Clownfish
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- 4/11/08
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Since I started brewing almost two years ago, I have completed 39 brews. Of these, all but two have been Coopers kits. The two fancier ones were supposed to be clones but tasted nothing like what they were supposed to and were disappointing. Most of my brews are kegged, but every now and again I do a total bottle one. All the bottles are Coopers PET. So far I have not lost a bottle due to leakage etc (still using the same caps). I tend to make with less than recommended dextrose (etc) to lower alcohol content.
My experiences with each kit have been as follows:
From each brew, I put two bottles in a "bank". These are kept till some special occasion and drunk then. This lets me age bottles way beyond normal. So far the longest has been about 13 months. I have noticed no problems with the PET bottles leaking gas etc. Some beers have aged very well, none have got worse and only the second European Lager stayed the same.
All in all, I have only had to throw away two bottles, I think I sucked in too much gunk when bottling.
I have no intentions of getting into any more fancier brewing. All I want is beer that I like at a good price. I think I am getting that and so do my friends. At yesterday's Australia Day party at our place, a keg of Pale Ale and Real Ale with honey were very popular and almost totally finished off.
Posted for information of new brewers.
My experiences with each kit have been as follows:
- Coopers Cerveza - crap - will never make again
- Coopers Pale Ale - I make with less than the recommended enhancer 2 - all have been excellent
- Coopers Pilsner - made with less than recommended enhancer - all have been excellent - probably the crowd favourite
- Coopers Real Ale, Draught and Lager - now make them with 500 g of honey instead of dextrose - very nice, with a lot of flavour and colour
- Coopers Bitter - not my type of beer
- Coopers Blonde - very nice and refreshing when it is hot
- Coopers European Lager - first one was excellent, got better as it aged - second one was pretty poor, had a funny taste
From each brew, I put two bottles in a "bank". These are kept till some special occasion and drunk then. This lets me age bottles way beyond normal. So far the longest has been about 13 months. I have noticed no problems with the PET bottles leaking gas etc. Some beers have aged very well, none have got worse and only the second European Lager stayed the same.
All in all, I have only had to throw away two bottles, I think I sucked in too much gunk when bottling.
I have no intentions of getting into any more fancier brewing. All I want is beer that I like at a good price. I think I am getting that and so do my friends. At yesterday's Australia Day party at our place, a keg of Pale Ale and Real Ale with honey were very popular and almost totally finished off.
Posted for information of new brewers.