Coopers DIY Kit

Brewed my first batch a couple weeks ago. I used the Lager kit that came with it. All went well. My only complaint is that the tap leaks quite a bit and it took me a long time to get it situated so that it would stop leaking (common complaint on Amazon). It also caused a mess when bottling.

The foam from the fermentation dissipated after just 3 days, so that was quick. I bottled after a week in the fermentor. I sampled a bottle a week later to see how it was going and it already tastes very good.

I'm taking baby steps with this hobby, so for my next brew I will try the Cooper's Draught kit and I will add some finishing hops to it to see how that changes things.

It's so awesome to be drinking good beer that I brewed myself!

HoosierInFL said:

Brewed my first batch a couple weeks ago. I used the Lager kit that came with it. All went well. My only complaint is that the tap leaks quite a bit and it took me a long time to get it situated so that it would stop leaking (common complaint on Amazon). It also caused a mess when bottling.

The foam from the fermentation dissipated after just 3 days, so that was quick. I bottled after a week in the fermentor. I sampled a bottle a week later to see how it was going and it already tastes very good.

I'm taking baby steps with this hobby, so for my next brew I will try the Cooper's Draught kit and I will add some finishing hops to it to see how that changes things.

It's so awesome to be drinking good beer that I brewed myself!

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I started off with the exact same kit and I had the same problem with the leaky tap. I messed with it for about 20 minutes and finally gave up but I was able to get a replacement sent at no charge.

Congrats on the first brew. I still have a week to go on the bottle conditioning but I've been tempted to crack one open!

SMtnBrewery said:

I started off with the exact same kit and I had the same problem with the leaky tap. I messed with it for about 20 minutes and finally gave up but I was able to get a replacement sent at no charge.

Congrats on the first brew. I still have a week to go on the bottle conditioning but I've been tempted to crack one open!

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Yeah, I need to contact them about it.

I opened a bottle after one week just to check on it. I did't want to wait weeks just to find out the beer is bad. It is already very drinkable, and will be awesome in a few weeks.

I am on day 5 of the coopers DIY kit and all the yeast has yet to fall from the top of the brew. Its def getting thin tho.. the thick foam is gone. Its light brown... Is this normal? Its in a 16 C room. I pitched it with Coopers Ale Yeast from the kit.

Sounds perfect to me.

HopHeadGrady said:

I am on day 5 of the coopers DIY kit and all the yeast has yet to fall from the top of the brew. Its def getting thin tho.. the thick foam is gone. Its light brown... Is this normal? Its in a 16 C room. I pitched it with Coopers Ale Yeast from the kit.

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You should be fine. Give it about two weeks to ferment, regardless of the 4-10 day bit they feed you. I've had a couple go past 14 days before the fermentation was complete. It's no big deal.

Awesome, thanks for the re assurance guys. I find myself running down to the cold room every 5 hrs or so.... lol

I got the Coopers DIY kit for Xmas as well. Did alot of reading on here before I brewed my first batch.....glad I did! Lots of good pointers! On day 7 of fermentation. I knew I wasn't going to be able to sit around and wait for the beer to be done So I ordered a Deluxe Starter Kit off Northernbrewer.com (which arrived in 3 days!) and brewed my second batch, American Pale Ale, last night. My next mission is to drink as much beer as possible to stock up on bottles!

Awesome. Yeah I have 3 batches on the go now too. I am going to do another tomorrow. That will make close to 100L of beer in various stages of fermentation . Not sure what I am going to do with it all but a 2 tap keg is going in soon too. I will keg 2 and bottle 2 and keep 4 fermenters rolling. I have lots of thirsty friends. My next batch will be the smugglers ale from Muntons with some extra goodies put in. yeah I have been sucking back bottles of Golden Pheasant cause I like the 500ML bottles.... lol Great excuse to drink more beer...

