Coopers Canadian Blonde Kit

Hi guys..

Who has tried this kit and what kinda method did you use?

I made the kit yesterday using the recommended BE1 plus an extra 500g LDME.

When I took the OG reading (1060!!!) it tastes sweet and malty yet quite bitter which I'm hoping will mellow out a bit during fermentation.

Pitched the yeast that came with the kit at 26oC and after a day the temperature is down to a cool 18oC which is ideal for Ale yeast..

The FV is wrapped in a clean blanket but what should I do if it gets colder as Winter creeps upon us in the UK? I've got a heat belt but it does get really hot to the touch so have avoided using that at all. My other brew is sat on a heat mat which is turned OFF. but when ON the brew goes up to the high 20's, not ideal. If only it was adjustable..

18degC is fine, I assume that's the beer temp and not ambient temp?

Yea ChillWill, that's the temperature of the beer. I don't take any notice of the instructions when it tells me to brew between 21 and 27degC after reading plenty of forums saying low temps are best for flavour development etc..

This is my first time with the Blonde kit..A lot of people are saying it's a nice brew.. The Coopers Wheat kit which I did last week smelt amazing as I was making it..

I tried it a couple times when I first started. First time I followed the instructions and used the supplied yeast. I do not recommend using the supplied yeast.

The second time I boiled my water for 15 minutes with an ounce of Hallertau to give it some more hop flavor. Quick chilled, then mixed it up. I subbed the coopers yeast for us-05. It turned out to be a rather drinkable brew.

I've heard a lot of people say about using the US-05 yeast instead of what's supplied with kits.

I haven't tried adding hops or grains to kits yet as I'm new to the hobby/obsession but I will give it a bash soon enough.

I have a Tooheys Special Lager kit in the cupboard, but I've not heard great things about it. So maybe adding some carefully selected hops/grains might help give the flavour a kick..