Coopers Bitter

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Total Reviews 34  
Average Rating
3.44 stars - based on 34 reviews
Description

ORIGINALS

 
Homebrew For Beginners eBook | The Ultimate Home Brewers Recipe Book, 641 Home Brew Recipes
February 9th 2015
3/5 stars
#1847

Coopers Bitter

Its getting better with time, but definitly not my favorite bitter, or kit in general.  Definitly not bad enough that I wont drink it though.  Brewed to kit instructions.
September 2nd 2014
2/5 stars
#1823

Bottom dollar beer
December 2nd 2011
4/5 stars
#1698

Every Bitter winner

Coopers English Bitter kit. Brewed the kit with 1kg of BE#2, 0.5kg of LDME, kit yeast to 21 litres, primary for 7 days at 20 deg. I have just tasted this after 1 week in secondary with 50% priming and it is delicious. Remarkable colour, good bitterness & head. Smooth as. ABV is about 5%. I could have a good session on these, hope to keep my hands off a few & let them age a bit more!
November 13th 2011
4/5 stars
#1686

Extra smooth bitter

Tweaked Coopers' ESB recipe: 500g LDME, 300g Dex, 150g Molasses, kit yeast. SG 1044 FG 1012, brewed at 24°C, bottled after 5 (!) days. After 3 months in the bottle it's a great bitter. Will make again, but next time with less molasses (darkens the beer and adds too much flavour) and more LDME (it's a very bitter kit). Will also use Safale S04 yeast and add boil 15g Styrian Goldind for 15 minutes for flavour and dry hop with 15g Styrian Golding for 5-7 days for aroma. Great kit with proper bitternes, but can be improved.
September 29th 2011
5/5 stars
#1662

Best beer ever!

Third post for the English Bitter kit. Brewed two batches both with White Labs WLP005 British Ale Yeast, 250g of crystal malt, 30 grams of Fuggles and E K Golding hops all steeped for 30 minutes. Added 1kg of un-hopped Lager malt to one batch and 1kg of un-hopped Amber malt to the other. Brewed for 2 weeks at 21 degrees celcius, then bottled. This is without doubt the best beer I have ever made, on par with the fresh wort stuff if not better. I preferred the one made with Amber malt myself, but both were superior beers. Be careful to add only half the normal amount of dextrose when bottling as the extra grain really aids the head retention and if this beer is too carbonated, they are next to impossible to poor without getting heaps of head and froth.
September 29th 2011
4/5 stars
#1663

Extra Smooth Recipe

Tried the Extra Smooth Bitter recipe from the Coopers website. Brewed two batches both following my recipe below but this time I also added 200 grams of molasses. The extra molasses did smooth some of the bitterness and certainly made the beer much smoother and creamier on the pallet. However the molasses was quite overpowering in aroma, cancelling out the extra hops I added and almost masked the extra malt added. The molasses also noticeably darkened the colour of the beer. I think 200 grams of molasses is at the up most end of how much you could add with out changing the basic characteristics of the beer.
August 9th 2011
5/5 stars
#1600

Really nice Ale

 Wow! What a great tasting ale, resembles Fullers ESB! Brewed with 500g of Muntons medium spray malt and 700g of High malt glucose. Brought up to 20L. Fermented at 21C for 8 days primary, then directly to bottle. Came out really clear even after a few days in the bottles. Amazing flavor, mild bitterness and clean dry finish. One of my best kit brews to date. The only thing I would add would be some aroma hops next time. That would make it a truly wonderful ale! Cheers!
July 6th 2011
3/5 stars
#1533

Coopers English Bitter

This review is for the Coopers International Series English Bitter. A good base but lackluster with nothing else added. On opening the can aroma hops were noticeable, but must have gassed off during fermentation. Medium to low mouthfeel. Not enough malt sweetness to carry the bitterness. If I brewed this again I would add 1.5kg of LDME, a handful (~150g) of steeped crystal, and a teabag of EKG or fuggles to prop up the aroma
April 23rd 2011
4/5 stars
#1472

Trans Atlantic Ale

 This is a new review of the Cooper English Bitter. I thought I should do this with an American twist with 25gms of cascade hops in a 30min boil with 500gms of LDM, plus half a bag of BE2 and 3packs of Coopers yeast. This is a big improvment on the kit and has real potential for an ever better brew with a good dose of dry hopping with either cascade or galaxy hops and a US05 yeast. The skys the limits wiht this kit even if Coopers did'nt intend it to be.
April 17th 2011
5/5 stars
#1406

but.....I added extra and now WOW! It was GREAT

Second post for the English Bitter kit. Brewed with kit yeast, 500g of Coopers light dry malt plus 500g of dextrose and this time added 12 grams of Morgans Fuggles finishing Hops (the tea bag) steeped for 30 min's then added to wort, bag and all. Brewed for 2 weeks between 21 and 24 degrees celcius, then bottled. Still quite hoppie at 3 weeks but the fuggles make a heap of difference! This kit is almost perfect! Would LOVE to try the Coopers Extra Smooth Bitter recipe from their website or with crystal malt. If you have please let us know.
February 28th 2011
5/5 stars
#1353

Tasty and SMOOTH!