My 1st batch of Coopers lager has been fermenting for about a week now. It started off the 1st two day's fermenting really good, alot of bubbles and foam on the surface. But now their is none anymore and seems like its not doing anything. I am a little concerned about that is not fermenting anymore. I have been having trouble keeping the Temps warm enough. At one point one day it got done to about 18 degrees C, is that going to be a problem. If someone could please help

Dejavu614 said:

My 1st batch of Coopers lager has been fermenting for about a week now. It started off the 1st two day's fermenting really good, alot of bubbles and foam on the surface. But now their is none anymore and seems like its not doing anything. I am a little concerned about that is not fermenting anymore. I have been having trouble keeping the Temps warm enough. At one point one day it got done to about 18 degrees C, is that going to be a problem. If someone could please help

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I'm a noob know nothing, but I brewed the cheapest kit I could find, and used the yeast it came with. Fermented along nicely at 58*-62*, so I'd imagine you Cooper's kit is fermenting nicely, maybe almost done? I let mine sit the full 3 weeks many on here subscribe to, and when I bottled it I called it drinkable, even flat and room temperature.

Dejavu614 said:

My 1st batch of Coopers lager has been fermenting for about a week now. It started off the 1st two day's fermenting really good, alot of bubbles and foam on the surface. But now their is none anymore and seems like its not doing anything. I am a little concerned about that is not fermenting anymore. I have been having trouble keeping the Temps warm enough. At one point one day it got done to about 18 degrees C, is that going to be a problem. If someone could please help

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The only way to tell for sure what is going on with your beer is to take a hydrometer reading.
If the temperature of the beer is several degrees warmer that the ambient temperature, (that is assuming you have been keeping the the area stable) then fermentation is continuing.

Patience.

18C is perfect for the coopers ALE yeast. It likes to be cooler. Remember your brew will be slightly warmer 2-5C because of the fermentation process. Thats what I have mine set at. So 18+2->5 degrees in ther fermenter = your target. They are talking about wort temp, not room temp. The stick on thermometer reads more of the room temp. And although its subsided, the Lager (really a pale Ale) has gone from 1022 to 1012 in 3 days here. Its still working, just break out the hydrometer. Remember to santize it. I never let it touch the spout of the fermenter, but I am clean freak.

By the sounds of it, you are making perfect beer.


Just tested my Coopers Euro Lager Mash Extract recipe. After only 7 days in primary at 12C it came in at 1011. Started at 1044. Its crystal clear already, nice big bubbles on the side, decent head for where it is. Tastes fantastic for the stage it is in. I can really taste the Hallertauer hops. I posted this recipe here. I can't wait to taste this in 12 weeks. By far the best beer out of my three batches I have on the go right now.

Next up is a new recipe using the Muntons Premium Gold Smugglers Ale.

Thanks to this thread for pointing me to CraigTube. Well worth watching a load of his brewing videos. I think I like his style.

He also explained some things about the US home brew market seemingly being much more involved, because beer is so cheap in the US, the only reason to home brew is as a hobby and to experiment and perfect.

In the UK (and Ireland) beer isn't cheap, Dublin being the worst offender where a pint of lager in a basic pub is 4-5 euro and in a night club you can pay up to double that.

I buy 12 x 440ml cans of lager for £10 (about $17), sometimes it's on offer at £8.99, but recently it has gone up (post xmas offers) to £11.49!

Premier lager like Becks, Satzenbru, Cafferys, Bass, Smithwicks etc. Usually don't even bother with 12 packs and cost about £1.50 a tin!

To buy 5 gallons of lager/beer therefore is roughly, £45 or $70. A kit + sugar + whatever usually comes in at about £15-£20. So a lot cheaper and I'm hoping (when I improve my techniques) more tasty!

How much is beer in the US our of interest?

This is a very helpful thread for those of us just starting out with coopers kits. I just started my first batch in a coopers kit. Very easy, and hopefully will have decent results (I'm not expecting much given its a kit with no additions). I made the Heritage Lager kit with recommended ingredients and Coopers yeast, If its better than discount brands of beer then I'll be very pleased. And you say the Irish Stout kit is good? this gets me excited, I have an Irish Stout kit for my next batch where I'll try adding some specialty grains and hops and use White Labs Irish Ale Liquid yeast and hopefully have a nice stout by St Patties day!

