If you were forced, under threat of being made to drink warm parsnip wine, to name one homebrew beer-kit brand, Coopers would probably be the first name out of your mouth. Even people who have never sanitised a fermenter seem to remember a dad, uncle or neighbour making a few Coopers brews back in the day.
I had recently been giving the WilliamsWarn Bohemian Pilsner and Black Rock Nut Brown Ale kits a turn when a Coopers Lager can appeared during the supermarket shop. Into the trolley it went. The plan was simple: brew it without extra hops or fancy additions and see what the can could do when asked to stand on its own two malty feet.
The quick verdict on my Coopers Lager
Best for: First-time brewers, cheap summer beer and anyone who wants a forgiving kit they can improve later.
What my dextrose-only batch produced: Clear pale gold beer, a mild aroma, an OK head, fairly little body and a shade over 4% ABV.
The obvious improvement: Use Coopers Brew Enhancer 2, or a blend of dextrose and light dry malt, rather than expecting 1 kg of dextrose to perform miracles.
Overall: I made a genuinely decent drinking beer. It was no show-stopper, but served properly cold at the end of a long hot day, it did the job rather well.
| Question | Practical answer |
|---|---|
| What does the can make? | Up to 23 litres of pale Australian lager-style beer. |
| What should be added? | Coopers recommends 1 kg of Brew Enhancer 2. Dextrose works, but produces a lighter body. |
| Best fermentation temperature? | Pitch near 21°C and keep the brew steady at the lower end of the recommended 21°C to 27°C range. |
| When is it ready to bottle? | When the specific gravity is unchanged for two consecutive days. |
| How long should bottles condition? | Two weeks is the minimum. Four to six weeks usually gives better clarity, head and flavour. |
| Expected alcohol level? | About 4.5% ABV when brewed to 23 litres with Brew Enhancer 2, although the measured OG and FG decide the real result. |
What exactly is the Coopers Lager kit?
People use Coopers Lager kit, Coopers beer kit and Coopers homebrew kit rather loosely. I am reviewing the 1.7 kg Coopers Original Series Lager extract can, the tin of concentrated hopped malt extract that comes with its own 7 g yeast sachet.
Coopers Lager can versus the full Coopers DIY Beer kit
The complete Coopers DIY Beer starter kit is the whole operation: fermenter, hydrometer, bottling gear, PET bottles, carbonation drops, Brew Enhancer and the Lager can. This guide to choosing a beer brewing kit explains what beginners actually need and what can wait until later.
That distinction matters when comparing prices. The refill can is cheap because it assumes a fermenter is already lurking in your garage, shed or man cave. The full starter kit costs more because it supplies the reusable gear for the next brew and, ideally, many brews after that.
So, is Coopers Lager actually a true lager?
Here is the mildly inconvenient answer: the word lager describes the beer Coopers is aiming at, but the Original Series can is supplied with Coopers ale yeast. Brewed as directed, it lands closer to a clean pale ale or pseudo-lager than a traditional cold-fermented lager.
For a beginner, that is useful rather than scandalous. The supplied yeast will work at ordinary homebrew temperatures and does not demand a fermentation fridge. It also means that blindly fermenting the standard sachet at 12°C is a fine way to make the yeast sleepy and yourself annoyed.
Coopers Lager instructions: the 23-litre method I would use now
My original batch was deliberately plain: one can, 1 kg of dextrose, the supplied yeast and no extra hops. It worked. A few parts of the old method can still be improved, so the instructions below keep what was useful and remove the bits I would no longer recommend to a brewer trying to avoid avoidable nonsense.
1. Sanitise the heck out of the brewing gear
I sanitised the heck out of the fermenter because sneaky microbes do not care that the can cost good money. Clean away visible residue first, then sanitise the fermenter, lid, tap, spoon and hydrometer gear. Sanitiser works on a clean surface, not through old yeast crust and mysterious garage grime.
The extract itself has already been made for you. Your main opportunity to wreck the beer begins after the can is opened, so this is the step where a little obsession is entirely justified.
2. Warm the can and rescue all the malty goodness
Stand the unopened can in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes. The extract pours far more easily once it has softened. Clean the can opener, open the tin and tip the contents into the sanitised fermenter.
