Coopers Original Lager

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Total Reviews 46  
Average Rating
3.33 stars - based on 46 reviews
Description

ORIGINALS

 
Homebrew For Beginners eBook | The Ultimate Home Brewers Recipe Book, 641 Home Brew Recipes
January 29th 2018
2/5 stars
#1958

My first brewing fail

Brewed a fair bit of coopers, generally following the suggested recipe using BE2 and kit yeast. This one came out bland, not like a lager at all. Maybe it can be improved if you used some adjuncts but the only one of the range I have found undrinkable without extras. 
May 26th 2017
2/5 stars
#1930

Coopers Draught Brew Kit

Got a Coopers Draught Kit some years ago.

It was so bad I ditched it for many years.

Just recently I dug out the fermenter from the shed, cleaned it, replaced the orings in the fermenter.

I bought a fresh wort kit from a local beer shop and got a keg etc, etc.

Wow what a difference a proper wort makes, it is as good if not better than any of the commercial beers out there.

I have made several brews, including American Lager, Aussie Pale Ale, Hef using saison yeast, all were exceptional taste and for a lay out of $45.00 to make 20ltrs of beer it is worth every cent.

I keep the original yeast from each style of beer and use it on the next brew, the yeast improves brew after brew.

I can fully ferment most of my brews in 7 days, cold crash for 5, carbonate in the keg for 48 hours, there you have it a great tasting beer in 2 weeks.

To be fair I am going to do a Coopers Can brew in my fermenter and keg it, I'll see if it improves or not.

 
April 17th 2017
3/5 stars
#1924

Awful to start with but gets better

I brewed as the instructions told 1kg of brew sugar and the malts extract. Left it for 3 weeks in 1st fermentation then bottled. Left it for another 3 weeks in bottles then put it in fridge left it over night then opened. God it was very bitter for a lager. Left a few bottles in for another 2 weeks and my god it was delightful. Not must head but plenty of life
January 30th 2015
4/5 stars
#1842

GOOD BEER

Made my first batch of brew using the Coopers DIY kit that I received for Christmas.  Included was a can of Coopers Original Lager, 1 pack of Brew Enhancer 1 and Carbonation drops. I let it ferment for 12 days at appx 20 degrees and then bottled. After 2 weeks in the bottle my buddy and I tried one and it tasted like ass. 2 weeks later I grabbed one of the bottles (750ml PET) and noticed that it was as hard as a rock. I decided to chill one and give it a go. To my delight it was a tasty, beautifully carbonated beer. I don't think it's like a lager because the yeast that's supplied with the can is an ale yeast. The aftertaste and finish is similar to that of an ale where lagers have more of a clean finish. Still a great beer! Can't wait for my batch of Coopers Real Ale!
September 21st 2014
3/5 stars
#1828

Coopers Lager Kit

First homebrew and christ this was terrible. Tasted like badly watered down cheap scotch after 3 weeks in the bottle, but then after about 2 weeks in the fridge tasted ok. Drinkable. I reckon this one might be ok if you can leave it for at least 3 months in a glass bottle.
January 19th 2014
3/5 stars
#1765

My First Ever Homebrew.

1 can of Coopers lager and Supplied yeast it was  very easy to do and was the first brew done and it came with the coopers kit.

OG – 1039 FG – 10 10 Alch 3,8% + 0,5% = 4,3%

Not a bad lager – had worse, but it felt like it was missing body and depth of flavour. Maybe try again with some hops ? It was enough to get me hooked though.

 
June 19th 2013
1/5 stars
#1737

Ughh.... nasty

my first brew ever. I can still remember the taste. Brewed it per directions using dextrose and my god it came out horrible. Tasted like alcoholic water. No head retention or lasting flavor. It didnt even taste like a beer. I'm all for Coopers, but Im not following those instructions ever again. All malt from here on out.
December 2nd 2011
5/5 stars
#1697

Great Brew

We used the DIY coopers kit, we simply followed instructions as per the supplied DVD, the only thing we did different was accidently fill to 26 litres instead of 23. We were very impressed with the kit coming with everything needed to make a brew. So we used lager + Coopers Brew enhancer 1 and supplied yeast, left for 7days and then bottled, adding two carbonation drops per 740 ml pet bottlers supplied with kit. It brewed at 26c. Cracked one at the one week mark and it was very drinkable, they have now been bottled for about 4 weeks and they are even better, couldnt have asked for an easier or better experience as an intro to brewing than this kit. We have just yesterday put down a coopers canadian blonde, I shall post how that goes.
September 29th 2011
3/5 stars
#1664

American Budweiser Clone?