I love the design of the fermenter, its actually the main reason why I bought the Coopers kit in the first place. My only gripe is that the tap leaks a lot.. I've just emailed them and will hopefully get a replacement tap though. Is this a very common problem? will the replacement have the same problems?

Let me know what you do with that Milk Stout, Union. Ours turned out great but didnt have quite the sweetness that we were expecting. Damn lactose is settling in the bottles for some reason.

I've been reading how several folks on here with the new DIY FV have to fiddle with that push in tap to get it to stop leaking.

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Mine was ok, much less fiddling than drilling a bucket and adding gaskets etc.
Some advice to the OP would be to test it with water first and when adding your racking cane, dont push up too hard or you will pop the spout out and have beer flowing everywhere! "ALMOST" happened to me. I saw it slide up a couple mm and I crapped myself.... Haha.

If I put some lubricant on the rubber part of detachable spigot do you htink it would form a better seal? I know some people do this with their Kegs

ADL said:

If I put some lubricant on the rubber part of detachable spigot do you htink it would form a better seal? I know some people do this with their Kegs

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I just fixed a drippy spigot last week by applying vaseline to the tap seal. I had to rack to another vessel, take the tap part out and coat that. It was a different tap than the Coopers, very cheap, but works. Coopers DIY Tap isn't bad at all I find. I have 3 other fermenting buckets where I drilled a 1" hole and I needed to work at getting them to seal 100%.

So I just bottled my brew this morning have them sitting in the box in my room right now. But, I tried my beer and it tastes a little skunked. This is very possible seeing how I wasn't thinking and for the first 2 weeks there was nothing covering the fermenter so light could have gotten in. But, it also tastes almost fruity. So, it's not a horrible thing(Atleast Idon't think so.) But, to the question actually now, Do you believe that this is fully skunked or just needs some time in the bottles?


EDIT: Just ordered the Coopers English Bitter stuff, gonna follow Unionrdr's recipe on there. Can't wait.

i'd believe based upon what i've read here, is the taste you are experiencing is just a "young" beer. give it a few weeks (some say 2, some say 3) to bottle condition.

RDWHAHB or, if unavailable, RDWHACB

Thanks Drew. And Union I was talking about the "Suped Up" coopers with the two row. I believe you used the Australian Bitter, but I'm going with the English.

unionrdr said:

1st of all,don't always blindly use a 1" hole saw to make the spigot mounting hole.

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Yeah I guess I should have stated that I actually take my time with this. :cross: I have a 1" core bit that is designed specifically for plastic and it makes a nice pretty hole that the tap can screw into. As far as where it goes, thats easy. And the result is a perfect fit. My problems stem from the spigot itself, not the hole that was bored. One time I was just over tightening and the gasket wasn't sealing right, less is more sometimes.

The latest fermenter I made was perfect.

Bottled tonight. Woohoo! 16 days. Should I only go as far as where the tap stops supplying the beer or do I tip the fermenter a bit to finish the next bottle? Afraid that might disturb the crud near the bottom.

I tip the fermenter to get it all. If a little trub gets in the bottle it will settle to the bottom anyway and I just pour that one more carefully to keep it out of the glass.

rwithtf said:

Thanks Drew. And Union I was talking about the "Suped Up" coopers with the two row. I believe you used the Australian Bitter, but I'm going with the English.

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**I used the English bitter as well. You can see the ingredients I used in my avatar. Also see recipe for it.

HopHeadGrady said:

Yeah I guess I should have stated that I actually take my time with this. :cross: I have a 1" core bit that is designed specifically for plastic and it makes a nice pretty hole that the tap can screw into. As far as where it goes, thats easy. And the result is a perfect fit. My problems stem from the spigot itself, not the hole that was bored. One time I was just over tightening and the gasket wasn't sealing right, less is more sometimes.
**I found that is 100% true some time back,as I have a few different spigots in use. Under-tighten,it leaks. Over-tighten,it squishes the seals out of place & leaks. The spigot shoud be snug,but not tight.
The latest fermenter I made was perfect.