I then add a little hot water to the empty can, swirl it carefully and pour the last of the malty goodness into the fermenter. The can gets properly hot, so a tea towel remains one of the more sophisticated pieces of brewing equipment involved.
3. Choose dextrose, Brew Enhancer 2 or light malt
I used 1 kg of dextrose because I wanted to judge the can with no extra malt or hop character riding to its rescue. That was useful for a review, although the thin body in the finished beer showed exactly what straight dextrose does. For the better everyday brew, I would use 1 kg of Coopers Brew Enhancer 2.
This guide to beer enhancer, dry malt extract and dextrose explains why each option changes the alcohol, body, flavour and head retention.
4. Top up to 23 litres with water worth drinking
I originally topped the fermenter up with water from the garden hose. The brew survived, but I would tighten that advice now. Use clean drinking water or a food-safe potable-water hose, and aim to bring the wort close to 21°C before the yeast goes in.
Pale beer does not have a wall of roasted malt or hops to hide poor water. Chlorine, stale hose water and odd plastic flavours can all wander straight into the glass. Taste the water first. If you would not drink it, do not ask the yeast to turn it into beer.
5. Add the supplied yeast
I rehydrated the yeast for the original brew. These days, for this particular kit, I would keep the process simple and sprinkle the sachet evenly across the wort. Rehydration can work perfectly well when done properly, but it also creates another vessel to clean and another chance to introduce contamination.
Check the date on the base of the can before starting. Old extract may still make beer, but a yeast sachet that has spent years being cooked on a shop shelf deserves rather less blind faith.
6. Ferment patiently, then trust the hydrometer
Put the lid on, keep the fermenter away from sunlight and hold the temperature as steadily as you can. Mine went into the man cave under several sheets. Begin taking gravity readings around day six and bottle only when the same reading appears on two consecutive days.
An airlock is entertaining, but it is not the oracle of Delphi. A loose lid may let gas escape without a bubble, while a temperature change can make the airlock move after fermentation is finished. The hydrometer gives the answer that matters.
7. Bottle it, then practise GNR-level patience
Fill clean, sanitised bottles with the correct headspace and the right priming dose for the bottle size. Coopers recommends two carbonation drops for a 740 ml PET bottle. Keep the bottles upright, out of the light and at 18°C or warmer for at least two weeks.
Then wait. I waited three weeks for the review batch, which felt like an eternity, although I had some Bohemian Pilsner to keep my throat wet. Four to six weeks will usually reward you with clearer beer, a better head and fewer young-beer edges. The guide to storing bottled homebrew correctly explains how warm carbonation and cool conditioning do different jobs.
The calendar does not decide when the beer is finished
My batch spent ten days in the fermenter, but ten days is an anecdote, not a safety test. Stable gravity over two days is the rule worth following. Bottling beer that is still fermenting can produce gushers, over-carbonation and, with glass bottles, a small collection of unexploded ordnance.
What temperature should Coopers Lager ferment at?
With the supplied Original Series yeast, I would pitch at about 21°C and keep the beer around the lower end of the recommended 21°C to 27°C range. A steady 21°C to 22°C beats a fermenter that spends the afternoon in Queensland and the night in Dunedin.
What happens when the fermenter gets too warm?
The yeast works faster, although speed is not the prize. Warm fermentation can throw more fruity esters, rough alcohol notes and solvent-like flavours. A pale lager-style beer gives those faults nowhere useful to hide.
What happens when the fermenter gets too cold?
The supplied ale yeast can slow down or stall when held well below its working range. Brewing in winter can be helpful, but hiding the fermenter in a freezing shed and hoping the word lager sorts everything out is wishful thinking.
How I would make it more like a traditional lager
I would use a dedicated lager yeast, pitch enough of it, ferment within that strain’s recommended range and then cold-condition the beer. Coopers’ Heritage Lager recipe takes this direction with light malt, Hallertau and Tettnanger hops, SafLager W-34/70 and fermentation around 13°C to 15°C.
