Simple Pimping Kit tins

[Josho]

Penny,

What are the yeasts that come in the kits? ale yeast or???

 

[Bribie G]

Depends on the kit - they generally use two strains from Mauri in Toowoomba - you can download the specs from their website.
There's a list published by Coopers somewhere re what goes into what kit.

Ale 514
This strain was selected based on its ability to produce English-style ales. It is a strong fermenting strain with rapid attenuation of fermentable sugars. Most noteworthy is this strains alcohol tolerance, producing commercial ales with up to 9.5% alcohol.


Lager 497
Lager 497 is a bottom fermenting lager yeast that produces highly desirable flavour characteristics consistent with quality lager beer. While producing almost no yeast head during fermentation, it is a rapid fermenter with a low oxygen requirement, generally completing within 5 days. This strain has good settling properties, resulting in a green beer of good clarity.


I don't mind the Lager 497 when I can get it individually - makes a nice clean lager without too much stinky sulphur. Used to be sold as Morgans Lager Yeast but don't get into LHBS much nowadays and havent seen it lately. The major problem with the kit yeasts is the small pack size, they should really double it, can't see that it would add all that much to the price of a kit.

 

[Josho]

From the coopers website,

Original Series:- Ac (26807)

International Series:-
Australian Pale Ale - Ac+L (26807 Int)
Mexican Cerveza - Ac+L (26807 Int)
European Lager - L (26807 P)
Canadian Blonde - Ac (26807)
English Bitter - Ac (26807)

Brewmaster Selection:-
Wheat - A (26807 W)
IPA - Ac (26807 IPA)
Irish Stout - A (26807 IS)
Pilsener - L (26807 P)

Premium Selection:- Ac+L (26807 PS)

Note: Ac = Coopers ale yeast, A = ale yeast and L = lager yeast

 

[Mattrox]

Hi Fellas,

Just a quick question, with kits and Keeping It Simple Stupid, whats the best way to get a fairly yummo brew, tell me if im wrong.

I would normally do the regular thing tin hot water Brew enhancer and then use some better yeast than the tin yeast and just add in some tea bagged hops tea.

Just reading through the site some of the guys here spend some serious money on their brews,

I have been reading through the coopers website - as the kits are so readily avail here at Big W, and chhep at 10 dollars a go and they have a few simple recipie cards there also- based around thier tins.
I have a feeling that they sell a light malt also this might be a little bit more flavour?

I just put this one down late last week. My 3rd brew.

1 can OS lager
1 can Real Ale
1kg BE 1
750g Dextrose
250g Chocolate Malt

SO4 yeast

25g fuggles in the tea strainer in FV......... Can't vouch for the result yet.

My 2nd brew is at the drinking stage now. It went something like this (if this is wrong I'll edit it, recipe on other computer):

Coopers European Lager Kit
1kg Dry Light Malt
1kg Brew enhacher 2
200g Crystal Malt
Proper Lager yeast that I don't have at hand right now
25g Saaz Hops in tea strainer in FV

After FG; 2 months at 2 deg C in FV.

It is drinking beautifully now.

 

[Josho]

Hey Guys,

I just found this recipe can someone help?

Its for a Pale Ale

2 x Coopers Draught
1 Kg BE1
500g Maltose Rice Syrup

30g Galaxy @20 mins
10g Galaxy 10g Nelson Sauvin dry hopped at 6 days

US05 yeast made up to 23L

Now the question is how exactly do I do this?


Boil just the Cooper Draught with a couple of litres of water and add the hops at 20 mins or another process???


Also where would you get Maltose Rice Syrup from? LHBS?


Any help would be greatly appreciated...

 

[bum]

Boil just the Cooper Draught with a couple of litres of water and add the hops at 20 mins or another process???

The simplest way to do it would be to mix up X amount of water (the largest volume you can manage is best) to around SG 1.040. Rule of thumb is 100gm of LDME per 1L of water is close enough. The BE1 would probably be fine but if you can be bothered working out the amount to use with the tin goop then that might be better.

Once this starts boiling, add the hops and leave them for 20 minutes. Take it off the boil and chill in a sink of water (or something).

Also where would you get Maltose Rice Syrup from? LHBS?

Most supermarkets seem to have little white pots of the stuff these days. Sometimes in the asian food section, sometimes with the sugars, sometimes in the health food section. Cheap as chips, too.

[EDIT: ambiguous typo]

 

[Josho]

So even if I only have a 10 litre pot i can just chuck in say 1kg of goop to 10 ltrs,

Thanks Bum1

 

[RobboMC]

Going back to the original question:
the best way to get a really yummy brew is to

1) use a high end kit and
2) pimp it with lots and lots of high quality ingredients from your LHBS.

How far you go really does depend on your budget. Once you are brewing wholly with extracts
a decent hoppy 6% brew can cost over $60, but it's very much worth it in my opinion as the beer
you are making would cost around $200 at the shop, say 3 cartons of Vintage Ale or similar.

Also, look at steeping up to one kg of grain in hot water and adding the run-off. The grain bag I purchased is the best beer investment I ever made.

The high cost of extract brewing normally drives people onwards to all-grain brewing, where large amounts of grain and bulk hops can be purchased reletively cheaply and brewed up into excellent beers, time and permission permitting of course.

Currently I brew with 3 roughly equal parts of wort, 1 part kit, 1 part extract and 1 part grain. Makes pretty good beer that is good enough to hold it's own against any micro-brewery beer in the country. Yes I boil hops into the extract and the grain runnings.

 

[Josho]

Grain steeping wise - something like -

[SIZE=11pt]200g of crystal malt (crack it in a mortar & pestle or use a $12 coffee grinder from kmart) in 2L of hot water (about 80 degrees C) for 30 minutes, strain and then boil the liquid for 15 minutes (important to strain the grain out before boiling), then use that liquid to dissolve your sugars and the juice from your can, then top up to 23L and pitch your yeast.[/SIZE]

 

[bum]

So even if I only have a 10 litre pot i can just chuck in say 1kg of goop to 10 ltrs,

Thanks Bum1

You'll have no chance of boiling 10L in a 10L pot. Well, I mean you could bring it to the boil but then it'd be all over you stove/floor/feet/kids/dog/etc and you'd be in the ****. Scale it down some.

The thing with using liquid extract for this is that the kit goop already has water in it (about 20%, I believe) so you need to increase the amount used accordingly.