Coopers kit

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callback79

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Hi,

I'd like to know some opinions about Coopers kits. I'm very new to this game and Coopers kits have a good price in a local store not far from my home. I was reading the instructions and didn't see anything regarding primary/secondary, after further reading, I noticed these kits only need a "primary" fermentation.

Are these kits good for beginners ?

Do you recommend other brands that will give better results for the same low complexity work ? (I mean I don't want to start from grains or other more complex methods, but using kits that needs secondary will be fine)

I can also purchase FestaBrew kits at the same store for about 2x the price of Coopers kit.

I'm from Canada so kits from Northen Brewer is not an option for me.
 
Coopers are a good place to start. Generally, for any simple kit the price will depend on the weight, to say how much malt extract is in it.

Secondary fermentation has fallen out of use. It slows down the clean up process by removing most of the yeast. Typically, people ferment for 3-4 weeks, then rack to the bottling bucket or keg.
 
Coopers kits are a great place to start, I have done all grain brews as well as partial extract brews and kit brews and I always use coopers kits, they are easy to do and Taste pretty damn good. If you need information on how to brew them then watch some videos on craigtube channel on YouTube, the guy in the video (Craig farraway) does a 4 part series on brewing a coopers kit. Watching his videos got me Into brewing :) have fun and hope it works out for you
 
I use Cooper's kit for most of my brews. They are versatile and moderately priced. My favouite kits are the OS Draught (for Pale ales), OS real (for IPAs), English Bitter and OS stout. If you add some spec. grains and some good yeast to these kits they can become excellent.

The instructions are too basic. Most importantly brew your brew @ 18C and no higher. Rack to a secondary if you wish. I do this for every brew because it frees up my primary for the next batch.

Check this site out http://http://www.coopers.com.au/the-brewers-guild/talk-brewing?g=forum&c=8 It really is the best place to get info for breiwng with Cooper's. Tons of recipes and info plus the folks down under are quite comical and are good for a laugh!:D
 
Last question, I've read that you don't need secondaries when using Coopers kit, do we only have to transfer the beer right in the kegs ? Does it have lot of sediments after the fermentation ? Thanks.
 
Try the brew Canada kits if they are available. I find the quality to be better, they actually have pieces of hops in the can.
 
By the time you get down to a stable FG,it'll already be starting to clear. It may take up to another week or so to clean up after itself & settle out clear or slightly misty. Then keg or bottle.
 
Thank you guys, I've purchased my first Coopers kit. It's an Ale. I think I will wait few days before starting it because my basement's temperature is over 86F. Maybe I'll try a swamp cooler this weekend if I'm too impatient...
 
Most of Cooper's kit cans are ales. Which one are you using out of curiosity? At least use an ice bath to get the brew in the kettle cooled down to 65-70F. That'll be a good starting temp. And a swamp cooler would be the cheapest way to keep it within temp range.
 
unionrdr said:
Most of Cooper's kit cans are ales. Which one are you using out of curiosity? At least use an ice bath to get the brew in the kettle cooled down to 65-70F. That'll be a good starting temp. And a swamp cooler would be the cheapest way to keep it within temp range.
Click to expand...

I'll use Real Ale for my first batch.
 
I normally brew ag but I've recently tried Cooper's kits a couple of times. I started with a can (3 3/4 lbs) of Cooper's Real Ale, added 4 lbs of amber dme and 1/4 lb of malto dextrine (to give more body). This gave me an sg of 1.064 (it finished at about 1.016 for an abv of about 6.3%. I threw in an ounce of domestic saaz for the last few minutes of the cook (I only took it up to about 175 degrees F to kill off any possible bugs) to give it some hop aroma. I used a starter made from Wyeast Scottish Ale #1728. I gave it about a week in primary at around 65 degrees F and then put it in a keg for another couple of weeks also at 65 degrees and then into the refer. I was pleasantly suprised by the results. It's almost as good as most ag's I brew and a whole lot simpler to brew which was the reason for trying a kit in the first place. Anyway I guess this is a long way of saying Cooper's kits are a great starting point to brewing some pretty drinkable beers.

Cheers,

Dwight
 
around here dry malt extract is expensive($10/lb) but my local homebrew supply shop carry's liquid malt extract.. i always add 3lbs of pale liquid malt extract to my kits and then usually a couple cups of dextrose to bring it to my desired OG usually about 1.050.. i've tried most the kits and my fav so far is the english bitter. its not bitter BTW.
if you go the sugar route that the instructions tell you to you wont get a great beer. another option is only making 19L and using dextrose to get to your OG
 
I agree that the English bitter is a nice kit, and you definitely get a lovely beer if you add spray malt, but you still get a drinkable beer of you just use sugar in my opinion, especially if your only doing a lager, it just makes it better adding the malt
 
Sorry to restart again this thread but I want to know if you guys prefer to use the yeast from the Coopers kit or if you use another yeast pack.

