Home Brew - compare Coopers Lager to Brewtec Lager

Forums › Home brewing (beer, wine, spirits) › Home Brew - compare Coopers Lager to Brewtec Lager

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626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2685648 2-Apr-2021 08:25

jpoc:

Reduced sperm count and cancer perhaps?

Cancer is a lottery, you might, you might not but the reduced sperm count seems to be pretty much a certainty.

I guess I should have prepended by saying when I was younger and naive about the danger of toxins in plastics.

Ive had my fair share of health problems, and some I'd attribute to alcohol. But whats life for if you cant enjoy it to the fullest eh?

I like my beer and wine too much, but as I get older I have cut back significantly.

Regards,

Al.

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Shop now on Mighty Ape (affiliate link).

ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2685653 2-Apr-2021 08:40

Gurezaemon:

For smaller batches and experiments, I bought a 20 litre food-safe pail from Mitre10 or Para Rubber or somewhere, and put a tap in it. It works great.

Hi there I found this at Kmart which could be the berries for full brews:

Gurezaemon

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#2685662 2-Apr-2021 09:21

ageorge:

Hi there I found this at Kmart which could be the berries for full brews:

That'd work, and I've used something like that in the past. The only thing I found that you'd need to watch out for is the size of the filling port - you really need to be able to get your hand in there to give it a scrub if needed. As I'm sure you're aware, some beers leave gunk that can be pretty hard to remove. The narrow bit around the handle could be a problem as well.
I ended up using one of these for a secondary ferment, when not as much gunk seemed to accumulate on the tank itself.
For the sake of a few bucks, I'd personally go for bucket.

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jpoc

1043 posts

Uber Geek

#2685735 2-Apr-2021 12:03

Gurezaemon:

For smaller batches and experiments, I bought a 20 litre food-safe pail from Mitre10 or Para Rubber or somewhere, and put a tap in it. It works great.

That tap, it turns off by itself when you let go?

Is it the same thread as the ones used on the barrels that you can buy from the homebrew shops?

Does it take the same bottling tool sold in homebrew shops?

Where did you get it?

Gurezaemon

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#2685746 2-Apr-2021 12:22

The tap turns itself off if pushed, but if you pull it up, it stays on.
It's not threaded - you just cut a 19 mm hole in the side of the bucket and put it in. I can't remember where I got the tap - I might have got it off a water dispenser such as those sold from the Warehouse. Similar things are sold for a dollar or so from Ali.
It doesn't fit any hose attachments, but it's still very usable.

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ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2685761 2-Apr-2021 14:12

Hi guys. This topic has been moved to the new Forum many thanks to FreitASM for doing this.

You will also notice a whole bunch of other relevant threads which may be worth looking at too.

Happy days 😜

ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2685781 2-Apr-2021 15:32

ageorge:

Will report later on 1st brew which is due mid April.

I was decanting the PET bottles into Coopers used bottles and couldn't wait so tried a glass of this fresh brew which is only 2 weeks from brew date.

(Note - if you are going to decant, it helps to chill the source down in fridge before doing so, which minimizes the head creation in the new vessel. I also dont add any more priming sugar, as chilled beer transferred keeps similar pressure up in the new vessel).

Expecting a tart difficult to swallow sample, I had alongside Countdown Coopers commercial stout to compare.

The only difference I could discern was my brew had a hardly discernible metallic hint, overall the same as the commercial one which blew me away.

I know my home made golden syrup had the similar metallic taste (500g syrup used 1 tspn citric and 1/2 tspn salt) and for the 2nd brew golden syrup Ive cut back 1/2 on citric acid and just a pinch of salt which has smoothed the syrup out.

Happy days, waiting for brew #2 to ready!

Al.

ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2687345 6-Apr-2021 17:14

Gurezaemon:

That'd work, and I've used something like that in the past. The only thing I found that you'd need to watch out for is the size of the filling port - you really need to be able to get your hand in there to give it a scrub if needed. As I'm sure you're aware, some beers leave gunk that can be pretty hard to remove. The narrow bit around the handle could be a problem as well.
I ended up using one of these for a secondary ferment, when not as much gunk seemed to accumulate on the tank itself.
For the sake of a few bucks, I'd personally go for bucket.