That route can produce a cleaner, more recognisably lager-like beer. It also demands colder temperature control, more yeast management and, yes, more patience. Read this guide to making a great homebrew lager before turning the spare fridge into a brewery.
Dextrose, Brew Enhancer 2 or light dry malt: what changes?
The extra kilogram is not merely there to make the alcohol number move. It changes the body, foam, malt flavour and balance of the beer. My dextrose batch made this point with admirable clarity: it fermented, it made beer, and it left the finished pint asking where the rest of its body had gone.
| Fermentable | Likely result | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| 1 kg dextrose | Dry, light-bodied beer with limited malt depth and weaker head retention. | Lowest-cost, very light summer beer. |
| 1 kg Brew Enhancer 2 | Better body and foam while retaining a fairly crisp finish. | Best balanced standard recipe. |
| 500 g dextrose plus 500 g light dry malt | More malt flavour and body than dextrose alone, without becoming heavy. | Simple custom upgrade. |
| 1 kg light dry malt | Fuller, maltier beer with stronger body and head, potentially less crisp. | Brewers who value malt character over a very dry finish. |
So what did my Coopers Lager actually taste like?
This was a no-nonsense brew: one Coopers Lager can, 1 kg of dextrose, the supplied yeast, no enhancer and no additional hops. It fermented for ten days, sat in the bottle for three weeks and finished at a shade over 4% ABV by my reckoning.
It poured a nice clear gold and tasted like a standard beer. That sounds like faint praise, but I mean it fairly. The bitterness was restrained, the aroma was mild and there was no ugly fermentation fault trying to climb out of the glass.
The head was OK and the body was fairly light. That was no worse than several other beers I have made without enhancer, and it confirmed that the can itself was sound. The beer simply needed more body than straight dextrose was prepared to leave behind.
Is the Coopers Lager kit any good?
Yes, provided the expectation is reasonable. I made a genuinely good drinking beer, although nobody was going to mistake it for a deeply malted German pilsner that had spent months asleep in a Bavarian cave.
That is also why the kit is useful. A first-time brewer can keep it simple. A tinkerer can add malt, improve the yeast, adjust the hops or brew two cans together. The base is mild enough to let those changes show themselves.
How I would improve the Coopers Lager kit
Start with Brew Enhancer 2 rather than straight dextrose
This is the easiest win. It fixes the thin-body problem without turning the beer into a malt loaf. The dry malt and maltodextrin support flavour and head retention, while the dextrose keeps the finish reasonably crisp.
Keep the fermentation temperature steady
Measure the beer rather than trusting the room. Active fermentation creates its own heat, so the wort can be warmer than the air around it. Sheets and insulation can soften temperature swings; a controlled fridge does the job with rather less drama.
Add Saaz, Motueka or another restrained lager-friendly hop
Saaz can bring soft spice and herbs. Motueka can add lime and citrus. I would keep either addition restrained because this is a light beer and a fistful of hops can flatten the character of the kit rather than improve it.
The guide to dry hopping and choosing hops covers the method. You can also see what happened when I used Riwaka hops and golden syrup in a lager kit.
Give the bottles longer than your impatience would prefer
Open one after two weeks if curiosity wins. Then leave the rest for four to six weeks and compare them. Young kit beer can taste yeasty and slightly disjointed. Time lets the sediment compact, the bubbles settle into the beer and the rough edges stop shouting.
Use a true lager yeast only when you can control it
A proper lager strain can give you a cleaner and crisper beer. It also wants the right pitch rate and temperature. Buying special yeast and then leaving the fermenter to swing wildly beside the lawnmower rather defeats the exercise.
Use two Coopers Lager cans when experimentation is the point
Replacing the kilogram of sugar with a second hopped extract can gives you more malt, more alcohol and more bitterness. I tried the approach in this two Coopers Lager kit experiment. It is a useful option, although it creates a different beer rather than a simple upgraded version of the standard recipe.