My friend wants to give me a pack of Fermentis Safale US-05.

Do you recommend to keep the original Coopers pack or switch to Fermentis ?

Thanks.
 
I've always used the coopers yeast and never had a problem, i only buy yeast if I'm doing innate brews or ag's. The yeast in the kits are usually fine :)
 
I'm not sure you would be able to tell any difference. AFAIK they are both fairly clean, neutral yeasts. If you want to try a yeast that would really change the flavor profile you would probably have to go to a liquid yeast from Wyeast or White Labs. A pretty good resource for a description of yeasts is:

http://***********/resources/yeast

Cheers,

Dwight
 
I use Coopers cans for most of my brews as a base. I usually add specialty grains, hops, other additives, and change the sugars up from the recommended ones. I have yet to brew anything that both myself and my friends are not very willing to consume with them.

When I am a bit confused, I hit uniondr up for fresh ideas on brewing with Coopers kits. He hasn't let me down yet.

From what I've seen, FestaBrew is all-included in one box with a bag inside. Anyone feel free to correct me if I am wrong on that assumption. If I am correct on that, you will gain much more from using Coopers kits due to the versatility of them.
 
callback79 said:
Sorry to restart again this thread but I want to know if you guys prefer to use the yeast from the Coopers kit or if you use another yeast pack.

My friend wants to give me a pack of Fermentis Safale US-05.

Do you recommend to keep the original Coopers pack or switch to Fermentis ?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I still use the kit yeast now and again (mostly for stouts) but I would recommend using that US-05 yeast for American IPA's or PA's. The US-05 is likely a lot fresher and probably stored better thatn the kit yeast.

If using the kit yeast try to pitch two 7g packets.
 
dwightr8 said:
I normally brew ag but I've recently tried Cooper's kits a couple of times. I started with a can (3 3/4 lbs) of Cooper's Real Ale, added 4 lbs of amber dme and 1/4 lb of malto dextrine (to give more body). This gave me an sg of 1.064 (it finished at about 1.016 for an abv of about 6.3%. I threw in an ounce of domestic saaz for the last few minutes of the cook (I only took it up to about 175 degrees F to kill off any possible bugs) to give it some hop aroma. I used a starter made from Wyeast Scottish Ale #1728. I gave it about a week in primary at around 65 degrees F and then put it in a keg for another couple of weeks also at 65 degrees and then into the refer. I was pleasantly suprised by the results. It's almost as good as most ag's I brew and a whole lot simpler to brew which was the reason for trying a kit in the first place. Anyway I guess this is a long way of saying Cooper's kits are a great starting point to brewing some pretty drinkable beers.

Cheers,

Dwight
Click to expand...

ronclark said:
I use Coopers cans for most of my brews as a base. I usually add specialty grains, hops, other additives, and change the sugars up from the recommended ones. I have yet to brew anything that both myself and my friends are not very willing to consume with them.

When I am a bit confused, I hit uniondr up for fresh ideas on brewing with Coopers kits. He hasn't let me down yet.

From what I've seen, FestaBrew is all-included in one box with a bag inside. Anyone feel free to correct me if I am wrong on that assumption. If I am correct on that, you will gain much more from using Coopers kits due to the versatility of them.
Click to expand...

Yup,the Cooper's cans,especially the OS (Original Series) cans that have bittering only. So many ways to change or improve them with grains,other malt extracts (I like to add palin DME),hoops,different sugars,etc. They work quite well indeed in this regard. Check out my recipes for ideas on how I use them. I've got a new wheat beer idea in the works for when I get the stove fixed.
And Cooper's yeast is just fine re-hydrated. But I have to say that the US-05 is cleaner insomuch as it's less fruity. Very little fruit flavor in fact. So it depends on the style really. We've used both,& that's our observation of the two. And thanks for the props,Ron!:mug:
 
Little update: it has been in the primary for 17 days, my FG is 1.005. At first I was happy, but after reading some threads, I came to the conclusion that it can be too low, giving the beer a dry taste. My OG was 1.038.

Any recommendations at this point ?

Thanks.
 
I don't think this is a problem, but you can add 4 oz of maltodextrin or lactose to give it a little more body and mouthfeel. If you don't have easy access to either, just go ahead and bottle it. Dry small beers are fine, high ABV beers can get strange if they are too dry.
 
I just tasted it right from the primary and I feel like I sip some Jack Daniel (humm...diluted Jack Daniel). My ferm temp was between 70-72 (swamp cooler, the wort was probably at a higher temp).

I just don't know if aging will give this beer a little help.
 
My wife got me the coopers kit a few years ago and I think it's great. I really like the no boil part. Just mix, pitch the yeast, and the next week bottle it. And for no boil you do have some options for customizing... I've tried adding honey, and dry hopping. I'm probably not too refined in my taste, but this is more than sufficient for my taste. I even like the plastic PET bottles. They're very easy to store and handle.
 

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