Reviews

Continental Pilsner elreplica August 19th 2014

Fest Pils redux

I recently lagered and kegged a Festa Continental Pils, augmented with a 12G hit of Saaz hops whilst in between a cook session. It was refreshing a better than I remembered making it a couple years back - both at my bud's U Brew in Ontario and in my basement. I cold crashed it for two months in my spare kegerator and have to say I am really enjoying this one - still got some in the keg and awaiting the swapped out cold crashing Festa Pale and bottle conditioning Imperial Blonde Ale clone cook. It's definitely good enough to keep me out of the government monopolized liquor stores, searching down my way overpriced DAB, Heineken, Stella, Grolsch fixes.

Cerveza elreplica August 19th 2014

Phona Corona

I brewed up one of these back in 2005 using the shitty Coopers ale yeast, and re-bottled them in Corona bottles. After popping the brown generic caps, popping a slice of lime in the neck and feeding my guests many rounds, they couldn't believe I was giving them ersatz Coronas! I did the Festa one as well, and found it good. The Brewhouse one I might try again  - this time lagering with S23 or a decent smack pak - and seeing if they "Won't Get Fooled Again". I will mark it high from memory lol.

Imperial Blonde Ale elreplica August 19th 2014

Liquid goodness

I was given one of these kits by Gail Smith, the local owner of Wine Kitz here in Bridgewater, NS. It consists of two cans extract, specialty grain, US Safale 05 yeast packet, crown caps, grain cheesecloth sock for steeping, and three packets of hops. The instructions are foolproof and well laid out. I followed them to a "t" to get a baseline for my first boil. This kit, although a bit pricey, is an excellent introduction into brewing for a newbie. Its content and process allows one to successfully discover the joys of brewing. I won't say "home brewing"' because the resultant product this kit yields is truly awesome. Moderately strong in alcohol (7.4% ABV) rich in mouthfeel, malty but balanced with the hops, this beer will impress the non-Miller,Fosters,Molson crowd. If their other kits produce beer as good, their line is definitely a winner. This IBA, my first, inspired me to seek a Beersmith to clone the recipe. It's bottled now and awaiting some aging for the Fall cool down here as it's too good to blast out through my kegerator and I'd never be able to hold off keg age this delectable barley soup.

Muntons Gold 3kg Continental Pilsner james.mchugh.319 August 19th 2014

MUNTONS GOLD 3KG CONTINENTAL PILSNER

The  best beer I have done so far did beer as per insturctions did to around 21,1/2 litres, but what made this beer extra special I dry hopped in the Keg for 4 days using 25g Galxy hop pellets in grain bag then filtered into another Keg and left for 2 weeks. and I swear you will have a beer that is similar to james squires Fifty lashes pale ale, but more fruity and crisp try this you will not be dissapointed.

Black Rock Export Pilsener Perks123 August 13th 2014

Loving it!

Binned the kit yeast, added two sachets Mangrove Jacks M84 Bohemian Lager yeast. Adjunct 300g dex, 1kg Brewblend 20. Primary for three weeks, in the middle of winter, temp less than 14oC throughout. Recommendation is to secondary for at least seven weeks. At four-five weeks, I tried one, decent, but a little rough around the edges. At six weeks plus, gave another one a go, and it has come into its own. Colour is nudging EBC 10, which is slightly on the ale side for a lager. The mouthfeel is so gentle and palate-cleansing, like a sorbet after a good dinner. Taste is a nice balance between fruit and hops. The only change I'll make next year is to add some Saaz to finish.

Mangrove Jack's Belgian Ale Perks123 August 13th 2014

A trusty pal

My first kit brew after not brewing for some years. It was also the first time I had tried something other than Cooper's. Adjunct 1kg Brewblend 15 (dex/md mix). Primary took a week, Copper Tun finings added for the last 24h. I've been necking them from around three weeks secondary in glass. Nice coppery EBC 12 colour, spectacular if enjoyed in the setting sun. Nice hit of bitterness, and quite complex underlying flavours. Excellent clarity from the finings. It's not going to win awards, but I love it as an everyday tipple.

