I just tasted my coppers pale ale , 8 days of fermentation ,15 days bottled added 625g dextrose and used the brew enhancer . Came out at 5.2 % has a great head on it , and genuinely surprise me how good it is at such an early stage !
The brew enhancer makes a massive difference, I would say it's not worth doing their kits without it. I like the cheeky extra dextrose to give it more punch.
I am new to the brewing world but find the coopers diy method the easiest at this time. I have brewed a couple of the Thomas coopers series , I tried the IPA after 3 weeks in the bottle , about a week ago , its the best one I've tasted so far out of all the coppers extract. I added 375gm dextrose, got a 5.8% av . i didn't buy the coopers enhancer , but had the blend made up at my local store , its way cheaper and seams to work exactly the same if not better , because its a fresher blend . Just bottled my coopers Cerveza added 500gm dextrose got a 5.7 av let you know how this is in a few weeks. But definitely recommend the IPA !
From South Australia here, spot on with your taste test guys, however this kit has endlessly possibilities as a base kit for adding other fermentables and different hops. Their sparkling ale from the Thomas Coopers range might be worth a try.
@@nigeandersextraordinarybee3723 Thanks for your reply, I would always recommend Coopers kits to New brewer as I've found they're alittle more forgiving than the others which give people the confidence to keep going and learn more. It's the yeast that let's them down the most. Some of them use the Pride of Ringwood hops which pretty much only bitter but have no taste. The advantage here being that you can have some grains and boil in any hops you like for flavour and aroma. I have twice converted a Coopers pale into a London Pride clone that way and cheaply. Friends could believe how close it was when doing a side by side comparison. If you want it a bit darker, sweeter and full bodied then do the same with the real ale kit.
I personally have found the Coopers yeast not bad. I had some left over from the Coopers lager brews where I used lager yeast. I made a best bitter and an English IPA from grain, and used the Coopers yeast. I made a starter first. I couldn't believe the speed of the fermentation. Both beers were excellent. The main problem with the Coopers kits is the homebrew taste. This diminishes is the enhancer is used, but makes it a more expensive brew. In addition the enhancer is full of emulsifyers, which personally I try to avoid in my food and drink. Leaving the brew in the bottle a long time, sometimes a year, does yield good results.
@@nigeandersextraordinarybee3723 it does begging fermenting very quickly. I've eliminated extract twang with temperature control, keeping ales at constant 18c, using a Stainless Steel fermenter was a good purchase too. I guess it's whatever works is what counts. As for UK kit brands we seem to only have Muntons here in Australia, but I love the look of the Festival and Woodford kits I must say.
Have you tried using Spotless water. I don't know if you have a station near you but it's a lot cheaper than bottled water. It doesn't have the mineral content of bottled water, but I don't believe that's required with extract kits, as the mineral content should already be in the extract when it was produced.🍻
Nige here, there are natural springs on the Malvern Hills and I collect the water directly from there. It is extreamly pure, and free! We collect it weekly and use it for all our cooking, drinking as well as my brewing.
Nige, I always suspected you were Scottish from that thick accent of yours 🤭 re the homebrew twang, did you use 'Pure Brew'? Totally agree with the price of the enhancer kits pushing the price into Woodfordes / St Peters territory
No, I didn't use pure brew. However I am using Malvern spring water that I collect myself, so it does not have any chlorine in it or any other nasty chemicals.
Thanks for the honest review guys. I've never tried a beer from this kit but I have had a few bottles of Coopers' pale ale in the past and I really enjoyed them. It's 4.5% and I remember lots of caramel and hoppy flavours so I'm guessing the kit is supposed to be similar. The bottles always have a fair bit of sediment in them and the side of the bottle encourages the drinker to gently roll the bottle on it's side a few times before opening rather than letting it settle. I didn't personally do that
Hi guys was after some advice, doing the hefe wheat extract from the Thomas coppers range. It states the reading for alcohol will be 1.038 at start of brewing, it states the end product will be 5.0%, just did a test, after 6 days come out at 1.010, calculation comes out at 4.2% ?? Should I be worried that's something is wrong or it need s more fermentation than the other brews I have done ? Any advice helpful, as I am confused. Ty
It sounds about right, the Coopers kits are a bit ambitious with their ABV predictions. However 6 days is still early, just leave for another couple of days and take a reading again. In addition the priming sugar will add about another 0.2% abv which is included in the Coopers calculations.