Found this recipe in a Coopers website forum, supposedly a Budweiser clone. Coopers original series lager can, 600g dextrose, 400g corn syrup, 500g blonde malt, Saflager s-23 yeast. I substituted the Saflager for Safale US05, brewed around 21 degrees Celsius for 2 weeks. After 8 months in the bottle the beer was extremely clear, pale golden in colour with a tight white head. Unfortunately it has far too much body/carbonation as it fizzes up into froth as soon as it hits your mouth. Taste wise it is along the lines of Budweiser but it massively lacks hops and has a strange almost tangy aroma. I will try this again, but with a little less corn syrup and perhaps some Nobel and/or Hallertauer hops.
July 14th 2011
4/5 stars
#1543

Good so far

I got this with a kit from Pak N Save. Made it with BE2, 500g of spray malt plus 50g hallertau pellets at start and further 50g added loose 1 week into fermentation. Was a bit concerned about all the residue from the 2nd addition of the pellets but these have settled out nicely. Have a had couple of samples 2 weeks after bottling and this is gonna be nice - great head retention and heaps of flavour which I think will just get better. Will dom this recipe again but perhaps slightly ease off on the hops. Could be too overpowering for some.
June 17th 2011
3/5 stars
#1526

alright

brewed with 1 kg coopers brewing sugar for 10days. og 1042, fg 1010. pretty crisp refreshing beer. kinda bland. really needs some bittering hops and some Ldme. I'd do it again with some adjustments.
June 1st 2011
4/5 stars
#1521

Good basic lager

1/2 and 1/2 1 kg + 200g Glucose (Corn Syrup) 17g Saaz steeped for 10 minutes in a cup of boiled water added after 4 days Fermented at 24 degrees Very good basic beer, just a nice touch of bitterness. A little cloudy to start with. I don't think I racked it for long enough. But this doesn't affect the taste. I kegged it for 24 hours and tried it. It tasted great. Better than the Coopers Pale Ale. Definitely worth doing again.
April 21st 2011
4/5 stars
#1458

Nice first brew

 Brewed with BE1 @ 26c. When I bottled it I thought it was a disaster, it smelled odd. It was my first ever. After 2 weeks in the bottle, I am very pleased , mostly that you can brew it for about $27.50 for 2.5 cases worth. Light drinking with plenty of taste and body!
March 18th 2011
2/5 stars
#1360

MMMMmmmm...

 Have done this twice 1st was my 1st brew & very exciting blah blah took a good time to get rid of the green flavour 5 wks? but was an acceptable 1st brew. Tried it again with tweaks... no don't like the pseudo lager feel i'd say it would be much nicer with a proper lager yeast & some aroma.. Colour is a bit like piss after you have had vitamin tablets a mucky yellow
March 3rd 2011
4/5 stars
#1355

original / best

 Just made this recently. 2 weeks in primary. 4 days bottled already very good to drink clear and tasty. Made with the kit yeast 1kg brew enhancer ( richies) 30g tettnang tea / 20 g dry hop tettnang. Very good tasting "lager"
February 19th 2011
3/5 stars
#1348

Meh

Made this kit with a few extras; a 550g steeping grain and hops kit, 15g of Liberty Hops dry hopped, 750g LDME, 250g maltodextrin and 250g dextrose. Just used the kit yeast and ferment at 18C. It's come out drinkable but, it doesn't do anything for me. Personally I would brew one of the beers from the international range over this any day. Will probably not make this one again.
October 24th 2010
4/5 stars
#1238