Bacchus APA - Fresh Wort Deanco August 5th 2014

Love this APA!

First time i have done this wort kit - i used 60 gams of the suggested dry hops mentioned on the craftbrewers website - i did this on day 5 and kegged it on day 10. Drinks very very well. 

Coopers Mexican Cerveza Microwes August 3rd 2014

One of my favorites

I have only made this kit once but truely is one of my favorite brews so far. I took the advice of many others and brewed this to 21L rather than 23L as per instructions. I used 500g of brewing sugar (dextrose) and 500g of light dried malt extract. I left the fermentation at 22 C for 3 weeks. I then transfered this to a secondary bucket to get rid of sediment and then I directly bottled the beer adding 2 coopers carbonation drops to each bottle (500 mL bottles). It is very much a summery beer with really nice flavours, great with a slice of lemon or lime. This batch wont last very long as its so tasty im sure I will drink it all quite quickly!

Coopers English Bitter bobthebrewer July 6th 2014

Cooper's English Bitter II

An update following my previous review.

After THREE whole months in the barrel, the beer has mellowed and become drinkable.  Considering the price of the kit, and if you are willing to wait, okay, it's an okay pint for the money, but it's not a beer that will keep pulling you back for more, acceptable is about the most flattering adjective that I could throw at it.  I still think that this beer is not true to style, it's beer, but it is not English bitter.  I haven't increased the score because I wouldn't bother buying this kit again, there are better ones out there where you get a decent result and don't have to wait three months.

Coopers European Lager kelod July 3rd 2014

Lager yeast

 

I brewed this kit twice, first with NZ enhancer no 60 that was very good with Mangrove Jack's Munich Lager, second time 2 Coopers Eu Lager kit toped up to 25l.

The second was better, good body that's sure.

Briefly: if you are a budget brewer who try to brew Lagers with kits own yeast, this will be your best brew. Simply because this kit has lager yeast, and other lager kits come with ale yeast (any brand I have seen).

On the other hand I do not think this kit has the potential to make a really good beer.

 

I do appreciate Coopers was brave enough to supply this yeast with this kit. Hope other companies will follow this practice. 

Muntons Premium Gold Smugglers Premium Bjergbryg June 26th 2014

Incredible.

One of the best Beer-kits I have made....

I added 250g of spraymalt - OG 1055 - FG 1017. App 5.1 vol. %

I used Mangrove Jacks Newcastle dark ale yeast instead of the standard.

Started 08-06-2014.

10 days fermenting and cooling in fridge for the last 3 days - then bottled and set to carbonate for 1 week.

Tasted it today - what a beer :-) already really good and clear with fine balanced bitternes - this will be even better after 2 weeks or more in the fridge.

Highly recommended

 

Coopers Australian Bitter Walkerlone May 26th 2014

Very good

Not every beer is good enough to share with mates.  This one is definitely an exception.  I made this with a can of light malt extract in accordance with the instructions, using Safale S-04 yeast instead of the packet yeast that comes with the kit, and brewed it at 22ºC.  The result, after two months' bottle conditioning, is a clean but complex tasting and very competent Australian-style beer.  Certainly, this beer has an interesting "thickness," a kind of substantial feel to it as you drink it, and a very professional taste and colour that is the equal to many of the trendy craft beers currently on offer at a bottle shop.

As with most beer kits, I don't detect any significant hop aroma to this beer and I suggest the addition of 50g of hop pellets would be an improvement.  Otherwise, this is a very good kit and well worth making.

Coopers European Lager Walkerlone May 18th 2014

A perfectly good lager style

As with most Coopers kits, this is a good, workmanlike beer.   I brewed it with Safale S04 ale yeast and 1kg Brew Booster (Dextrose, Maltodextrin, Light Malt) and added one of those 12g bags of Saaz hop.  These kits are ALL really quite underhopped and I didn't improve it noticeably with only 12g of hops.  Next time I would add 50g - at least 2g for every litre of brew.  I let it bottle condition for two months and it was crisp and satisfying, although of course not as aromatic as I hoped because of the lack of hops to start with.  I recommend this kit.  

