Recent content by brewNdrink

The only thing I'd like to add is "go easy on the dextrose". Just thinking of putting 1kg (2.2lbs) of dextrose and nothing else to those Coopers kits makes me cringe. It's like putting too much sugar in your coffee; after a certain amount it doesn't taste like coffee and ruins the taste.

Because I live in Burnaby Canada where beer is expensive to buy ($25 for 12 bottles of beer) I usually use 1 can of Coopers (Mexican or Pilsner) 2 cups of DME and 1 cup dextrose. About 3.5% to 4% alc. Ferment colder (under 19C) For the Coopers Stout I use 2 cups DME, 1 cup dextrose and 1 cup...

Do you use the original Coopers ale yeast that comes with the kit for the lager? Or do you use different yeast and ferment cold? I've been wondering how the Coopers Lager was. Which beer would you say it sort of tastes like? Thanks :-) PS. My favorties are the Coopers Pilsner and the...

I hear ya, but Coopers Stout is the only product available in my area. I'll have to ship it in to try the Coopers Irish Stout. :mug: Tony.

I'm drinking some Coopers Stout in my Tap-A-Draft using nitro cartridges. Pretty darn good. Nothing like a few pints of stout in the winter months. Only thing I'd like to change with this kit is to make more "dry" like an Irish stout (Guinness). It's on the sweet side. Any suggestions...

20C is ale brewing temps. You need to go down at least to 17C to get a lager style brew for this kit. Get some large pop bottles, fill them half with water and freeze them. Put 2 on each side of the brewing bucket and put a wet t-shirt over the whole thing (a home-made fridge). Repeat 1-2...

The dry yeast that comes with that Pilsner Coopers kit is a lager yeast, as it can go down as low as 13C. I ferment it around 15C for 2 weeks and it turns out nice and clean. Tony.

I've made about 6-7 of these kits. My favorite Coopers kit! The way I make it is I use 1.5 lb malt extract, 1 cup corn sugar, brew for 2 weeks at about 15C/58F, transfer to secondary for 1 week at room temp, around 20C/68F. Then I bottle/keg. I've never had any bad off-flavors, but this...

I use 1 flat teaspoon of corn sugar per 500ml flip-top Grolsh bottle for plisners/lagers and it is well carbed. Use a bit less for ales/stouts. Since I only need 6 bottles per batch (the rest is tap-a-draft) this works well and is alot cheaper than the carb drops.

Follow the directions and you'll be fine. DO NOT boil these Coopers kits! Although I do agree not to use much dextrose, for these kits and the dry yeast it requires at least a bit to help the yeast grow. I always add 1 cup dextrose to the kits (plus malt extract).

Another alternative to a full keg system is the tap-a-draft: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/tap-draft-first-impression-60237/ Bottling and cleanup is a snap.

The aluminum min-kegs are very difficult to clean, and if over-primed they will buldge and must be discarded. The tap-a-draft PET bottles are more thicker than regular plastic pop bottles and will last longer than the mini-kegs. Also, I've heard many complaints with the taps that are used...

OK, so my experience using the tap-a-draft with stout beer and the nitro cartridges... First, if you've naturally primed the stout (I used 10 flat teaspoons of dextrose per bottle) you don't need to use ANY CO2 cartridges; it has plenty of CO2 already. Just use the nitro carts, as you want a...

I know that secondary cleans up my lagers and lighter ales quite well. But, has anyone gone another step in racking to a 3rd carboy to get the beer as clear as typical lager comercial beers? I'm presuming that there would be hardly any yeast for bottle conditioning left, and that kegging would...

Simply to keep the oxygen out and the CO2 in.