This is the English Bitter kit. Was
really looking forward to this one, as I
had heard many nice things about it.
After a little over a month in the
bottle, it's missing......something.
Mouthfeel maybe? Head disapates quickly.
I'm guessing those are POR hops, was
hoping for Fuggles or EKG. Maybe, like
another reviewer mentioned, it needs
more time to smooth out the sweetness.
If I do this one again, I'd consider
some crystal and UK hops for flavor.
Made this one up as per a recipe on the
Brew Cellar website: kit, 1kg Brew
Cellar #15 Ultra Blend + 150g Dextrose,
12g Fuggles. I used Nottingham dry
yeast. Supposed to be a clone of
Kilkenny. I have no idea if it tastes
like Kilkenny, because I've never had
one - in fact, I'm not sure it's
available here in the States. However,
it produced a very nice beer, with a
nice tan head that leaves a lot of lace.
Nice mouthfeel, malty and flavorfull.
The Fuggles that I used were a bit old,
will use fresher ones next time - and
there WILL be a next time. Very happy
with this brew!
Made this one up to a recipe from a UK
home brewing site. The recipe is quite
simple: one tin of OS Stout, 1KG dary
dry malt, kit yeast - thats it. Made up
to 21 litres, about 5 US gallons. One
option is to add a "mug full" of plain
sugar, but I decided not to. Brewed at
68F [20C] for 10 days then bottled.
Tasted one - well, OK, two, after 4 days
and it was already fantastic. Roasty,
toasty, with licorice tones - and I
don;t even like licorice! Strongly
recommended recipe.
Made this one as per basic instructions
- kit, BE1, kit yeast. Wanted to get a
base for future variations. After six
weeks or so in the bottle, it's not a
bad light beer. Nothing overly amazing
or impressive, but still good. Might try
again with some very light crystal and
some Cascade hops.
I made up a honey wheat beer using the
Thomas Coopers Selection wheat beer tin
and two US pounds [about a kilo] of
store-bought, everyday honey. Nothing
else, just mixed it up the usual way to
23 litres and used the kit yeast.
Bottled about two weeks ago, bulk primed
with 180g of dextrose. Tried the first
one after one week - the honey was very
prevelant. Cracked number two [oh, OK,
and numbers three and four] at two
weeks. The honey is still very much
there, but blending nicely with the
wheat beer. I'm pretty enthused about
this simple brew. Will probably reach
it's best in a couple more weeks, at
which time I will know better if this
one needs any tweaking, like more hops
or a differant yeast.
First time I've made thi skit. Made it
to the "Unreal Ale" recipe as listed
on the Coopers website: 1.7kg Coopers
Real Ale kit, 1kg Coopers Brew Enhancer,
500g Coopers Light Dry Malt and the kit
yeast. I let it condition in the bottle
for three weeks and gave it a taste.
Very good flavor, head retention,
mouthfeel and color. Still just a tad
green, I expect it will smooth out more
with age - if it lasts that long! Good
stuff!
First time I've made this one. Brewed
with one tin of Coopers light LME and a
dry lager yeast. I wanted to make it
simple to use as a basis for future
brews. It came out very nice, but with
little or no head retention. Might do
the next one with some specialty grains
to help oout with the head issue. Other
than that, it's a good one!
Made this up with:
.5lb [220g] 60L crystal
.5lb [220g] chocolate malt
.5lb [220g] Carapils
.25lb [110g] roasted barley
2lbs [904g] Muntons light DME
500g Coopers brewing sugar
1 Muntons Irish Stout kit
Nottingham dry yeast
Turned out great - roasty, toasty, some
chocolate, good mouthfeel. No added
hops, but the kit had plenty of
bitterness. Would definately do again.
Made this up with Sparkling Ale beer
kit, 1.5kg Light Malt Extract, 500gm
Light Dry Malt Extract, and some
Dextrose. This is the contents of the
package from MakeBeer.net. Now, the kit
was a bit out of date, but not by much.
The result is more malty and less hoppy
than the commercial product. In and of
itself, it's still a very nice beer,
but not what I was expecting. I will try
this one again, and shoot for getting it
made before the expiration date - and
maybe add some hops. Suggestions,
anyone? Thanks!
Made this up with a kilo of Extra-Light
DME and kit yeast, no additional hops,
to develop a base for future variations.