Coopers Sparkling Ale Walkerlone May 18th 2014

The best of them all.

I first brewed this kit using only 1kg Super Brew (Dextrose, Maltodextrin, Light Malt) just to see what it would be like without the usual pimping with malty sugars and extra hopping.  I did use Safale S04 Ale yeast instead of the sachet of yeast that comes with the kit.  After at least two months' bottle conditioning the result is a crisp, tasty beer that never fails to quench the thirst of the discerning beer-swiller.  I'd have to say this has become my favourite kit.  It can be improved with the addition of at least 50g hops.  I am now using Amarillo, Pride of Ringwood, Citra, Centennial, whatever I think might be interesting.  As I have said in other reviews, these kits (whilst otherwise great - especially the Coopers ones) are chronically underhopped and its necessary to add at least 2g hops for every litre of brew.  This in my opinion really is the best of all the Coopers kits I have made so far and I strongly recommend it.

Coopers Dark Ale Walkerlone May 18th 2014

Lacklustre

I made up this kit using Safale S04 Ale yeast, and added 500g malt extract in addition to the usual 1kg dextrose.  The result after two months' bottle conditioning was a very ordinary ale.  After three months in the bottle, this beer is a little better, but I won't be making this one again.  It has not lived up to its promise (in my mind) of a rich, tasty, fortifying dark ale with substance to it.  This kit may be of use in place of a brewing sugar in a stout brew, but as the base of a dark ale kit it does not stand for itself.

Coopers India Pale Ale (IPA) Walkerlone May 18th 2014

One of the best

I decided to brew this after trying a pint of Hop Hog at The Brewery, Wollongong.  I added 25g of each of Amarillo and Citra hop pellets, and used a Dry Dark Malt brewing sugar.  I also brewed this kit with Safale S04 Ale yeast.  Somehow I managed not to drink any until it was three months in the bottle, but the wait was worth it!  A rich, aromatic deeply copper-coloured ale which felt substantial and really worth the effort.  Along with Coopers Sparkling Ale this is right at the top of my list of favourite beer kits.  I did make this kit without pimping it up with extra hops, and decent brewing sugar and found it to be perfectly alright.  However, these extra things seem to make a lot of difference.  I strongly recommend this kit.

India Pale Ale elreplica May 16th 2014

BH IPA

Made this kool aid kit a couple times now and was pleasantly surprised for a $30 kit. Actually most of the BH kits turn out pretty good for me. The only one that didn't turn out for me was the American Premium Lager (or ale - can't remember). Bottled and kegged this and have to say it holds its own against Festa - and a lot cheaper where I am on the East Coast of Canada. (bought on sale for $29)

Coopers English Bitter bobthebrewer May 11th 2014

Cooper's English Bitter

Done according to kit & kilo.  I don't like this one at all, the hops are overly aggressive to the point where the brew is actually acidic from the alpha acids in the hops. This is not a fermentation problem, it is actually the hops.  I mean we are in sucking on lemons territory here.  I don't think that the kit respects the beer style either, English bitter is just not acidic.  Nope, I really don't like this beer. 

On the positive side, the yeast provided with the kit did its job very well.  The beer coming out of the barrel definitely looks the part, lovely colour and good head retention too. 

Were I to do the kit again, I would give the wort a quarter of an hour boil to soften up the hop profile, it might work. 

Hammer of Thor bobthebrewer May 11th 2014

Bulldog Hammer of Thor

I reckon the Bulldog kits are the best kits available.  Extremely easy to do, just put the malt extract in your bucket and away you go.  And the results are there too, Hammer of Thor gets a five out of five for me for the simple reason that my neighbours enjoy drinking it.  Don't expect to get German Pilsner lager out of the kit, it more so resembles a strong Belgian beer than a lager, it is quite fruity and has more of an ale profile.  Suits me.

Old Flemish Brown bobthebrewer May 11th 2014

Oud Vlaams Bruin

Last bottle went down after six months in the cellar ... best kit beer I have ever drunk.  Magnificent, if this is home-brew, I am not going to buy commercial beer ever again.

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