Hi I went to Kmart today and they had a truckload of these 23L brewing vessels. The large cap reveals a hole that a man can fit their hand inside easily for cleaning which is unlike the Warehouse one which I could still fit my hand into, but was restrictive. The Kmart tap is either on or off, the Warehouse tap is push on or push lock on which is better, with a spare tap too.
Overall the Kmart is a better container.

I checked out the Kmart clip-top bottles which were $1.5 each, wanting 24 of them. The bottles are OK, but the flip-top is cheap and although probably functional, is fiddly and I may go back to Gilmours who have top quality ones at $2.50 and see if they will do a deal for 24 of them.

Incidentally, got your recommended Lion Draught kit, and Coopers Lager and I will apply my own recipe to each using home made golden syrup as the second tin instead of malt. Thanks for tips.

Regards,

Al.

Gurezaemon

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#2692055 13-Apr-2021 14:32

I've decided, after a long time away from stouts, to try one of the recipes I found at Aussie home Brewer.

Quote:
Coopers Stout
Coopers Dark Ale
500g Brown Sugar
both yeasts.

Frothed like crazy, and ended up as a bloody beautiful drink.

This sounds like a good chance to see what happens by mixing things together. I grabbed everything I needed from Pak'n'Save today, and will put it in the tank later on. While keeping a close eye on the frothing issue...

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ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2692087 13-Apr-2021 15:36

Gurezaemon:
This sounds like a good chance to see what happens by mixing things together. I grabbed everything I needed from Pak'n'Save today, and will put it in the tank later on. While keeping a close eye on the frothing issue...

Sadly, can't get the stout in Tauranga. Will have to wait see how you're goes.

darkasdes2

425 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2695308 20-Apr-2021 15:13

ageorge:
Gurezaemon:

This sounds like a good chance to see what happens by mixing things together. I grabbed everything I needed from Pak'n'Save today, and will put it in the tank later on. While keeping a close eye on the frothing issue...

Sadly, can't get the stout in Tauranga. Will have to wait see how you're goes.

So how bad is the frothing?

Do you have any pics?

Gurezaemon

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#2695318 20-Apr-2021 15:19

It didn't froth as much as the normal Cooper's Stout, but it was still very energetic. At least it stayed in the tank this time.

The ferment is largely done, so I had a taste. Smooooth. Slight sweetness, not very bitter. I suspect this will be a winner after I clear out enough enough bottles to bottle it and let it sit for a couple of months.

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Gurezaemon

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#2700629 2-May-2021 09:56

Update on the Toucan brew from a few posts above (#2692055).

The OG of 1050 and FG of 1012 giving an ABV of around 5%. It's been in the tank for 18 days so far, and the only reason I haven't got around to bottling it is that I have run out of bottles, and can't really justify buying any more.

It's fairly heavy, without the Stout bitterness. Maybe a little sweeter than I originally envisaged, but it will turn out nice after a while in the bottles. I might rack it off to a couple of smaller secondaries, and try adding a bit of finishing hops just to see what happens.

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ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2700841 2-May-2021 18:13

Gurezaemon:

It's fairly heavy, without the Stout bitterness. Maybe a little sweeter than I originally envisaged, but it will turn out nice after a while in the bottles. I might rack it off to a couple of smaller secondaries, and try adding a bit of finishing hops just to see what happens.

Thanks for the update. I also have just supped tonight a Lion Dark Ale which given its only aged 7 days is tasting well, with no bitterness that I find with some early tasted brews.

I added similar to Coopers brew enhancer * 1kg various + glucose to the brew and the %abv is about 6.

If anyone is reading this thread who is thinking about brewing it is very satisfactory. Huge savings can be made, and I think a well made Home Brew is far superior to anything from supermarket.

Cost of components is also minimal despite what others say about using PET containers from the recycle, if you drink them fast enough, it doesnt matter ;-)

Al.

ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2703014 6-May-2021 16:48

Im now convinced Lion Dark Ale is one of the superior beer kits you can buy for reasonable cost.

It improves if you use a different yeast. Im currently supping on one of these which was bottled 25th April, and its one of the best beers Ive made; no bitterness, smooth as silk, and very moorish.

I will try Lion Lager next with a different yeast and addons.

Cheers,

Al.

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