Coopers Kits

Hey, just a quick question on the Coopers Hopped Malt Extract Kits. On the can they say they make 5 imperial gallons or 6 U.S. gallons. Many of the beginners brewing instructions I have read have said to ignore the directions on the can and follow their directions when using a beer kit. They all give directions based on a 5 gallon total volume, but the Coopers can says it makes 6 U.S. gallons. Well, the first time I brewed I followed the can and used 6 U.S. gallons. My question is this: should I have followed begginers homebrew instructions and just brewed with a final volume of 5 gallons or should I have followed the instructions on the can and used 6 gallons? On top of the 3.75 lb Coopers can I used 2 lbs. of Muntons Light dry malt extract. Because I used 6 gallons is my beer going to be watered down? Should I have used more dry malt extract because I used 6 gallons of water? Thanks a lot guys, looking forward to some answers, haha.

Joe

P.S. For my first couple of brews I am going to use hopped malt extracts just until I get fully comfortable with the process. I used a coopers kit first, are they any good and are there any better hopped malt extract kits I could use for next time? Thanks again.

Personally, I like the cooper's kits. As Sasquatch once remarked "a guy can drink that stuff like gatorade."
Well, we'll see how your beer is going to turn out, it may be a little watery at the full 23l volume, but the DME will make a huge difference. I find them weak at full volume, but I like stronger brews. It sounds like you're on the right track, and yes you should listen to the guys on this forum, there are thousands of gallons of experience here
We won't steer you wrong. Of course the final decision is always up to you, we'll just provide a little food for thought or be the occasional devil's advoacate. And if you're El Pistolero, you'll try to derail every thread, but that's another story.

I'm sure it will be fine, but there is really no need to shy away from using hops pellets. They could hardly be easier to use. I assume you are boiling anyway, all ya gotta do is throw in half at the start and the other half with five or ten minutes to go. This is a bit of an oversimplification but not by much. It is a real easy next step.

I think Cooper's kits are fabulous, and with DME instead, or along with corn sugar, you can make some really wicked beer. If I'm making full 23L I use 50% more sugar, ie, something like 750 g dme and 750 corn sugar. These kits make simple, delicious beer. Just make sure you give it at least three weeks in the bottle - the difference is silly.

These cans also give you a base to work from... you can add specialty grains, or more hops, or so a mini-mash, or whatever, and you can see the difference that it makes as compared to the straight kit.

I'm on my 4th batch using coopers malt extracts and they all taste the same. Each one has been a different style. I'm moving on to something else next. At my local home brew shop the lady said that people don't tend to buy the coopers extract cans over here. They seem to be really for beginner brewers and more experienced brewers go for so called 'better brands' such as black rock, beermakers etc.
Has anyone else noticed that all coopers kits taste the same?

Sure... all these cans are made from whatever barley etc the extract producer uses, and they usually come with the same yeast, which is probably at least half of the flavour you are talking about. Make a Cooper's kit with some other yeast. It'll be less "Coopers"y.

Do try other brands. Cheyco made a Black Rock IPA and hopped it up a bit, and did some dme in there, and my god, it's a fabulous IPA. REALLY bang on for style. There's hits and misses. I brewed the Cooper's Bitter and I thought it was up there with Old Speckled Hen or other top-end bitters, and I did another can and added some black patent and other stuff, and it, uh, well, it sucks, so far.