May not bother with changing anything
the next time. This is great stuff.
Primary fermentation for 3 weeks at
about 12C, in keg for about 2 weeks at
the same temp or a bit lower, 2 weeks in
refrig at 1.5C. Already very, very
drinkable, I imagine it'll just get
better. The only problem is that it's
so hard to get here in the US - I had to
order in on-line from Canada and the
shipping makes it expensive. If anyone
iin the US can give me a source here,
please do!! Use the e-mail listed -
thanks.
Made with 1kg Coopers Brewing sugar,
and kit yeast, 6 US gallons. As basic as
it gets. Just tapped the first two
glasses - for a "quickee" it's not
bad - not bad at all! Just the thing to
kick back on a Sunday afternoon and
watch some football - NFL style! I'd
make this again, but I think I'll use
some DME and finishng hops.
Made this with 3.3lbs Coopers liquid
Light Malt and a liquid US lager yeast.
Primary fermant at about 60F, lagered at
about 50F. Kegged - a nice, easy
drinking lager, could have used some
finishing hops.
Brewed this one a second time in October
2007, using:
2kg Light DME
300g dextrose
225g maltodextrine
14g Liberty hops for 20 min
14g Liberty hops for 2 min
14g Fuggles hops for 2 min
Method;
Brought 7.5L of water to a boil, added
maltodextrine and first Liberty hops;
boiled for 18 minutes and added the
remaining Liberty & Fuggles. Removed
from heat, stirred in tin contents and
DME. Cooled wort and added to fermenter
to make up 22/23L. Two-stage
fermentation for 4 weeks then kegged.
Still not quite what I wanted in an IPA,
but a good brew. Popular with friends,
too!
Next time will use more flavor hops,
maybe even dry-hop some.
I made this one up with one tin of
Cooper's Irish Stout, 453g Dark DME,
453g Lactose, 115g 40L Crystal malt
steeped, 115g corn sugar [dextrose],115g
Malto-Dextrine powder and the kit yeast.
Single-stage fermentation for 4 weeks,
straight to the keg. A bit too sweet at
first, but has mellowed out. Very good
stuff.
Made up as per the recipe in the summer
issue of the Coopers North American
newletter for Coopers Mild. One can of
APA, one US poundof XLT DME, 1/2 ppound
of dextrose; one ounce of Saaz pellets
for 20 minutes after shut down; kit
yeast. Two weeks primary, one week
secondary, force carbonated in the keg.
Great stuff! Almost like a light
pilsner.
Made this up as per kit instructions in
June 07. Bottled in July, popped open
first bottle in August, our hottest
month here on the eastern seaboard of
the US. Very good light beer for hot
summer days!
Brwed this one in May 2007 with 1 US
pound of XLT DME, 1/2-pound dextrose,
1/2-pound malto-dexrine. Boiled
1/2-ounce of Hallertau for 20 minutes in
water, and another 1/2-ounce Hallertau
for 5 minutes, then cut off heat and
mixed in malts. My goal was for a good
lager to drink with some good old
Maryland steamed blue crabs, a
summertime tradition. My goal was
obtained! Cracked the keg in August at a
family crab feast - thge beer just
barely held out! Everybidy loved it.
Will make again for next summer, but
will add a tad more finishing hops.
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.
Brewed this in October by adding 1 pound
Coopers light DME and .5 pound corn
suger, kit yeast, to make 5 US gallaons.
Ferment went well, at about 65F. Kegged
with 1/3 cup corn sugar. Cracked the keg
last night. It's a nice beer, but I may
have it too cold, as the esters from the
yeast are weak, and the overall taste is
still a buit harsh. A very nice beer,
though. I've done all kinds of brewing,
from all grain to partial mash to
mini-mash to all extract, and I'd say
this is one of the nicest beers I've
made. I will make this again.
I recently brewed this pretty much as
per the kit instructions, making the
conversion to US measurments. I really
like the end result [which I kegged],
but it isn't nearly as strong in the
hop flavor area as I expected. I can't
help but wonder if brewing it as a
5-gallon [US] batch instead of a
6-gallon is the reason, however
according to the kit it shoould make 6
gallons. I've been brewing for over 6
years and wouldn't you know, this was
the first batch that I did not take an
OG. Figures.