Great video. I dont mind coopers kits but i agree with you that every coopers kit ive made, had the slight homebrew tang. Saying that i always find them enjoyable for the price. Keep up the good work
I watched your "Beer Fest" Videos a couple of weeks ago, one of you, maybe a Guy named Mark ? Brewed Coopers "86 Day Pilsner" (I think) and you were all blown away by it ! I'm not 100% sure, but I think he added "LME" to it "Liquid Malt Extract" instead of adding sugar, or Coopers Beer enhancer. Also, I've seen alot of people brew 20 litres instead of the 23. I know you're losing 3 litres but it's supposed to be a far better result.
Hi Dan, That was myself, I made Cooper's lager with Cooper's No1 enhancer with lalbrew premium series diamondlager yeast. Brewed at 12c. It was a huge improvement on the standard yeast. 2nd fermentation I cannot remember what I did. Yeast and temperature makes a huge difference.
@@markallen4223 Ah, OK, thanks, Mark ! Wow, still sounds complicated with all the fermentation temperatures etc.... I'm looking forward to giving homebrew another go soon.
If you are starting back with homebrewing have a go with a Simply Kit, although if it is a lager you are after, the Coopers Lager is good if you brew with their enhancer and a lager yeast as Mark did. If the temperature thing is too complicated, switch the yeast to LalBrew® NovaLager Yeast, it's a lager yeast that will happily ferment at 20 degrees. Happy brewing.
I've never understood the fuss about Coopers kits. Every one I've made has been a disappointment. With or without enhancer. Just tastes like crappy homebrew!
I just tasted my coppers pale ale , 8 days of fermentation ,15 days bottled added 625g dextrose and used the brew enhancer . Came out at 5.2 % has a great head on it , and genuinely surprise me how good it is at such an early stage !
The brew enhancer makes a massive difference, I would say it's not worth doing their kits without it. I like the cheeky extra dextrose to give it more punch.
I am new to the brewing world but find the coopers diy method the easiest at this time. I have brewed a couple of the Thomas coopers series , I tried the IPA after 3 weeks in the bottle , about a week ago , its the best one I've tasted so far out of all the coppers extract. I added 375gm dextrose, got a 5.8% av . i didn't buy the coopers enhancer , but had the blend made up at my local store , its way cheaper and seams to work exactly the same if not better , because its a fresher blend . Just bottled my coopers Cerveza added 500gm dextrose got a 5.7 av let you know how this is in a few weeks. But definitely recommend the IPA !
Ok, you've sold me on the IPA! Do let us know how you get on with the Cerveza.
From South Australia here, spot on with your taste test guys, however this kit has endlessly possibilities as a base kit for adding other fermentables and different hops. Their sparkling ale from the Thomas Coopers range might be worth a try.
There are endless possibilities with the Coopers kits. The Sparkling Ale always sounds a bit boring when I look at it. At some point it will be done.
@@nigeandersextraordinarybee3723 Thanks for your reply, I would always recommend Coopers kits to New brewer as I've found they're alittle more forgiving than the others which give people the confidence to keep going and learn more. It's the yeast that let's them down the most. Some of them use the Pride of Ringwood hops which pretty much only bitter but have no taste. The advantage here being that you can have some grains and boil in any hops you like for flavour and aroma. I have twice converted a Coopers pale into a London Pride clone that way and cheaply. Friends could believe how close it was when doing a side by side comparison. If you want it a bit darker, sweeter and full bodied then do the same with the real ale kit.
I personally have found the Coopers yeast not bad. I had some left over from the Coopers lager brews where I used lager yeast. I made a best bitter and an English IPA from grain, and used the Coopers yeast. I made a starter first. I couldn't believe the speed of the fermentation. Both beers were excellent.
The main problem with the Coopers kits is the homebrew taste. This diminishes is the enhancer is used, but makes it a more expensive brew. In addition the enhancer is full of emulsifyers, which personally I try to avoid in my food and drink. Leaving the brew in the bottle a long time, sometimes a year, does yield good results.
@@nigeandersextraordinarybee3723 it does begging fermenting very quickly. I've eliminated extract twang with temperature control, keeping ales at constant 18c, using a Stainless Steel fermenter was a good purchase too. I guess it's whatever works is what counts. As for UK kit brands we seem to only have Muntons here in Australia, but I love the look of the Festival and Woodford kits I must say.
Will have a go at an 18°C brew with my next one. Not a fan of Muntons kits. Festival kits are amazing.
Made this last year - agree it's 100% for the hot days of summer. I threw in 50g of cascade dry hop and it was an absolute stunner.
Personally I would have pimped this up with some dry hopping, but we try and present the kits in their pure form. Thanks for watching.
