Can you produce a good beer with a coopers can?

[esobofh]

Folks,

I will soon make my foray into AG brewing, but in the meantime I have some coopers cans on my shelves i'd like to brew and drink. From what i've read, following the instructions that come with the can is a recipe for plonk. I brewed the "Canadian Blonde" version, and it was drinkable, but not what i'd really serve to guests.

Is there anyone here that enjoys great success and a good end product using coopers extract?

I'd like to get some thoughts, input, and general experiences (maybe even some recipes) on producing a good brew. Specifically how much time did you let it ferment, secondary, bottle condition, etc?

Any help is appreciated!

[Spidey]

I made a good batch using the Cooper's International Series Pale Ale can. I modified the recipe a bit, but I don't remember everything right off hand. I do remember I amped up the recipe with DME and sugar, and dry hopped with a little Saaz. I'll get back with the specifics when I have access to my brewing notebook.
After a very positive experience brewing up this batch, I tried the Cooper's Dark Ale can. It was drinkable, but it had some odd characteristics that would keep me from brewing it again. It is hard to describe, but I guess the best description of the Cooper's Dark Ale is a schwarzbier fermented with ale yeast. It was rather light tasting, though pretty dark in color (SRM 20-ish) and malt flavors but without the body to back it up. In fact, it was pretty watery. And there were fruity notes from the yeast that I didn't care for in this beer.

[ColdBraue]

Folks,

I will soon make my foray into AG brewing, but in the meantime I have some coopers cans on my shelves i'd like to brew and drink. From what i've read, following the instructions that come with the can is a recipe for plonk. I brewed the "Canadian Blonde" version, and it was drinkable, but not what i'd really serve to guests.

Is there anyone here that enjoys great success and a good end product using coopers extract?

I'd like to get some thoughts, input, and general experiences (maybe even some recipes) on producing a good brew. Specifically how much time did you let it ferment, secondary, bottle condition, etc?

Any help is appreciated!

Don't use sugar like they want you to. Use another can of LME, or some DME to hit your gravity. Also never use the yeast under the lid. Get some liquid yeast or harvest some slurry from another beer to use. Go to MrMalty.com and make sure you are pitching the right amount of yeast. Or you could build up a starter from the dregs of a cooper's commercial beer, but that is a little more difficult and there is more chance of infection.
Focus on good cleaning and sanitation, pitching the right amount of healthy yeast, and keep the fermentation under 70°F for a few weeks and you should have a drinkable brew. Cold conditioning for a couple weeks would probably be a good idea as well.
Cheers and good luck!

[Brew Engineer]

Some people love it in the can...


If you don't follow the directions, and use the extract to brew with liquid yeast, fresh hops, etc... You'll make a fine beer!

And then, you, too, can have it from a can...

That's right, Cans!

[gbob]

Sure. Heck, many of my beers before I switched to AG was from a coopers can.

As others have said, the first thing to do is to throw out the instructions.

Coopers then becomes the same as any extract malt. With it, you can build a beer with fresh hops, some steeped grains, and a different yeast. You can even make a mini-mash to give you some practice for when you switch to grain.