Home Brew Kits

[Guest]

Well, i think we have success ! yesterday i bottled 30 bottles of coopers green !!! it smelt good and the colour was just about the same So now they are bottled we wait. It says 12 weeks, but have been advised 2 is enough to start drinking....any thoughts on this?

Good stuff Mario. You cant go past Coopers. Good price and reasonable quality. I prob wouldnt drink after 2 weeks. It is drinkable, but will taste pretty green. Wait 8 weeks.

That is the secret, you need to build up stock so you can hold out as long as possible. Longer the better.

I keg and can drink after 24 hours, but I still give the kegs 8 weeks, as I have 5 on the go. Any help you need keep posting.

[chook 56]

And once you get the hang of it, try a few different Brands & types.
One that I was impressed with was the Coopers Mexican Cerveza. Light colour & drink it all night.
In the international variety (but more $) was the Muntons range.

It is an individual thing, taste, so experiment. And as mentioned before, post if you have a prob.

Cleaning
The most important part, as far as I am concerned.
Proper cleaning of ALL equipment is essential.
Because I am asthmatic I was unable to use the sterilising solution (sodium metabisulphite) I found a way around it that never let me down, and was way cheaper. Ordinary old domestic cleaner (Domestos etc) & soak it all really well, rinse & let it dry. Done! All ready to go with the next batch.

[stsae]

Lol, Muzz knows the true challenge of brewing, waiting.

Wait as long as possible mate, especially with coopers, it's like a nice red, improves with age.

Get more bottles and do another brew, and keep refueling after every brew. That way you won't run out.

With the airlock, from memory it depends on the weather, how much it blows a load. I haven't home brewed for ages but I'm sure when it's not bubbling that's when it's no good. Sometimes I remember sticky froth making mess, like a horny 15yr old.

I miss brewing, may have inspired me to get started again Muzz.

BTW I recall Morgans was a very good brand, Iron Bark Dark was a fav of mine.

Next time I'm down I hope I get a sample Muzz.

[Guest]

And once you get the hang of it, try a few different Brands & types.
One that I was impressed with was the Coopers Mexican Cerveza. Light colour & drink it all night.
In the international variety (but more $) was the Muntons range.

It is an individual thing, taste, so experiment. And as mentioned before, post if you have a prob.

Cleaning
The most important part, as far as I am concerned.
Proper cleaning of ALL equipment is essential.
Because I am asthmatic I was unable to use the sterilising solution (sodium metabisulphite) I found a way around it that never let me down, and was way cheaper. Ordinary old domestic cleaner (Domestos etc) & soak it all really well, rinse & let it dry. Done! All ready to go with the next batch.

That cooper Mexican tastes like cats piss. In saying that so do Caronas. Pretty good if you want something easy to drink with your wife. Also stay away from the Canadian Blonde.

I also just use homebrand bleach. And I cant stress how much easier kegging is. Problem is your mates think my house is the pub.

[chook 56]

That cooper Mexican tastes like cats piss. In saying that so do Caronas. Pretty good if you want something easy to drink with your wife. Also stay away from the Canadian Blonde.

Funny, that Adz. I like the Cerveza but HATE the Corona.
As I said. All depends on individual taste.

[supermario]

That cooper Mexican tastes like cats piss. In saying that so do Caronas. Pretty good if you want something easy to drink with your wife. Also stay away from the Canadian Blonde.

I also just use homebrand bleach. And I cant stress how much easier kegging is. Problem is your mates think my house is the pub.

Funny you mention Canadian Blonde, the guy i brought the kit off threw in a can of canadian blonde. I have read a few recepies though that say to add some honey to the canadian blonde mix and ferment it, apparently it comes out good

i might set another brew on the weekend, nothing wrong with having alot of beer !

[supermario]

another Brew pitched, used the cerveza mix, bubbling away nicely, lets see how this go !!

[chook 56]

Good stuff!
Another little trick that I used years ago with good results, when the yeast would take off so severely it more or less exploded, was to use only a small amount of yeast to kick it off.
Slightly slower to bottling time, but improved the quality of the brew immensely.

[supermario]

Good stuff!
Another little trick that I used years ago with good results, when the yeast would take off so severely it more or less exploded, was to use only a small amount of yeast to kick it off.
Slightly slower to bottling time, but improved the quality of the brew immensely.

I might try that, my brews have been fermenting like maniacs...(could be due to the high temps over the past few weeks).

I actually bottled my Cerveza and sampled a little before i bottled and it tasted Good, Dry taste but it had a little bit of a bitter aftertaste, so we will see how it comes out once i crack open a bottle.

[chook 56]

Yeah, it's the hotter weather that makes it go mad.
First time it happened to me it was great big mess of yeasty foam coming out the air lock.

[supermario]

I've heard stouts do that alot 56, just spew foam everywhere !

I have to say, the brewing game has me hooked, i am happy to do one a week, but the missus is too worried about who is going to drink it

[supermario]

Well after all the talk, all the cleaning, all the bottling and all the waiting..............

WE HAVE A BREW !!!!

Got to my first bottle of Coopers green tonight and you know what..... it aint half bad ! not the original but close enough for a home brew kit !



Even though i used brew enhancer 2, the head didn't last too long, but the taste of coopers green is there. Next time, might add 500g more brewing sugar, increase the alcohol %

[chook 56]

Well done
Personally, I found that increasing the sugar didn't help the head on the brew.
I always stuck to about 1/2 kilo of caster sugar (found it better than any of the brewing sugar, and cheaper). Means that you can drink more lol.
The head varied for a few reasons imo. The length of time from bottling to drinking was a major factor and the brands that I brewed also came into the equation.

[supermario]

Funny you mention caster sugar, i pitched a Lager the other day and used the coopers brewing sugar, my wife had a little taste of the sugar and said it tasted like icing sugar !

I'll head to the local brew shop and get some Maltodextrin, thats what helps with head retention.

[Guest]

Never wash your beer glass with anything other than hot water. If you have kids, if they make a milkshake in your favourite beer glass, you will never be able to use the glass for beer again.