Coopers Ginger Beer
 

Anyone used one of the above extract kits ?

I'd be interested in knowing how it turned out, how much bite did it have, did you use glucose or DME, if DME what colour etc etc

I've got a tin on back order and I'm really keen to get some good, thirst quenching ginger beer on the go for the tail end of summer

Slainte !

80/-

Cooper's kits
 

I've used their stout, IPA, Pilsner, and Bitter kits. I used Dme with all three. Dark for the stout, amber for the IPA etc.. They're pretty good kits. Being from the U.S., I have a hard time with the Metrics in the instructions. What the heck, I just boil, add the extract can &DME and a little brown sugar if it seems right and hope for the best. A friend gave me a can of Ironmaster Stout extract the other day. That's made in the U.K. Don't know much else about it other than it's getting ready to be beer!! I'm thinking about adding another can of stout extract and four to six pounds of dark DME to try for an Imperial Stout. Can't hurt, and it just might help.


Good Luck
Sudsmonkey :D

Hi Suds - the imperial sounds interesting, let us know how it turns out.

I recon I'll use a pound of light and a pound of medium DME for the first batch - I want to keep the beer fairly light with more ginger spiceness than malty flavours.

I'll check out what it suggests when it arrives and then make up my mind.

I'll post back in a couple of months with the results

Cheers

80/-

Yeah I have tried the Coopers kits a few times. I particularly liked the Bavarian lager kit but they are all pretty much standard. Still, those kits were not as good as the all-grain tins that dont call for the addition of sugar. Those kits have an added premium though. You might want to consider doing a partial extract or leaping into AG.

ginger beer
 

I made a batch this past spring. I didn't use a kit/tin but wat I made is pretty refreshing. Here is the recipe:

2.5lbs of honey
3 lbs Muntons light DME
1 lbs cane sugar
2 lemons
2.5 lbs fresh ginger root
1 oz Willamette pellet hops
Wyeast 1056 American ale/Chico
Total boil 60 min
Add 3/4 of grated ginger,lemon juice and rinds (minus zest), and 3/4 of the honey at 30 minutes.
Add rest of ginger and honey at 50 minutes
Hops at 58 minutes

I may add some grains next time and some bittering hops instead of the lemon rinds, but this a very good summer beer. I'm going to enter it in the Schooner Contest this year in conjuntion with the Great Lakes Brew Fest in Racine.

Uh-huh. So what's the winning ingredient from the competition recipe that you're leaving out? :)

missing ingredient....
 

Didn't leave anything out. ;)

is that a 5 gall batch?

Yes, 5 gal. It came out to about 2 cases of 12oz.'ers. enjoy :)

Please post a review. This sounds delicious and I'm thinking of brewing it this weekend. What would you think about a stick or two of cinnamon for 15-20 minutes?