Coopers lager..Instruction are wrong??

[renshaw]

Okay,

Well i followed instructions on the pack.
I gather these's arnt the best to do.

(Mexican lager) bold part is what i think should of been done compared to the instructions

It says 4 - 7 days in primary untill two days of consistent gravity.
Should this be around three weeks?

Bottle now, add one tea spoons of sugar per one litre leave for at least two days
Is sugar amount okay? & leave for around three weeks

are the parts in bold more correct? for best practise, for carbonation after week and half there's a few bubbles, not enough to create any form of head!


I did follow the timing for fermentation and bottling, Just not for drinking as it doesn't taste right!

Guidance for futures please

 

[bonzombiekitty]

Those kits have really short time lines. You are correct in what you think the times should be. I think they give such short times so you have to buy a kit faster.

 

[rod734]

Many times I have been drinking decent beer made with Cooper's and Mr. Beer kits in less than three weeks. I think the hopped extract kits condition quicker because a lot of the junk (hot break, cold break, hop fragments, protiens) have already been conditioned out befor they can it. I use plastic bottles and soon as they feel firm I'm chucking some in the frig to sample. The last one is always the best though.

 

[petey_c]

When I do a Coopers kit, it's three weeks in the primary and three weeks conditioning in the bottle. I also use their carb drops and the plastic 740 ml. PET bottles. I agree with bonzombiekitty they probably give you short times to make drinkable brews (maybe not as enjoyable as they could be...) and get you to buy more often.

 

[unionrdr]

When I got my cooper's micro brew kit,I made the OS lager they gave me with it straight up,just to establish a baseline for color,flavor,etc. I now use the OS lager can as a base to brew different styles. But that 1st one took 12 days to reach FG,others,3 weeks. Each brew is different.
Basically,wait about a week after FG is reached for the yeast to clean up their by-products,& settle out more. Then prime & bottle for 3 weeks minimum at room temp before fridging for 4-6 days,or until chill haze settles. Comes out better that way.

 

[tomheff]

When I do a Coopers kit, it's three weeks in the primary and three weeks conditioning in the bottle. I also use their carb drops and the plastic 740 ml. PET bottles. I agree with bonzombiekitty they probably give you short times to make drinkable brews (maybe not as enjoyable as they could be...) and get you to buy more often.

Just to let you know. I sell Coopers kits.

It is not their intention to rush people out to buy more kits (although, naturally they want people to buy more kits) by giving directions which appear to have short time lines. The seasoned brewer will ferment and consume when the time is appropriate based on their experience. Rather, those minimal timelines apply to the novice brewer who is typically in a rush to consume the beer the next day after pitching the yeast.

I recommend around 2 weeks before bottling when using a simple kit. There is no reason to wait longer if you are going to bottle condition your beers. The beer will age properly in the bottle. Arguably, it may actually take longer to carbonate if you wait too long to bottle as there will be less yeast in suspension at bottling time.

If you are making a high gravity beer or making additions to the kit, you may want to wait longer before bottling. Of course, if you are kegging and force carbonating your beer...

 

[unionrdr]

Just to let you know. I sell Coopers kits.

It is not their intention to rush people out to buy more kits (although, naturally they want people to buy more kits) by giving directions which appear to have short time lines. The seasoned brewer will ferment and consume when the time is appropriate based on their experience. Rather, those minimal timelines apply to the novice brewer who is typically in a rush to consume the beer the next day after pitching the yeast.

I recommend around 2 weeks before bottling when using a simple kit. There is no reason to wait longer if you are going to bottle condition your beers. The beer will age properly in the bottle. Arguably, it may actually take longer to carbonate if you wait too long to bottle as there will be less yeast in suspension at bottling time.

If you are making a high gravity beer or making additions to the kit, you may want to wait longer before bottling. Of course, if you are kegging and force carbonating your beer...

Not exactly. Sometimes the cooper's cans will ferment quickly,but most of the time,no. Especially if the yeast is pitched dry. I've used cooper's cans as a base in every brew I've done. Fun to play around with,& they work well if care is given to proper brewing method.
With a small starter,or re-hydrated,they get going faster & more vigorously. But can take more than two weeks to reach a stable FG. So there's a very good reason for not bottling prematurely. Can we say bottle bombs? Gushers? And,I've had them in primary up to 4 weeks,reaching FG & dry hopping. Even with cooper's carb drops,they carbed/aged just fine in 3 weeks at room temp.
So,even "simple" kits can take longer than that to be properly attenuated,cleared,etc in the end. This is from my own personal observations & notes.