Great Kit

Brewed this kit with the Coopers Microbrew kit. Was done according to instructions and I used 1KG of Dextrose. It produced a highly drinkable beer that is very fresh tasting. Mine does have a slight apple/hard cider taste but that is due to the dextrose and the more I bottle age it, the more the apple/hard cider taste dissipates. If I had to do it again I would use Dry Malt Extract however I am happy with the results. To me it has the mouthfeel of Budweiser but a more clean, crisp taste with a hint of the signature Coopers taste. OG on mine was 1.040 and I ended with 1.010.
October 11th 2010
3/5 stars
#1225

not bad

 this was the first coopers kit i ever made, it turn out very drinkable even though it was summer and it fermented at a higher temp than i usually like to ferment,i would brew again but i would use DME next and not just dextrose. time.
April 6th 2010
4/5 stars
#1126

Third time

Third time I've made this kit. Brewed on 14 Feb 2010: in about 5 litres of water, steeped 113 grams of 10L crystal. Brought to boil, added 14 grams Hallertau for 20 minutes, then another 14 grams for 2 minutes. Added kit and Coopers BE2, when cooled, added Saflager S23. OG was 1.052 in 23 litres. Fermented at 14C. Just opened the first today, April 6. Still needs some more time to condition but I am well pleased with the result. Nice color, moutfeel & bitterness. Would do again, maybe with Saaz.
March 14th 2010
4/5 stars
#1112

Great first beer

Like many others this came with my kit. I mixed this up with Muntons Beer Kit Enhancer and primary was complete after 7 days @ 18-21 Centigrade. Bottled in 2ltr PET bottles primed with a tablespoon of sucrose per bottle and after 2 weeks I was really suprised. I was expecting it to be a bit flavourless but it was actually really nice and rounded with nice head, although the head retention is not great. Everyone who has tasted it has been very impressed. I'm now on to the Mexican Cerveza.
February 11th 2010
3/5 stars
#1096

not to bad for a frist batch

 Made this kit with 1kg coopers brewing sugar to 23L (as its what comes with the micro brew kit). After a couple of weeks its a fair beer, would benefit a huge amount from a 1/2kg of LDME and hand full of aroma hops. A good introduction :)
November 21st 2009
4/5 stars
#1063

great drop

 made using brew enhancer 1 and fermentated at around 25 degrees. so far out of Brewiser, tooheys and coopers, this kit takes the cake without any problems. Excellent kit and will definetly become my staple. Even the commercial beer drinkers love this one. Very highly recommended to all.
August 23rd 2009
5/5 stars
#1028

Coopers Honey Lager

 1 x Coopers Original Lager + 1kg Coopers Brew Enhancer 1 + 300g Clover Honey. Put the kit down at 26C constant at 24C for 7 days. Bit fruity after 2 weeks in the bottle but came out a beauty after 4 weeks. Great mouth feel, excellent head retention, easy to drink with a hint of honey aftertaste. I've taken this one to a couple of BBQs and the commercial beer drinkers raved about it!
December 15th 2008
4/5 stars
#904

Coopers Lager

This was my brothers first batch and it turned out a treat. We used the kit and 500g each of Coopers light dried malt and Dextrose, as well as 10g of Pride of Ringwood hopping boiled for 15min in a few cups of water. Volume was 22L. Fermented temp was kept lowish, down to 15-16'C. After this I wasn't home for bottling so it was bunged in a spare fridge for a few(!) weeks. After it was bottled and conditioned it was one of the finest beers I have tasted, clean, clear and crisp with no signs of poor technique or recipe. This is possibly because of the 'cold conditioning' it had while in the fridge. Try this method if you can, even only a few days might help, it produced a ripper of a beer. Good base kit, 4 stars.
October 25th 2008
4/5 stars
#894

Toucan special

Did this as a toucan, 1 x Coopers Lager and 1 x Homee Brand Draught. Did a 20min boil of 10g Fuggles and 10g at flameout for aroma. Fermented with Nottingham yeast at 18C for 2 weeks, primed with dextrose. After 2 weeks in the bottle it was undrinkable! At 6 weeks passable, at 12 weeks a very decent beer, something akin to a Bitter. All malt is the way to go, it would have been too thin with 1kg dextrose.
August 25th 2007
3/5 stars
#763

