Why do ALL of my can kits taste bad?

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gdupagne said:
I just used a kit recipe.
Tin of Coopers Aust. Pale Ale
1kg light dry malt
12g Amarillo hops steeped in boiled water
US-05 yeast
25g Nelson Sauvin dry hopped
 
In Tasmania, that would nearly be classed as less that water....yes ?
 
manticle said:
Dunno. Been drinking corona.
They say if you put a wedge of lime in it then people will mistake you for some famous fella called Johnny Depp.
 
manticle said:
Dunno. Been drinking corona.
I watched Megafactories on Corona yesterday on TV. They spit out 20,000,000 bottles per day. No wonder it tastes like water!
 
Speaking of kits. I was in Dans today and saw coopers IPA and some other new fangled type kit priced at $22.95 or so. Have they got a no-twang guarantee or something. Craft kit? $22.95 can buy some nice grain.
 
petesbrew said:
For shits n giggles, I bought a Coopers Real Ale kit today, ready to throw down tomorrow. First Knk beer in many years.
Just going to do something simple like:
Coopers Real Ale
1.2kg LDME
200g Crystal (steeped)
16g Goldings
16g Target
WLP013 London Ale Yeast.
Fill to 23L
OG=1042
Finally made this today, as it took a few days for the yeast to fire up. Recipe fixed.

Sitting in the cool garage. We'll see how this baby turns out. (if it tastes bad, I can always wash it down with a Corona).
 
For what's worth I found steeping some crystal and fermenting us05 at 18 to 20 made my brews go from home brew twang to better than Sunday morning dumplings
 
Somewhere between 500g to 1kg of steeped biscuit malt with a can of Coopers IPA and a can of Black Rock light malt is very drinkable. Make up to 25L and dry hop with a generous amount of Cascade.
 
petesbrew said:
Finally made this today, as it took a few days for the yeast to fire up. Recipe fixed.

Sitting in the cool garage. We'll see how this baby turns out. (if it tastes bad, I can always wash it down with a Corona).
Well my knk Real ale is about ready to bottle. The hydrometer samples are tasting very promising.
We'll see how they taste out of the bottle, but it's been a nice easy venture. It definitely doesn't taste bad.
 
The issue with K&K brew is that most kits are very low IBU and have no late hops. There isn't anything to hide behind. This isn't really a bad thing but when you're essentially rehydrating wort you can't expect miracles. Crisp low IBU, low hop beers really benefit from quality ingredients and quality process. Any mistakes or issues will be very plain to see.

Pretty much all Coopers beers are really bland and one dimensional anyway so I can't imagine why you would want to replicate it at home. Coopers is a last resort beer for me, for when the only alternative is VB. Each to their own, though.

I have enjoyed some kit based brews either toucans or with an extra kg or 2 of extract (never dextrose) added and some late edition hops and dry hopping. You can push the IBU up pretty easily to the 40-70 range and create some pretty tasty APAs or IPAs. I enjoy pushing the OG up too, better value for money and high ABV commercial beers are REALLY expensive (thank you govmnt).
 
Ducatiboy stu said:
Havent done one for a while, but always used BE2, fermed at about 18*c..ish

The Pale Ale kit really is very good if done properly, very close to the original

Have used kit yeast and re cultered

I have tasted beers made from kits and they where fantastic. Better than some AG beers ( mine included ) at swap meets

Nothing wrong with kit beers, and in saying that, most issues are caused after the tin has been opened
This thread has caused me to make one.

Coopers Pale, BE2, Kit yeast @18 deg, and I have to say..............it tastes absolutely nothing like the original. I am assuming you are serious here.
Some that I have given a try like it, but to me it tastes pretty average and the reason I don't do many kits.

I will try again though.
This time with 1.5kg Liquid malt and US05.
 
In my view, coopers yeast is the signature flavour of the commercial. Be interested to hear your results using properly recultured stuff.
 
Lionman said:
Pretty much all Coopers beers are really bland and one dimensional anyway so I can't imagine why you would want to replicate it at home.
Coopers Sparkling ale and Best Extra Stout are one-dimensional? Can't agree with you there, I find both to be very enjoyable beers.
Ed: noticed you said "pretty much", still I think they're overall decent because as manticle suggested, the yeast lends a lot to the beers.
 
manticle said:
In my view, coopers yeast is the signature flavour of the commercial. Be interested to hear your results using properly recultured stuff.
Also interested. I'd love to try the real Coopers yeast on an English bitter--sort of Coopers Mild with a dash of caramel and English hops--but have been too lazy to do the culturing. I recall a rumour somewhere that White Labs Australian Ale yeast is the Coopers strain. Any truth in it?
 
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