Pimping your Coopers kit

[LarryF]

Following the "AVLA brew controller" thread I followed a link on a post by aamcle and found a link where Coopers advise you on how to pimp their kits that's quite interesting. It's a nice after sales touch that they rake the time to research pimping their kits and then make it available to their customers. I think this is a valuable first step for new kit brewers (me, not so long ago) who are looking for the first step away from the kit instructions.
http://www.aussiehomebrewing.com/Customize/CustomizeCoopers.html

Apologies if I'm reposting something that's already been posted but I've not seen this on here in the last year.

 

[Covrich]

That is a good guide especially for new brewers who are looking at breaking the mould from doing base kits.. although I had to laugh at the top reciepe

"A beer similar to the Fosters style."

Who on earth would ant to brew that!! thats not a lager jibe, even when I was a big lager drinker I couldn't understand why anyone would drink it.. seemed insipid, tasteless and overcarbonated.

 

[terrym]

Following the "AVLA brew controller" thread I followed a link on a post by aamcle and found a link where Coopers advise you on how to pimp their kits that's quite interesting. It's a nice after sales touch that they rake the time to research pimping their kits and then make it available to their customers. I think this is a valuable first step for new kit brewers (me, not so long ago) who are looking for the first step away from the kit instructions.
http://www.aussiehomebrewing.com/Customize/CustomizeCoopers.html

Apologies if I'm reposting something that's already been posted but I've not seen this on here in the last year.

But beware the reference to boiling grains in Method 3 which is apparently not good practice.

 

[LarryF]

That is a good guide especially for new brewers who are looking at breaking the mould from doing base kits.. although I had to laugh at the top reciepe

"A beer similar to the Fosters style."

Who on earth would ant to brew that!! thats not a lager jibe, even when I was a big lager drinker I couldn't understand why anyone would drink it.. seemed insipid, tasteless and overcarbonated.

Too right Corvich, I had a day at the Oval paying £4.50 a pint for that and then juggling four pints to the top tier in a cardboard tray. Thank God I hadn't started brewing then but even so I vowed never to drink that fizzy p**s ever again.

 

[Wardy]

I've done the Lawnmower lager and a similar version to o'lery stout.
The Stout is very nice but I added 500g Dark DME, 200 g of tate and Lyles treacle, and 100g black treacle and 10 g of dark roast coffee beans.
The lawnmower was ok but not great.
Sorry, I don't say the F word 😉

 

[Sandimas]

I think this is a valuable first step for new kit brewers (me, not so long ago) who are looking for the first step away from the kit instructions.

Not just new brewers, I'm 5 years in and AG brewing but I still pimp the odd Coopers kit. :thumb:

Don't be constrained to those recipes either, have a go yourself with combinations of hops. The Coopers kits are fairly bland so make a great base for pimping: find your favourite beer, get the Coopers kit that closest (light/dark), search for an AG recipe, and use the latter stages of the recipe added to the Coopers kit e.g. if there's a 10-15 boil stage, steeping stage, dry hop stage - do all of those, just don't do the first stage (60min boil) as you don't want to add bitterness. You can get away with this in a fairly small pan as you're just boiling/steeping hops, 5-6L will do.

 

[terrym]

Not just new brewers, I'm 5 years in and AG brewing but I still pimp the odd Coopers kit. :thumb:

Don't be constrained to those recipes either, have a go yourself with combinations of hops. The Coopers kits are fairly bland so make a great base for pimping: find your favourite beer, get the Coopers kit that closest (light/dark), search for an AG recipe, and use the latter stages of the recipe added to the Coopers kit e.g. if there's a 10-15 boil stage, steeping stage, dry hop stage - do all of those, just don't do the first stage (60min boil) as you don't want to add bitterness. You can get away with this in a fairly small pan as you're just boiling/steeping hops, 5-6L will do.

+1 on that.
Yesterday I put a pimped Coopers Real Ale into a PB.
250g Pale Malt, 100g Crystal, 100g Torrified Wheat ( I had some to try!) 60 min mash at 65*C, 60 min boil of wort, last 10mins 15g Cascade pellets to add about 5 IBUs to kit contents of around 43. Wort from this plus kit can plus 1 kg Youngs BE, wort volume 22litres, OG about 1.045, fermented out with kit yeast. Dry hop for six days with 35g Cascade pellets. FG about 1.010.
From the taster I had I may be onto a winner, nice and hoppy like I like them. :thumb: