Hi Michael, I followed your link to the IPA kits. I have to say they look expensive. I always use (because I live in Carnarvon) Cooper's kits. The IPA i am brewing presently retailed at $29.95. Maybe it was old stock. I like the IPA's. The last time I brewed one was in August 2019. It was a Cooper's Australian IPA and my records say it was delicious.(Do you keep a diary of your brewing) I have given up on lagers, pilsners and mainly stick to stout and pale ale. The Cooper's Stout is an iconic taste that is very close to the commercially brewed variety. I use Cooper's 740ml PET bottles. They are pretty robust and easy to handle.
I am currently brewing a Cooper's IPA. It has been in the cupboard since 2019. I put it down on the morning of the 26th Jan. Temp was 27C by the afternoon when I cast the yeast and reset the airlock. On the 27th the yeast hadn't activated so I cast another sachet of yeast on the morning of the 28th. By the following morning it was spewing yeast slime out of the airlock. It did this until the evening of the 30th. Yesterday morning, airlock cleaned up and refilled, it commenced a normal bubbling pattern. It is now 8.12am and it is still bubbling away every 5-7 seconds. This is the longest a brew has ever bubbled in my experience. By the way, I primed the kit with 2x750g of Dextrose powder and 1x400g corn syrup powder. I suspect, this accounts for the extraordinary brewing time.