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rwithtf said:

So I just bottled my brew this morning have them sitting in the box in my room right now. But, I tried my beer and it tastes a little skunked. This is very possible seeing how I wasn't thinking and for the first 2 weeks there was nothing covering the fermenter so light could have gotten in. But, it also tastes almost fruity. So, it's not a horrible thing(Atleast Idon't think so.) But, to the question actually now, Do you believe that this is fully skunked or just needs some time in the bottles?
**Not covering the fermenter when out in a sunlit room can def skunk it. But the fruity ester comes from the ale yeast. Higher temp,more esters. The cooper's ale yeast produces a nondescript fruity flavor on the back. A little of that is good in something like an IPA. Gives the citrus flavors more natural flavor,imo.

EDIT: Just ordered the Coopers English Bitter stuff, gonna follow Unionrdr's recipe on there. Can't wait.

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I'll share my experience with the Coopers kits. I bought 2 of the Australian bitter kits awhile back when they were on sale at make.beer.net. Brewed them up pretty much per the recipe adding 2 lbs of extra fermentables, half sugar half light DME. I made them as five gallon batches using cooper yeast in one and US-05 on the other.

The beers had an unpleasant tartness when young...2-3 weeks in the bottle but...after 4 weeks at room temp and several weeks of lagering in the fridge the tartness went away and they became pretty decent beers. They do need a little bit of hop additions for aroma though. The longer they aged the better they tasted.

So don't be disappointed if your beer is not great after a couple of weeks.

HopHeadGrady said:

I just fixed a drippy spigot last week by applying vaseline to the tap seal. I had to rack to another vessel, take the tap part out and coat that. It was a different tap than the Coopers, very cheap, but works. Coopers DIY Tap isn't bad at all I find. I have 3 other fermenting buckets where I drilled a 1" hole and I needed to work at getting them to seal 100%.

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After emailing coopers about the tap they sent me a replacement the next day. I tested it out and it works MUCH better than the other one. I even tried yanking it in different directions to test it and not a drop leaked so it must have been a faulty tap.

llevt said:

I'll share my experience with the Coopers kits. I bought 2 of the Australian bitter kits awhile back when they were on sale at make.beer.net. Brewed them up pretty much per the recipe adding 2 lbs of extra fermentables, half sugar half light DME. I made them as five gallon batches using cooper yeast in one and US-05 on the other.

The beers had an unpleasant tartness when young...2-3 weeks in the bottle but...after 4 weeks at room temp and several weeks of lagering in the fridge the tartness went away and they became pretty decent beers. They do need a little bit of hop additions for aroma though. The longer they aged the better they tasted.

So don't be disappointed if your beer is not great after a couple of weeks.

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I was just going to post here that my beer has been in bottles for a little over a week now and still have an apple-y taste to them. But, this has put my nerves at rest....for now. I just wanna have a nice homebrew to drink already though!
But, I'm receiving my whirlfloc tablets tomorrow and am going to start brewing my English Bitter. I was going to start it the other day, but I figured I should wait for the tablets. But, for future experience, are they necessary?

Whirlfloc isn't necessary but they could be nice. If your pot is too small they control the foaming but you can control that by turning down the heat a bit. It's just that the foam builds up rapidly and if you aren't watching really closely it will spill over before you can react.

The apple flavor will disappear over time as the yeast consume the acetaldehyde that they produced during the ferment and it will disappear fairly quickly. Give it another week and try again.

Okay, because I just wanna start brewing this beer and am waiting for the whirlfloc to come in the mail. Just saw it's not going to be here for atleast another week though ha.

I use Whirlfloc when I have it.. but...

My real go to is a CLEAN spray bottle with plain water in it. The foaming gets bad when the foam builds up so much the heat can't escape. It's protein foam.. like at the ocean at certain times of the year. Spray the foam in the FV as much as needed to control it. Works like a charm.... you just have to stay on top of it for a few minutes.