Smooth Red Ale

We really enjoyed this kit.  So far, it is our favourite of all the kits that we've tried.  We gave this one to several family members and friends and there is a pretty strong consensus that this is a favourite.  It has great flavour, is smooth, and easy to drink.  Ours had a strong fermentation, so you might want to consider a blow-off tube.

Update: We've made this a few times now and it's consistently delicious and smooth.  We like it much better than the Festa Brew Red. 

Crisp Summer Beer

When we first brewed this, we weren't impressed.  It tasted really bland.  We decided at the last minute to dry hop in the carboy for an extra week with 1/2 an oz. of Casade Hops.  It's actually really good now.  It's a nice summer beer that has an uplifting feel to it.  Funny how we went from feeling like we would never brew it again to definitely brewing again.

Good Staple Beer (Festa)

This is a beer that we will brew again and again.  It has a nice amount of hop character and goes down well.  We made 2 versions.  One, we made according to the directions, the second, we boiled 1/3 oz. of galaxy hops for 15 mins. in some of the wort, then added this to the rest of the wort.  Both are really good and there is a noticeable difference between the two, making them both a winning choice depending on your mood.

Un-real Ale!

I have made this kit a couple of times now and I will continue to go back for it. The only thing that I have done aside from the normal instructions was to steep 2C of honey malt for about 40 min and add it to the original mix. I find that this adds a really nice subtle honey note to it. The I have found that with this kit you can drink it after 2 weeks of conditioning but it only gets better with time so I suggest leaving it for at least 4 weeks before drinking and more if you can. When I brew it I start it at 26 degrees and put it on a Copper Tun which tends to lower it to 24 degrees over the span of about 2 days. If you are looking for a hoppy ale you will have to do some additions for sure but if you want an easy drinking ale this is it. 

Excellent Beer

Was given one of these FWK's for christmas liked what i read on the container.followed instructions as per label and fermented with bry 97.fermented as per normal and kegged.upon pouring have a nice aroma and slighly dark head.nice hints of chocolate..Recommend

Nice Product

This a very nice beer,not overly bitter.making instructions are easy.just a warning watch if you use Nottingham Yeast tends to get very active.this beer was kegged and poured very nicely..Recommend

Original Ale

1.7kg Coopers Real Ale,  1kg Coopers Brew Enhancer 2, supplied yeast.

Fermented it at around 25 degrees for 2 weeks, at the end of week 2 I added Gelatin and put the fermenter in the fridge to drop the sediment. It came out really clear with little to no cloudiness. 

This was my first homebrew and stoked with the outcome ready to drink after 2 weeks bottle conditioned, really good tasting beer. 

Brewferm Wheat Beer

This one was brewed with half a kilo of standard sugar.  Even so, it comes out as a top of the range beer for a kit, no problems at all, Brewferm produce some of the best kits on the market, that makes it a five out of five for me.  A final brew that had lager characteristics but was heading towards the complexity of  a wheat beer, albeit not up to Paulaner on draught in Germany, quite honestly it is spot on, couldn't recommend it more highly.

So far, so good

This is the first time I have made Muntons Yorkshire Bitter and I have to say, its spot on. Its only been in the barrel for a little over 3 weeks but it is as close to a Yorkshire bitter that i have managed to brew and living in Yorkshire I have had my fair shareof Yorkshire bitter! I made it with golden syrup rather than sugar and its made it really smooth and given it a lovely flavour. My only problem is trying not to drink it as I would say after a couple of months it'll be supurb . 

Surprisingly good

Made this one to spec using homemade dark Belgium candy sugar. At first I was concerned because the hydrometer was reading 1.02 when I bottled but I think my my hydrometer is off. After about 2 month conditioning I cracked one open and it's very dark with a brownish head that lasts. A bit strong but has some depth to it and now homebrew twang at all. Very satisfied and plan on trying it again.

Disapointment

Really looking forward to doing this kit as it had a high ABV of 4.5% followed the instructions as usual, stopped fermenting so,left it for a few days n then stirred to which it started fermenting left in primary for 3 wks because of the stalled fermention. Also thought the FG would of been a lot lower as ended finishing at 1012 the OG was 1040 giving 3.6% ABV 

so bit disappointed with this kit as low ABV it's conditioning now so have to,see how it tastes. Searched the net for others peoples take on this kit n all had the same OG and FG readings so think there miss selling the ABV ON THIS KIT

Follow my tips to get the best from this excellent kit

I've made this 5 times now and have been really pleased with the results. I would recommend brewing it a bit shorter, to 21l rather than Cooper's recommendation of 23l as I find this helps concentrate the flavours and prevents it tasting a bit 'thin'. I find best results from using 500g of brewing sugar (dextrose) and 500g of light dried malt extract (aka DME). If using the above quantities then batch prime your beer with 190g more dextrose a few hours before bottling. I've also used Young's beer finings with this kit (2 days prior to bottling) which results in a very clear, bright beer. Leave it at least a month before drinking, chilled with a wedge of lime. Very true to style and easy to brew.

