Coopers brew kit and sugar.

I'm considering buying one of these shortly but firstly a couple of questions... In the manual, which I've already downloaded from Coopers site, it mentions the usage of 1kg of Coopers brewing sugar, which is really sucrose. I've noted from various messages etc that it's best to use glucose instead. Is it just a simple case of replacing the 1kg of brewing sugar with 1kg of glucose? Also, this kit comes with 30 740ml plastic bottles. Would I be better of buying some glass bottles?

The Coopers brewing sugar (also CSR) is a blend of 75% sucrose and 25% maltodextrin. The latter is a largely unfermentable (higher?) sugar which doesnt produce any alcohol, but which does assist in improving mouthfeel and head persistence.

It seems your brewing career is ahead of you ... why not give it a try ... and try straight glucose next time.

I haven't noticed much fermentation time difference between glucose & sucrose.

As to PET bottles ... I find them great ... easy to store, handle, carry, when empty. Easy to cap.

NEGATORY on SUCROSE...Sucrose is a double sugar...you want DEXTROSE a single sugar AKA glucose)

I was VERY pleased with my first Coopers Lager, which tolerates drinking more than one, but requires a good kick in the seat of the pants as a primer...use 3/4-1 c dextrose or you'll get a lightly carbonated but otherwise excellent brew. To make priming easy, consider COOPER'S DROPS-a candy drop they make as a primer-one per 12 oz bottle

I wish I had gotten the bigger bottles.

I am brewing COOPER'S DRAUGHT as we read (Drinking Mount Mellick [Irish] Lager)

Yodar in orlando

Thanks for all the replies. I'll probably be back when I run into trouble :)

I can assure you that it really makes absolutely no diofference, beyond the technical curiousty. I've made a lot Belgian styles using candi sugar, sucrose, and dextrose and the difference due to the type of sugar used is indistinguishable. I encourage you to experiment and prove to yourself that what you propose is just one more homebrewing myth.

---------->Denny

I just want to make this clear for any newbies or late-comers to this thread. I presume you're talking only about using it for 'priming'; I've always used just plain old table sugar, which I understand is just sucrose, for priming, and got perfect carbonation and never noticed any flavor change ... but I NEVER use it in place of DME to boost my OG. From all that I've read, when sucrose is used in large quantity, it is _supposed_ to affect flavor. Now, I don't know whether that is just myth, too, because the only time I added sucrose to boost my OG was in the first kit batches of Mr. Beer (as per their instructions), and my beer had a definite cidery flavor. Of course, back then there were a lot of things that I didn't pay much attention to, including fermenting temp, so it might have been due to other factors, or a combination of factors. Personally, I'd be _delighted_ to learn that it's possible to boost OG with sucrose without any adverse affects; it's a _hell_ of a lot cheaper than DME, always readily available everywhere, and a bit easier to use, in my opinion.

Bill Velek -- remove the "--NO-SPAM--" from my email address

Nope, I'm talking about adding it to the beer to lighten body and increase the OG. I've used it in amounts up to 20% of fermentables and never experienced the mythical "cidery" flavors. It's been pretty well proven that those flavors come from old LME and since sugar contributes no taste, it doesn't cover those flavors the way DME does. In an AG brew or using fresh extract, there's absolutely nothing wrong with using cane sugar. I just brewed 2 back to back batches of tripel to once again prove this to myself...one used cane sugar, the other corn suagr, for about 18% of fermentables. I would defy you to tell which is which, or to find a "cidery" flavor in either.

-------------->Denny

("it" refers to sucrose -- table sugar).

snip

So I guess the 'Mr. Beer' people actually knew what they were talking about all along ... maybe ... because I don't recall whether their recommendation for sugar was limited to "up to 20% of fermentables"; it _might_ be that I was adding much more than that per their instructions, although from what you've just said that still might not cause the cidery flavor. Probably the LME in their kit was old, as you've just suggested.

I'll be sure to experiment around with this, and I hope it works out the same for me as you've experienced. I might have the time to brew a batch this weekend, although I think my wife has been making some sort of plans. Last weekend she dragged me to the casinos, ... kicking and screaming, of course. Tonight she's making me take her to a brewpub to watch my sons' band play, and I'll be forced to drink their microbrew and eat pizza. I'll have to take a notepad and pen with me and write lots of notes about the beer I drink so that she'll think that I'm working hard. ;-)

Cheers.

Bill Velek -- remove the "--NO-SPAM--" from my email address

I've never used a Mr. Beer, but fromn what I hear, the ingredients are often stale. Your experience seems to verify that.

Man, that's the way to do it...experiment! You may not agree with me after you try it, but at least you'll have your own data, not something you read!

---------->Denny