TonyG, Interested on how your CC turns out , I tried one about a month ago with the same ingreds; and was not very good had a strong honey flavour , but far as the supermarket kits go I,ve had some mixed result (coopers lager,apa,tooheys p.LAGER, baverian lager all have not BEEN bad)
Hi Beno,
Well here's the first report on my supermarket brews. The Cascade Golden Harvest, which was probably pitched too warm and fermented at room temps (26-27 during the day) for just 8 days, then conditioned for a week in the keg at 1 degree, has now been in the serving keg for two weeks or so. This brew was made with the yeast under the lid and a Coopers Brew Enhancer No 2. The first pour was horrible and I was tempted to toss it out, but I'm glad I didnt. It is now tasting really good and developing a nice strong head (although it does seem to flatten fairly quickly). It is a stronger brew (alcohol content) than I expected, but that might be because I only made it up to 20 litres. Definitely a beer my father would have approved of. And crystal clear out of the keg, by the way, with no filtering.
FYI, I noticed that this particular kit is also sold in the local HBS, for about 50% more than I paid at Coles. So I guess it's one of the better supermarket kits.
The second supermarket kit, the Cooper's Cerveza, also made with the yeast under the lid and Coopers Brew Enhancer No 2, is now in the conditioning keg. It fermented for 10 days at 20 degrees, but I suspect it should have stayed in longer. I got impatient. The Cerveza also came out of the fermenter crystal clear. I will condition it for two weeks before doing anything more with it.
Now, here's an interesting question for the purists. A Cerveza is, to my mind, supposed to be drunk from the bottle with a twist of lemon in the neck. So is this a beer I really should be bottling, rather than kegging? I am thinking probably so. If yes, my plan is to drop 500g of white sugar into 500 ml of hot water, mix well to dissolve, then pour the brew and the sugar mix into the carbuoy, before bottling to PETs (I have no glass). Does this sound about right?
My next brew is going to be a Tooheys Real Ale. But I am going to use two kits for this mix, with standard yeast (mixed in warm water for 30 minutes before pitching) and Brew Enhancer No 2 again (because it produces good results). Any suggestions about the fermenting temperature and time for this one? I am thinking 24 degrees for about 10 days because ale yeasts usually work best at around room temp. Is this right?
Keep up the comments and suggestions by the way. Very helpful.
Tony