Idiot Proof Starter Kit

Like most reviewers, I started with this kit because it came with my Coopers HB Kit. Brewed & bottled using the supplied sugar(sucrose/maltodextrin blend 1kg) & carb drops. Sat at the really low end if it's range (16-18° C.) for 9 days (Winter indoor temps) After 4 weeks in the bottle it's really starting to come good. Taste/Aroma is a bit light on, so next time will try dry-hopping some Saaz. Good value kit.
March 16th 2007
4/5 stars
#642

Basic Lager

Brewed the original Coopers Lager kit as follows: boiled 1 gallon of water, added .3oz of Hallertau for 10 minutes, then .2oz of Hallertau for 2 minutes. Removed pot from the heat, added the kit and BE2, topped off water to 6 US gallons, added 2 packages of Coopers dry lager yeast. Ferment went well, racked after 2 weeks, lagered for 3 weeks and bottled. Stored for 3 more weeks - opened the first bottle last weekend - not bad. Opened #2 tonight [3/16/07] and am very, very pleased. The extra hops really give it a nice kick.
December 2nd 2006
4/5 stars
#595

Two Can Equivalent

Put down 27/08/06, using 1.7kg can to 11.5L in MS fermenter, with Safale US-56 dry pitched in wort @ 26degC. Brewed 18 - 20degC OG 1042, FG 1009. Bottled from primary 09/09/06. All gone by mid November. Great result which I gave 8/10 before discovering this review site. Will definitely do again - soon!
October 20th 2006
3/5 stars
#571

Good start

Can be good, can be bad. Ditch the yeast and add some late hops.
October 19th 2006
4/5 stars
#564

a better lager ....try this one !

Yes, we have all followed the kit instructions, eager to make our "first home brew". And after much anticipation it was a bit ordinary...Well have a try of this instead. 1 x can coopers lager, 1 bag superior body (500g DME, 250g DEX, 250g Maltodextrin),1 x 12g pack of morgans hersbrucker finishing hops - (buy both from homebrew shops), mix up as per directions on can but only fill to 20L and brew and add hop bag to fermenter as per directions on pack before adding yeast. Bottle using carbonation drops and leave for 8 weeks and taste the difference...would love to know what u think.
May 23rd 2006
3/5 stars
#511

don't use sugar

Brewed as a quick slab for a party. Used Brew Enhancer 2. Fremented at around 23 deg. Fairly ordinary head retention, and passable flavour for commercial beer drinkers. Don't brew with sugar, may be better with liquid malts. Needs more flavour, but as a starter kit it works superbly. Ferments away in a couple of days and produces passable beer.
March 21st 2006
3/5 stars
#485

Good base

This kit makes a good base for most styles of beer. It's only 21 IBU in a 23L batch size, which is a good starting bitterness for adding more hops etc. Last one i put down an partial mash Ale actually, with Safale S04, 500g Belgian Candi, 500g Dex, 500g Pilsner grain+250g Wheat malt grain mashed at 65C for 90'. Fermented @17C for a week then into secondary @22C for a week then bottled. Turned out pretty good after a week but will get better.
December 19th 2005
3/5 stars
#425

Average

Used 500 dextrose, 250g LME, 250g maltodextrin, used supplied yeast fermented at 21C. Beer has a nice golden colour, with good head retention but lacked any hop flavour or aroma. Initially there was a very strong green apple aroma and flavour, which was gone after six weeks of maturation. A reasonable drink but it never seemed very fresh.
December 8th 2005
4/5 stars
#402

Great standard

A rgreat base for hopping and extending. Used now 6-8 times and had a good drinking lager each time. Now adding saaz or Hersbrucker on a regular basis to this kit and love the result. Good inexpensive standard when mixed with a brew booster or Light Dry Malt.
November 23rd 2005
3/5 stars
#368

Virgin Lager

First time brew, according to kit directions although used a saflager yeast @12-14 degrees. Took a while, but after six weeks in the bottle it is finally maturing, great light golden colour, very little sediment, good head retention.......should be a good sessional beer for the warmer weather ahead.
November 20th 2005
4/5 stars
#361

