Walkerlone - Reviews
Coopers Australian Bitter | May 26th 2014 | |
Very goodNot 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. |
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Coopers European Lager | May 18th 2014 | |
A perfectly good lager styleAs 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. |
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Coopers Sparkling Ale | 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. |
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Coopers Dark Ale | May 18th 2014 | |
LacklustreI 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. |
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Coopers India Pale Ale (IPA) | May 18th 2014 | |
One of the bestI 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. |