This review is for the Coopers International Series English Bitter. I brewed the kit, 500g light dry malt extract, 450g brew enhancer 1 and 3 table spoons of molasses to 23 litres with the kit yeast. I carbed some longnecks with just one coopers carb drop, effectively halving the carbonation. I preferred the lower carbed beers overall. The taste was great even just after a week and a half in the bottle. A nice deep red coloured ale, with beautiful caramel tastes. Overall a beautiful, smooth brew which I will certainly do again.
January 29th 2011
3/5 stars
#1337

Good pint, but.........

This is for the English Bitter kit as well. Hard as hen’s teeth to find! Brewed with kit yeast, 500g of Coopers light dry malt plus 500g of dextrose for an alcohol content of around 5 per cent. Brewed for 2 weeks then bottled. Tasted at 2 weeks for a sample then at 6 months and it still had the same elements of taste, but had mellowed heaps. Beautiful rich red ruby in colour, not much, if any, aroma but a head that clung to the sides of my pint glass with every sip. For me it was heaps better than the Brewcraft English Bitter but there was still something missing. Don’t get me wrong though this is a good drop, but like the painter says below, it does get a bit boring by the third pint. What extra to add? Who knows? Try and let us know.
January 27th 2011
3/5 stars
#1333

Needs something

 This is the English Bitter kit. Was really looking forward to this one, as I had heard many nice things about it. After a little over a month in the bottle, it's missing......something. Mouthfeel maybe? Head disapates quickly. I'm guessing those are POR hops, was hoping for Fuggles or EKG. Maybe, like another reviewer mentioned, it needs more time to smooth out the sweetness. If I do this one again, I'd consider some crystal and UK hops for flavor.
December 18th 2010
3/5 stars
#1305

Coopers Bitter

 Brewed to can intructions using coopers brewing sugar, brewed at a tempreture of 24 degrees using kit yeast bottled for 2 months. I found it very drinkable keeps a rather large head very nice bitter would do again
June 23rd 2010
2/5 stars
#1172

English Bitter

 this is a review using the Coopers English Bitter from the International range. Second time I have done this, first was per directions using 500gms of LDM and kit yeast at 21C. Not to bad after three weeks in kegs, but a tad boring by the third pint. I guess it was the lack of alcohol. Second time used BE2 to give a higher alcohol content and 2 packets of Coopers yeast @ 21C. This I found to be a little bit better but not by much, even after 6 weeks in the kegs. Both could use a good dose of dry hopping. An American Pale Ale kit would have been a better choice for Coopers to release, keeping with modern tastes, ie: FAT YAK. Note: both brews didn't clear that well, almost brown ale looking rather than ruby red.
December 21st 2009
4/5 stars
#1082

springstaster

Very nice kit. Hated it when I bottle fermented it though because it took alot longer than usual (good 6-8 weeks to draw off sweetness and make it a true bitter. With kegging this though it's always good. I like to add 1/2 to 1 oz of Citra Hops in keg as a dry hop in a nylon bag when I keg (The results are heavenly).
December 1st 2009
3/5 stars
#1069

Withdrawn

Coopers Bitter has been withdrawn and no longer available (This was the retail product often found Woolies, Coles etc). Coopers Australian Bitter in the green can is still available at brewing stores.
February 1st 2009
1/5 stars
#932

What a shocker

Second Brew I made and nearly turned me off home brewing for certain. Added Coppers BE 1, 23 litres and kit yeast. Fermented for 8 days at about 22 degrees. After two months it is disgusting, far too bitter and thick mouth feel. Would never make again.
December 27th 2008
3/5 stars
#915

Coopers Bitter

I used this with 600g dextrose, 200g maltodextrin and 200g light dried malt as well as 200g of steeped lager grain. Hopping was 10g Fugges for 15 minutes, with another 10g dry in the fermenter for a week. Bottled conditioned with white sugar, its turned out bitter and nicely hoppy without being overkill. I think it will improve with time as it is still quite young, but I'm giving it nothing special this time around - possibly because the kit was out of date. 3 stars; worth doing again with different ingredients to see what happens.
January 30th 2008
4/5 stars
#813

Good Drop

I've brewed four of these now, has become my staple. It is very dark and carries the traditional bitter style flavour with good head. I have added 27L of water to my next one to lighten the colour a bit, I am using brown sugar 1kg and 250g of dextrose for the extra water (dissolved on the stove). The brown sugar carries molasses so it gives better malty flavour and body than dextrose alone. I am interested to see and will post on my experiment with the 27L.
January 25th 2008
3/5 stars
#812

Bitter Biotch Bites Back

k&k std. Initially filthy on Coopers kits due molestation propensity. Some kits palatable if nuzzled crib-bound but Coopers fortune cookies require trainee moustache, groiny down. Unless kevlar throated sub 6 week fondles grief-givers, yet, post three fortnights Coopers imbibage hero-suited equivalent, face melting side-effects.
October 11th 2007
4/5 stars
#772

