Help me save a Cooper's kit!

[mattd2]

So I have an issue…

It’s been a while since I have done a Cooper’s kit to their instructions (complete with the 1 kg of dextrose) but my wife had been bugging me to make the cerveza which she liked back when I was doing Cooper’s kits. Back then the beer turned out alright for what it was (light, low hop pseudo-“lager”). This time around it has not come out so well since I did not put any effort into it really, i.e. no fermentation temp control – just left it in the garage which was probably 23-25°C. I think the first time it turned out better because I brewed it in winter when the temp was more suited for not caring!

So that has left me with a keg with about 18 litres of slightly cidery, slightly phenolic light ale which has nothing to cover these. The off flavours are slight, basically I can drink the beer (if there is nothing else available) but I would not want to tell anyone I made it. My solution is to get some more hops into it. Since I’m starting with a beer with very low bitterness/flavour I was thinking of drawing off 2 litres and boiling that for 40 mins with 40/20/0 hop additions (probably 10g Sticklebract for bittering and 10g+10g Pacifica for flavour/aroma), cool and pour back in the keg.

Does this seem like a good plan to rescue a failing beer? My reason for boiling the hops in beer and not water was the beer is pretty thin alrady so I didn’t want to make that worse when trying to fix the flavour issues. Or if you guys have any other ideas I’m all ears

[Ralph]

I think your plan could work to hide some of those flavours and boiling it in a bit of beer could cause some caramelization of some of the beer adding a little more flavour? The only think you have to lose is perhaps wasting a few hops.

The level of hops you are using is quite small for the flavour additions... you may want to bump the 0 minute addition up a bit if you really want to cover the not so good flavours?

[Scarrfie]

A little short Ralph, you re being too polite. Positively woosey amounts is what you mean:-p

Matt I am a novice but have rescued a couple of AG brews with hop additions. One was so bland that I boiled up 50/50 stickbract/riwaka for 10 minutes in the bottling sugar. That wheat beer is now quite drinkable. Other was my first IPA that I made to 45 IBU. That was way too sweet for me so I boiled up some sticklebract in water to bring it up to approximately 75 IBU.

I reckon go 15g each stickebract/pacifica at 20 mins, then a good dose of pacifica at 10&0 as you propose. Perhaps 15g each might be okay, but go 20g I reckon:-) If you have NZ Hallertau then use that instead of Pacifica at the 20 mark.

[mattd2]

Hahaha, fair call. I was thinking I should keep this as a modest beer with just enough hops to cover the cidery taste. But you guys are right, if I going to do something I may as well do something worth the effort! I'll take your suggestions for the hops, 40/20/10/0 Sticklebract and/or Pacifica. Will let you guys know how it turns out.

Cheers

[jt]

Considering the cost of a Coopers kit and a kg of dextrose, is it worth ditching it and starting again- with temperature control?
Might save you a few weeks of struggling through an unpaletable keg? That's unless the missus actually likes what you've brewed

[mattd2]

It is not so much as unpaletable, but more of a last option beer. The wife just tried some now and said "I don't know, maybe my tastes are changing". I hope so, so I won't have to do this again!

[Grant R Baker]

I would let it condition some more (say another 2-3 weeks) instead of adding anything to it after fermentation.

 

I had a few kits that, after the normal 7-10 days fermentation then 4 weeks in the bottle / keg, tasted off or had some sharp edges. Another month in the bottle before drinking helped all of the flavors mature... Mangrove Jack kits that I have used really tasted a lot better given 2 months in the bottle before drinking.

[mattd2]

Yeah I hadn't actually taste it in a few weeks as I had something better on tap, just tried some now and the phenolic taste has gone down substatially but it is still cidery (what can I expect with all that simple sugar). As I said above my wife thinks her taste might be changing so I will probably be the one drinking this while she finishes my Irish red! Just want to get it away from the pretty much no hops Cooper's it begain as and get a little bit of character in there.

Cheers all, hopefully I'll be boiling some beer tonight!