be aussie I'm not sure... it was wilko's in Slough. I have to go over to slough this weekend so ill check and let you know. Think it was Europ ... But I was in my local(ish) homebrew shop in chessington before that so I may have seen it there...memory the curse of age...

[brysie]

Coopers recommend 21-27 for fermenting the European but best at nearer 21

mog, they might say 21 to 27 degrees but any brew that ferments out at that temperature isnt going to taste like lager.
youre into steam beer territory i think.
lager comes from europe where the temperatures are lower and so mr carlsberg developed [nicked] yeasts that would work at lower temps.
and then stored at lower temps for ages. and you got clean crisp tasting beer that you just cant replicate as a home brewer with higher
temperature brewing.
theres some ace reading on wikipedia that explains this much better than i can, which really helped me get my head round the naff
tasting lager kits ive done in the past.

[joel_m]

so without cold brewing better to stick to light and pale ales and make them sparkling?