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renshaw · 06-17-2011, 10:18 PM

Does the enhancer have a big effect on flavour?
Do the beers taste good without it??

Only just thought of this, after bottling a Mexican lager today, what tasted a little weak, but i'm guessing this is down to it being "green" and needing a longer in the bottle etc.

I was just wondering what people think of the coopers kits, with and without enhancer ?

(Second kit is the English Bitter)

Thanks.

**unionrdr** · 06-18-2011, 02:45 PM

Ok,cooper's brewing sugar is 80% dextrose,20% maltodextrin. The brew enhancer 1 is 60% dextrose,40% maltodextrin. The brew enhancer 2 is 500g dextrose,250g maltodextrin,& 250g of light DME.
Maltodextrin doesn't ferment out,giving more mouth feel,& a sort of creaminess. So between the brewing sugar,& enhancer 1,it depends on how much "mouth feel" or body,that you want. The brew enhancer 2 is the best of them,if you're looking for a bit better flavor & color,as well as mouth feel/body,rather than just brute ABV.
That should clear things up a bit. I like playing with cooper's cans myself...

jamesampm · 06-18-2011, 03:42 PM

hey thanks for that uniondr! I was wondering the difference between them as well.

Bookem15 · 06-18-2011, 03:53 PM

I added the brew enhancer 2 to a draught and I thing it hurt the flavor. B2 is more for dark beers, I personally think your better off using B1 for lighter beers. Just my .02. Happy brewing.....

**unionrdr** · 06-18-2011, 06:18 PM

The DME used in the brew enhancer two is light,so it's mainly for lighter colored beers that need a lil kick to push them a little closer to medium gravity brews. doesn't add much color. So it's safe to use in cooper's OS lager,draught,or even the Thomas cooper's select,etc that are lighter colored.It only contains 250g (8.75oz) of the light DME. So it's not a lot.
But,the more you add to the cans,the more you need to add extra hops for aroma/flavor,as the OS cans only use Pride of Ringwood hops for clean bittering. They always seemed to me to need a little help to be good.

brewdownunder · 08-04-2011, 09:29 PM

If you use these "brew enhancers" and they only contain 75% fermentable sugars will you end up with a mid strength beer? would you need to top up an extra 250g of dextrose to compensate for the 250-300g of non fermentable maltodextrin to obtain a full strength beer?

**C-Rider** · 08-04-2011, 11:12 PM

I did a number of Coopers Kits before switching to AG. To each I only added 3.3 lbs of LME and of course the yeast that came w/the kit. Each made a fine beer not watery at all. The only one I didn't like was the wheat beer.

Dondlelinger · 08-11-2011, 01:04 AM

I am experimenting with

as it is 100% maltodextrin I just mad ea batch with 400g of this gold medal carbs (maltodextrin) and 600g of dextrose my wart tastes alot better than when i use dme.. (i dont like the malt flavour in my lauger).. so *cross fingers I hope it works out ok..

As for the original question ..the coopers brew sugar that has 200g malto and 800grams of dextrsoe was my favorite brew I ever made... I have tried others with dme+ table sugar, dme+ honey, dme + dextrose, and all were OK but only ok.. I recommend getting maltodextrin if you enjpyed the first batch from the coopers kit. I'm not into dme in a lauger I like a lauger because it tastes like a lauger not a malt beer.. so personally I'm pretty excited about my newest batch.

Dondlelinger · 08-11-2011, 06:51 AM

if your curious maltodextrin is what is in the coopers brew sugar, the cooper brew enhancer #1 and brew enhancer #2...if your confused..lol.. it seems nobody has tried this (or i cant find anyone who has but, me)... so yah.. making my own brew enhancers for half the price XD

Dondlelinger · 08-11-2011, 07:02 AM

Quote:

I added the brew enhancer 2 to a draught and I thing it hurt the flavor. B2 is more for dark beers, I personally think your better off using B1 for lighter beers. Just my .02. Happy brewing.....

The reason is the DME in BE2 is not suitable for lauger brews... thats exactly why I am stocked about the maltodextrin i bought... BE1 and brew sugar do not have dme... and are recommended for use with the coopers lauger ..