Good Base

This kit is a great base for experimentation. I just used it along with the Coopers Brew Enhancer 2, a brewcraft Dry Enzyme sachet, and a 500gm jar of rice syrup in an attempt to clone an Asahi Super Dry. Taste was slightly off the original as expected, but everything else matched up nicely.
April 19th 2005
5/5 stars
#243

Crisp and Dry

Just tried latest brew which was bottles early Feb. Brewed with 1kg of light dry malt, fremented over 5 days at 22 to 24 degrees. Brew was bulk primed but cannot remember quantity brewed. Beer was extremely heady initially, but then settled to nice creamy head. Taste was nice and crisp with a long finish. Was most impressed and am going to brew again with finishing hops.
April 4th 2005
3/5 stars
#232

Reasonably happy

This is my standard brew, for when I am not after anything great. Made many brews. Have brewed with 1 kg of sugar OR dextrose OR malt, using supplied yeast, all with reasonable success. Nice light flavour, slightly better with malt. Head retention - none to speak of, but I drink out of a stubby and don't care. Don't be fooled into thinking this is a true lager. It is supplied with Ale yeast and should be brewed as an ale.
March 31st 2005
4/5 stars
#228

Cisp and a hint of apple

I used 300g of Maltodextrose (corn Syrup) for head retention after reading previous posts, and a bag of coopers brew enhancer 2. Came out very clean and crisp and had a hint of apple. Not offensive, very drinkable, quite light. Will do again with more fermenmtables.
March 12th 2005
3/5 stars
#210

Average

As others, did it because it came with the kit. When to LHBS to get SAFlager and brewcraft german lager converter pack, boiled pack + hops. Fermented at 22+ (doh! didn't know). Primary 7 days, secondary 7 days, primed with coopers carbonation drop. After 3 weeks, decent taste (no idea what was in the converter pack), but almost no carbonation, just a bit of head when I pour to make one (ie splash). Carbonation has improved a bit though, so maybe another couple of weeks will make it better.
February 25th 2005
2/5 stars
#201

Hard to swallow

The first 2 times I made up this kit, I used dextrose. I thought it was a passable drink, and that by the time I built up a stock it would improve with age. I tried white sugar in the next couple. Didn't improve, but didn't make it any worse either. Sour and headless. When it got to the point where a VB was tasting rich and malty, I realised there was a problem. Probably nothing wrong with the kit, just the instructions. All I can suggest is use malt extract instead of dextrose or sugar.
January 25th 2005
3/5 stars
#146

First attempt

Much like most others i guess, this was my first brew as it comes with the kit. Just followed the directions with no modifications. Found i had the same head retention problems, but this seems to be getting a little better with age. Otherwise not a bad drop, especially considering im not generally a fan of lagers. Seems pretty crisp and clean, even without racking and mass priming etc.
January 10th 2005
2/5 stars
#8

Peach Lager

I dropped this in as my second brew. Steeped some crystal and FWH some sazz hops, also dry hopped with some sazz. Used a malt booster pack instead of the brewing sugar that came with the kit and som safLager yeast. Fermented for one week then cold conditioned for 2 weeks (same fermenter). Well the beer was ok and easy to drink, I found it very fruity for a lager, tasted a lot like peach, but I figured this was in relation to a higher than desirable fermentation temp than the kit itself. Ok Into.
January 10th 2005
3/5 stars
#26

My First Brew

I did his one as per the book!! The results taste great (4.5% Alcohol) My only problem with this one is head retention...pours great from the bottle...but 10-15 secs later all but gone. This may improve with age as the bubbles get smaller...we'll wait and see. Also had problems with temperature fluctuating from very cold overnight to very hot during the day.
January 10th 2005
2/5 stars
#48

Boring

Made with 750g DME and 250g dextrose. Used supplied yeast(ale). Turned out boring and bland. Poor head retention also.
January 9th 2005
3/5 stars
#5

Fist Brew

My first Can as it comes with the coopers micro brewery kit. Nice and simple, after tasting for the first time convinsed me to continue brewing. I dry hopped with saaz and added dextrose, nothing else
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