WOW talk about bitter made it with about 3 pounds of lme and 1 pound of glucose = it is very very bitter. That being said i like it very dark - and everyone around here loves it. Being in Canada I think it is a novelty - but it is a good beer to have in the mix
August 13th 2007
4/5 stars
#754

Brilliant

Made with 700g LDME, 300g DDME, 200g Dex, 100g Crystal, 25g EK Goldings and 12g S-04 yeast. Steeped the grain for 30 mins, strained into pot, then boiled everything for 10 mins and topped up to 21 ltrs. Fermented at 19c for 7 days, kegged and gassed for 2 days. Brilliant English style bitter that is already clear with good head retention and plenty of flavour. Good value beer that I'll make again.
July 22nd 2007
3/5 stars
#749

Ok

1 can coopers bitter, Brew enhancer 2, kit yeast at about 21degrees. After 2 months in the bottle its ok but not really to my tastes. Maybe make sure you like the style before brewing. The head on the beer is excellent.
June 25th 2007
3/5 stars
#726

Mixed feelings about this

Used 500g Spagnols American Dry Gold Dry Light Dry Malt Extract (that's what it says on the package) + 400g dextrose. OG=1.032 at 24°C and used kit yeast. Transferred day day 25 SG=1.008 at 18°C. Totally got sidetracked and bottled day 51 FG=1.004 at 20°C. Primed with 1 cup household sugar. Not bad - very carbonated and nice frothy (and lasting) head and golden brown colour. Recommend at 7°C but thought bitters were supposed to be kinda flat? Enjoy it on it's own terms, I guess. Will try again with less tardiness and see what changes. Think I messed up, to be honest.
May 21st 2007
5/5 stars
#695

Quality drop

1 x Coopers Bitter, 1kg Coopers BE2, kit yeast. Brewed at 20c on average for 9 days. Carbonated with Coopers drops. After 5 weeks in the bottle I am amazed at how good this beer tastes already!!! The head stayed put all the way down to the bottom of the glass. A nice smooth creamy bitter beer that leaves you wanting more!
February 7th 2007
4/5 stars
#630

a good base

Made this one up for something different, with brew enhancer 1(Can't remember which one), 100g choc grain and 20g goldings (dry hopped). Turned out pretty nice. I find the bitterness is just right to compliment the aroma/flavouring hops. I'll use this one again for sure, just with a different recipe.
December 13th 2006
4/5 stars
#606

Very drinkable bitter

Made this after a break from brewing. Used 1kg of LDME and the kit yeast. Left to ferment for 10 days at 18 degrees. OG 1041, FG 1010. Turned out a very nice beer. Was surprisingly drinkable at 3 weeks and really good at 6. Probably won't last a lot longer than that. It's a nice deep copper colour, and a good head which lasts all the way down. A nice, clean bitter taste. Can easily have a session on this. Planning on making it again with a tin of Cooper's Amber liquid malt.
November 30th 2006
4/5 stars
#591

Coopers Bitter

Did this using 1.5kg of the tin plus 2 sachets of Coopers yeast pitched @ 26degC to a volume of 11.5L in a MSB fermenter. Nothing else - brewed @ around 20deg for 7 days & bottled. OG 1038 FG 1010. Not a session beer, but one to sip with a nice cigar. Have just put down another, but used 1.6kg of tin contents & anticipating an even better ale.
March 11th 2006
4/5 stars
#479

not everyone's cup of tea but I really like this can, it's an english style bitter so it is supposed to be (relatively) dark last time i did it with 500g ldme and 500g medium crystal, 25g fuggles made to 20L and fermented with WLP051, turned out great
January 3rd 2006
1/5 stars
#435

Absolute slop

Absolute crap. Brewed with a brew enhancer 2(coopers) primary 7 days, secondary 7 days. 24 degrees temperature. 6 weeks in the bottle so bitter almost undrinkable. Very bitter leaves aftertaste that can ruin the rest of your session on decent beer. Should be discontinued truly disgraceful.
February 8th 2005
3/5 stars
#189

Not a real bitter

I have to agree that this is not a true bitter, resembles more a dark ale. Not entirely bad however. Actually not too bad at all. Quite drinkable... May try it again with Pride of Ringwood hops to give it a bit of bite.
January 25th 2005
2/5 stars
#147

Least favourite

Least favourite of the coopers kits. Was my 2nd brew and i followed the instrustions without modification. Final product is nothing like most brewry bitters (not necesserily a bad thing). A bit too dark and rich for my liking, and it was actually mistaken for a dark ale by a mate. Better head retention than some coopers kits. Had worse beers, and is still quite drinkable, but not really a session beer.
January 9th 2005
3/5 stars
#6

My 2nd Brew

This was only my second attempt at a k&k. Made exactly to the recipe with a kilo of sugar, the only thing I did was to rack to secondary and then rack to bulk prime (with sugar). Cracked a bottle on the weekend after 2 weeks and it tastes ok, not a lot of head retention, hope this will improve, quite a dark colour, nice aroma. Quite drinkable, will probably try another one with an enhancer. Mick
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