Have you tried using Spotless water. I don't know if you have a station near you but it's a lot cheaper than bottled water. It doesn't have the mineral content of bottled water, but I don't believe that's required with extract kits, as the mineral content should already be in the extract when it was produced.🍻
Never heard of it, I don't know if Nige is aware of it. I shall be investigating. Thank you. 🍻
Nige here, there are natural springs on the Malvern Hills and I collect the water directly from there. It is extreamly pure, and free! We collect it weekly and use it for all our cooking, drinking as well as my brewing.
Anders looks 3 sheets to the wind 😂😂
correct
Nige, I always suspected you were Scottish from that thick accent of yours 🤭 re the homebrew twang, did you use 'Pure Brew'? Totally agree with the price of the enhancer kits pushing the price into Woodfordes / St Peters territory
No, I didn't use pure brew. However I am using Malvern spring water that I collect myself, so it does not have any chlorine in it or any other nasty chemicals.
Thanks for the honest review guys. I've never tried a beer from this kit but I have had a few bottles of Coopers' pale ale in the past and I really enjoyed them. It's 4.5% and I remember lots of caramel and hoppy flavours so I'm guessing the kit is supposed to be similar. The bottles always have a fair bit of sediment in them and the side of the bottle encourages the drinker to gently roll the bottle on it's side a few times before opening rather than letting it settle. I didn't personally do that
No no, thank you! I've never heard of rolling the bottle sounds like absolute madness!
nice review guys and yes Nige, I have to agree the simply one is a nice pint, cheers 🍻
Hi guys you are suppose roll the bottle and mix the yeast before you drink it regards ?
definitely not!
Have you ever tried it , it done very often in Australian
some beers it can add to the experience, like a Belgian beer, some it just makes it taste like homebrew
Hi guys was after some advice, doing the hefe wheat extract from the Thomas coppers range. It states the reading for alcohol will be 1.038 at start of brewing, it states the end product will be 5.0%, just did a test, after 6 days come out at 1.010, calculation comes out at 4.2% ?? Should I be worried that's something is wrong or it need s more fermentation than the other brews I have done ? Any advice helpful, as I am confused. Ty
It sounds about right, the Coopers kits are a bit ambitious with their ABV predictions. However 6 days is still early, just leave for another couple of days and take a reading again. In addition the priming sugar will add about another 0.2% abv which is included in the Coopers calculations.
Great video. I dont mind coopers kits but i agree with you that every coopers kit ive made, had the slight homebrew tang. Saying that i always find them enjoyable for the price. Keep up the good work
It is hard to justify them on price, there are good competitors out there, Simply as an example which is a bit cheaper.
@@nigeandersextraordinarybee3723 I agree about the simply kits. I've done most of them and they're superb for the money
couldn't agree more about the Simply kits, very impressed with them, gradually working my way through them.
I watched your "Beer Fest" Videos a couple of weeks ago, one of you, maybe a Guy named Mark ? Brewed Coopers "86 Day Pilsner" (I think) and you were all blown away by it !
I'm not 100% sure, but I think he added "LME" to it "Liquid Malt Extract" instead of adding sugar, or Coopers Beer enhancer.
Also, I've seen alot of people brew 20 litres instead of the 23. I know you're losing 3 litres but it's supposed to be a far better result.
Hi Dan,
That was myself, I made Cooper's lager with Cooper's No1 enhancer with lalbrew premium series diamondlager yeast. Brewed at 12c. It was a huge improvement on the standard yeast. 2nd fermentation I cannot remember what I did.
Yeast and temperature makes a huge difference.
@@markallen4223 Ah, OK, thanks, Mark ! Wow, still sounds complicated with all the fermentation temperatures etc.... I'm looking forward to giving homebrew another go soon.
If you are starting back with homebrewing have a go with a Simply Kit, although if it is a lager you are after, the Coopers Lager is good if you brew with their enhancer and a lager yeast as Mark did. If the temperature thing is too complicated, switch the yeast to LalBrew® NovaLager Yeast, it's a lager yeast that will happily ferment at 20 degrees. Happy brewing.
@nigeandersextraordinarybee3723 Thank you ! I'll give them a try !
I've never understood the fuss about Coopers kits. Every one I've made has been a disappointment. With or without enhancer. Just tastes like crappy homebrew!
Nigel here, I am inclined to agree, the ones that have tasted OK have been in the bottle for a year!
They are cheap and easy, I think the yeast and temperature has a lot to do with the taste. Certainly different yeasts make a huge difference to taste.