Best Supermarket Brew Kit

[ryanator]

What is the best and worst :angry: brew kit you have bought in a supermarket or variety store? (Coles, Woolworths, Big W)

I thought the Coopers Bavarian Lager was pretty good when brewed right.

I havn't brewed any which have been too bad though my experience with supermarket brew kits is mainly limited to stouts and lagers.

Ryan.

 

[pint of lager]

You get what you pay for.

Supermarket kits are made to a price, a very low price. Rather than aiming for the lowest cost per stubby, try and brew a better quality beer, by buying better quality kits from your homebrew shop. Don't forget the time and effort you put into your brew. Why spend time on a mediocre product?

When you have problems, the checkout chick will not be able to help you.

Supermarket stock can be of unknown age, stored in unknown conditions.

Build up a working relationship with your homebrew shop. Nothing like talking beer to someone who knows the stuff inside out. They will have good advice on gear, ingredients, recipe suggestions, feedback on your beers and maybe a sample or two.

 

[bretto]

What is the best and worst :angry: brew kit you have bought in a supermarket or variety store? (Coles, Woolworths, Big W)

I thought the Coopers Bavarian Lager was pretty good when brewed right.

I havn't brewed any which have been too bad though my experience with supermarket brew kits is mainly limited to stouts and lagers.

Ryan.

[post="64143"][/post]​

Im going to give that Coopers one a go next week.
How did you make that one
cheers
Bretto h34r:

 

[ryanator]

Hey Bretto,
I did the Bavarian Lager kit with 1kg of Coopers Brew Enhancer 2 and a Hallertau Hops Infusion Bag (12g - Standard Method). I didn't rack the brew so it was a little cloudy. Also, I think the brew needs to be fermented around 15 degrees or otherwise it gets a bit of an eggy smell (a good beer to brew in winter). I didn't rack the brew and fermented it around 20 degrees and it still turned out pretty damn good. As long as you use a good quality brewing sugar and brew it at a fairly low temperature, it's a pretty hard brew to stuff up.

Ryan.

PS. I just finished my last uni exam and have sampled more than a few home brews. I probably havn't explained a few things too well. If there is anything else you need to know, tell me and I will reply in more detail when I'm a little more sober. Good luck with your brew and let me know how it turns out!

 

[Scotty]

With supermarket kits you want to do two can screamers. One of my best beers was two coles farmland lager tins and some hops. This method can make bland beers delicious.

Scotty.

 

[Steve the Zymologist]

POL
You may get what you pay for but why pay $15 a tin for coopers at the LHBS (Who knows how long they have had them on the shelf) when you can get the same tin for $10 at Big-W. Big-W would turn over more coopers stock than the LHBS easily. I also think the checkout chick would give just as good advice as the LHBS! If only we could get a decent HBS here that will supply quality ingredients (grain and liquid yeast). As far as advise goes its forums like this that I come to when I have problems and can get a broad spectrum of answers much better than getting the local "Experts" advice with out anyway verification of there "Facts"


2c

Steve

 

[ryanator]

I got a cheap Brewiser Wheat Beer kit from Big W just to experiment with a cheap kit.

Sampled it last night and it is one of the best beers I've brewed.

Just used simple ingredients, boiled it for about 10 minutes, and racked it for a week after primary and it turned out sweet!

Cheers!

 

[muga]

Black Rock - East Indian Pale Ale

It was in a local corner store near my house and I decided to get it for $6 a can (much cheaper seeing as my LHBS sells it for $15) - they were near out of date. I used 1GK of dextrose and left for 7 days then racked for 7 days.

It came out perfect, probably one of the best beers I have ever brewed actually. I went back to the corner store and all the cans had been taken, bastards!

I'll be buying that brew again that's for sure!

 

[markws]

For a dump and run beer - with zero thought and a semi....half decent taste the coopers pale ale with there own brew enhancer 2 plus some hops makes are reasonable beer.

mws

 

[Jase]

Walk into your LHBS, ask for an ESB Fresh Wort, get some decent yeast, go home, dump them into a fermenter. Done.

Once you sample the results you'll be saying "Big Who???".

For the cost conscious, works out to be about $2 per litre. Cheap. But as cheap as AG (Doh!!!, Gotta start AGing soon!!!!)

Cheers,
Jase