How Coopers Lager compares with beer kits I have actually brewed
Coopers Lager sits at the cheap, easy and forgiving end of the market. That makes it useful, but it should be compared with kits I have put through a fermenter rather than with whatever heroic adjectives happen to be printed on a label. The wider collection is on the beer kit reviews hub.
| Kit or method | How it differs from Coopers Lager | Best reason to choose it |
|---|---|---|
| Coopers Original Series Lager | The cheapest and simplest option here. The supplied ale yeast is forgiving, but the basic recipe produces less lager authenticity and depth. | A first brew, a light summer beer or a neutral base for restrained upgrades. |
| WilliamsWarn Bohemian Pilsner kit | Uses a larger SafLager W-34/70 yeast pitch and a substantial dry malt addition, producing more body and malt character. | A brewer seeking a fuller pilsner-style result and prepared to manage lager yeast properly. |
| Lion Brown Lager malt extract kit | A maltier draught-style kit with Green Bullet and Pacific Gem hop character. It still benefits from enhancer and conditioning time. | An inexpensive New Zealand-style beer with more malt presence than the pale Coopers Lager. |
| Te Aro Obligatory fresh wort pack | A full-volume fresh wort pack rather than concentrated extract. It costs more, but needs no enhancer and delivers greater hop, malt and mouthfeel complexity. | Higher finished-beer quality with very little brew-day work. |
| Lager kit with Riwaka hops and golden syrup | Uses an ordinary lager kit as a platform for assertive New Zealand hops, enhancer and adjunct sugar. The result is fruitier and more aromatic. | A brewer who wants to turn a simple lager can into a distinctive modern summer beer. |
| Two Coopers Lager kits in one batch | Replaces most or all simple sugar with a second hopped malt-extract can, increasing gravity, malt concentration and bitterness. | A stronger, fuller Coopers beer without moving into all-grain brewing. |
My practical buying verdict
Choose Coopers Lager for cost, simplicity and a beer that will tolerate a beginner. Choose the WilliamsWarn Bohemian Pilsner when you want more malt character and proper lager yeast. Choose the Te Aro fresh-wort pack when finished quality matters more than the ingredient bill. Choose the Riwaka experiment or the double-Coopers brew when the fun lies in seeing what happens.
Coopers Lager kit questions brewers actually ask
How long does Coopers Lager take to ferment?
Coopers suggests roughly seven days as a guide, but the yeast has not read the instructions. Temperature, yeast health and fermentables change the schedule. Start checking gravity around day six and bottle after the reading stays unchanged for two days.
What final gravity should Coopers Lager reach?
With Brew Enhancer 2, the expected range is roughly 1.008 to 1.016. I care more about whether the reading has stopped moving. A stable 1.014 can be finished; a falling 1.008 is still busy.
What is the expected Coopers Lager alcohol percentage?
The standard 23-litre recipe with Brew Enhancer 2 should land around 4.5% ABV after bottle conditioning. My dextrose batch came in a shade over 4%. Your own original and final gravity readings outrank the number on the label.
Can I brew Coopers Lager with ordinary sugar?
Yes. Ordinary sugar or dextrose will ferment and make beer. A full kilogram also tends to make that beer dry and light-bodied. Brew Enhancer 2 or a blend containing light dry malt usually makes a better pint.
Should Coopers Lager be served cold?
Definitely. This is a light beer with a restrained aroma, and it makes far more sense properly chilled. Stand the bottle upright in the fridge, pour gently and leave the yeasty final centimetre behind.
Is Coopers Lager suitable for a first homebrew?
Yes. It is forgiving, familiar and does not require specialist cold-fermentation equipment when the supplied yeast is used. The beginner still needs to sanitise properly, control the temperature, read a hydrometer and resist drinking the whole batch after fourteen days.
My final recommendation
I would buy the Coopers Original Series Lager when I wanted an inexpensive, uncomplicated beer kit or a pale base for a small experiment. For the best straightforward version, I would use Brew Enhancer 2, keep the supplied yeast near 21°C, confirm stable gravity and give the bottles at least four weeks.
For a more authentic lager, I would move to a dedicated lager yeast only after sorting out cold temperature control. For everyone brewing in a cupboard, spare room or man cave, the standard yeast remains the easier route to a decent cold beer.
A final note on the opening threat: Having actually tasted parsnip wine, I can confirm it remains one of the most horrid liquids in existence.
