Coppers 86 Day Pilsner

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SilasWegg
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Coppers 86 Day Pilsner

Post by SilasWegg » Mon Sep 03, 2018 8:15 am

I was going to get a Coppers Original series lager to make a low alcohol beer using just 500g extra light DME, brewed to 23 litres, but Boyes sale didn't have any left so I got an 86 Day Pilsner for the same low price £10. I've just realised this kit is designed to be brewed with far more fermentables than just 500g and the yeast may be a true lager yeast and I don't have facilities to brew at lager yeast low temps. Do you think this kit will be okay if I follow my original plan of doing it with only 500g extra light DME and substituting the kit yeast (can anyone confirm what type of yeast it is?) for a couple of packs of Munton's Gold yeast that I have spare in the fridge or would that plan produce a beer that I would find undrinkable whilst cooking Sunday lunch (which is when I plan drinking it)?

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HTH1975
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Re: Coppers 86 Day Pilsner

Post by HTH1975 » Mon Sep 03, 2018 10:21 am

I suppose it depends on what the kit calls for in terms of additional fermentables as to whether 500g of DME will be ok.

As for yeast, you’re not going to get the same clean profile from ale yeast (will be fruitier/increased esters), but you can mitigate that as much as possible by pitching plenty of yeast and fermenting on the cool side.

Apparently Muntons Gold is repackaged Nottingham yeast - if so, then you have a fairly neutral yeast with high attenuation, so workable for a lager.

SilasWegg
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Re: Coppers 86 Day Pilsner

Post by SilasWegg » Mon Sep 03, 2018 1:02 pm

I understand the differences between ale yeast and lager yeast that's why I was going to get an original series Coppers lager as that comes with the normal ale yeas, and I was going to brew it with 500g extra light DME with no extra dextrose or other fermentables. The 86 Day Pilsner recommends using 1kg light DME and brewing temp of 13 to 15c which suggests that the yeast is a lager yeast. I would still like to carry out my original plan of making a low alcohol beer using and ale yeast as my kitchen can't be kept at 13 to 15c and I realise the beer will not be a true lager (like a lot of lager kits).

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HTH1975
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Re: Coppers 86 Day Pilsner

Post by HTH1975 » Tue Sep 04, 2018 8:50 am

I suppose there is only one way to find out - brew it and see. 500g of DME in a 25L batch is going to add 9-10 gravity points, so if you’re looking at a weak lager I’d say you’ll get that.

Regarding temperature, you could try draping wet towels over the FV and also put frozen bottles of water round it. It won’t be lager temp, but will keep the temperature on the lower side for ales and hopefully give you a decent lager. Try that for two days, then just let it ramp up to room temperature to finish off.

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Monkeybrew
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Re: Coppers 86 Day Pilsner

Post by Monkeybrew » Tue Sep 04, 2018 7:39 pm

Hi,

I don't know the kit IBU value, but as it's a lager, I can't imagine that it will be very high, so brewing the kit to 23L with the 500g of DME should be fine.

As for the yeast, keep it simple and use the Muntons Gold and try and ferment at a steady temperature under 20C.

I have always found the Muntons Gold yeast to be very neutral on the ester front.

Cheers

MB
FV:


Conditioning:
AG#41 - Vienna Lager - 5.6%
AG#42 - Heritage Double Ale - 10.5%

On Tap:
AG#44 - Harvest ESB - 5.4%
AG#45 - Amarillo Gold APA - 5.2%

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Monkeybrew
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Re: Coppers 86 Day Pilsner

Post by Monkeybrew » Tue Sep 04, 2018 8:04 pm

Just Googled the kit and the concentrated IBU value is 490.

So, the formula to work out the base bitterness for the kit can before adding any fermentables is - 490(IBU) x 1.7(kg for the kit extract) ÷ 23(L brewlength) = 36IBU.

Once you have added the DME, this will reduce the IBU slightly, so your brew will probably have a fairly balanced Gravity:Bitterness ratio, making for a crisp brew.

As I said, keep it simple! :boff:

Cheers

MB
FV:


Conditioning:
AG#41 - Vienna Lager - 5.6%
AG#42 - Heritage Double Ale - 10.5%

On Tap:
AG#44 - Harvest ESB - 5.4%
AG#45 - Amarillo Gold APA - 5.2%

SilasWegg
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Re: Coppers 86 Day Pilsner

Post by SilasWegg » Thu Sep 06, 2018 7:07 pm

Thanks Monkeybrew,
I hadn't even thought of doing all that maths, but I'll bear it in mind for future reference. It sounds like what I want will work just as well with the Pilsnerkit as the OS Lager. I've gone and used the Muntons Gold yeast on a Coopers Stout now, but of course that leave me the stout yeast if I wanted to use it for the Pils, but I was thinking of getting a Safale 05 as it looks from the description that an 05 might fit the bill for what I'm after, what do you think?

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Re: Coppers 86 Day Pilsner

Post by Clibit » Fri Sep 07, 2018 6:59 pm

You could get a Kolsch or California Common yeast from Crossmyloofbrew. £1.31 including postage. Cost less if you buy more. Their website is closed til the weekend, hopefully back up tomorrow. This is their price list from Facebook:

https://tinyurl.com/y78qh2fx

SilasWegg
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Re: Coppers 86 Day Pilsner

Post by SilasWegg » Fri Sep 07, 2018 8:23 pm

Thanks, I'll check that out.

SilasWegg
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Re: Coppers 86 Day Pilsner

Post by SilasWegg » Mon Sep 10, 2018 5:34 pm

Just ordered a Kolsch yeast.

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Monkeybrew
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Re: Coppers 86 Day Pilsner

Post by Monkeybrew » Tue Oct 02, 2018 4:38 pm

Sorry for missing your yeast question!

For future reference Safale also do a dry yeast called K-97, that I believe is Kolsch-esq.

When I get around to brewing with it, I will report back.

Cheers

MB
FV:


Conditioning:
AG#41 - Vienna Lager - 5.6%
AG#42 - Heritage Double Ale - 10.5%

On Tap:
AG#44 - Harvest ESB - 5.4%
AG#45 - Amarillo Gold APA - 5.2%

SilasWegg
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Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 8:22 pm

Re: Coppers 86 Day Pilsner

Post by SilasWegg » Wed Oct 03, 2018 3:42 pm

Still waiting to brew this kit. I'm intending to get round to it in the next couple of weeks after getting a couple of ale kits brewed.

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