Another excellent kit from Cooper's

If you like stout then you'll love this kit but beware that it can be very vigorous while fermenting so either stand your fermenting vessel in a bigger bucket or put some towels underneath it!

My preference is to brew the kit with 1kg of medium dried spray malt and 300g of raw cane sugar. I brew it short, to 21 litres and move it to a second fermentation vessel after a week in the primary one. After the second week it's ready for bottling but a few hours beforehand I draw off a small quantity into a saucepan and use this to dissolve 110g of black treacle which is then added back to the beer.

Made up as above this beer will be excellent after only a couple of weeks in the bottle but will really improve with more maturation time, say 2+ months, if you can resist it that long!

John Bull Bitter

A one can kit that gives a pint of standard bitter.  It's not brilliant but it's perfectly drinkable, reminds me of basic keg bitters, I have read elsewhere that it is a John Smith clone ... true or not, I don't know, but it is that sort of beer.  A light bitter, it would be perfect for a large batch brew for a summer party, BBQ or something like that, supplying beer for the boys sort of logic.  Quite honestly, for the price, and with a few weeks conditioning ... it's spot on.  I would do it again.

Festa Bock

I have made a number of these Festa Brews and the Bock is one of my favourites. The last one was fermented lager style (somewhat) in my cool basement last winter. I stored it in 500 ml PET brown bottles until friends of mine visited from Ontario. He loved it even more than his beloved Okocim - to the point whereupon his return home, he promptly purchased a kegerator and now enjoys Festa Bock, Red and numerous other home brewed beers. No longer is he a slave to the Beer Store and the LCBO brewopolies. Currently, I am fermenting a Festa Bock in true lager style - a modified fridge with a digital temperature controller. Time will tell if this will improve on what is already a superb product in the land where my 500 mL Festa costs me approx. $0.90 vs $3.20-$3.80 from the government robbers!  BTW, I also keg my Festa and Brewhouse beers, but prefer to bottle age my West Coast, Bock, Brewhouse Oktoberfest, or American Brown Ales (Brewhouse Munich Lager+yeast swaps). Since my kegs are only 5 US gallons vs 5 Imperial (18.5 l vs 23 l )I always run off the remainders in Grolsch 450 mL, 1500 mL Grolsch growlers, or PET 1L brown bottles.

excessive hop

This review is for the Mangrove Jack's lager  - not the Munich Lager - and I am not sure there is much diiference. Anyway to get a baseline, I used the recipe from the pouch, not can, to a "T", including the ale yeast that came with it. The result was an overhopped brew - not undrinkable - but not of a lager characteristic either. The IBU had to be in excess of my Festa West Coast India Pale Ale - around 46 IBU's. I am planning on modding a MJ Brown with a Nottingham yeast, some dry malt extract, Willamette hops and dextrose according to a mod I picked up from one of my brew group sites (Homebrew Talk, Canadian Homebrew, Brewnosers namely). The modifications put the kit into Brewhouse and Festa range, and unless it's as good, I won't be doing any more experiments with this range. I hope this one is better because I can't see trying the stock kit again.

Ho hum..but not quite dead yet!

I lagered this one with the stock S23 Fermentis yeast and have to say it's mediocre thus far. I say "thus far" as I lagered it in the fridge for about two months between 50-36F and then kegged it. My other half said it tasted "home brewey" which is a major slag on a beer little alone a Festa. We got through it, mainly by blending it with a Festa Pale Ale. The remaining bottles - approx. 10 450 mL Grolsch are continuing their lager adventure at approx. 50F for a few more weeks whereupon I will try one to see if any improvements happened. Stay tuned.

Yeast Swap

I brewed on of the Blondes with a Nottingham yeast in order to try to come up with a blonde ale as opposed to a lager. Henceforth, I switched out the S23 for a Nottingham yeast to compare it to a MicroBrew (Quebe's Brasse Frampton) 23 l wort. It turned out marginally better, but still was disappointed in the results. Definitely not up to the Festa standards and not a mod that will go on their blending chart.

Pilsner

I brewed this one a few times and it turned out fairly decent. I tried lagering it in a cool basement before I got my lager fridge set up and it was marginally better. It was better than my Festa Blonde Lager (see review) so far. I will do this one again with the lagering fridge and hopefully I will get decent results. I continue in my quest to find a beer for my other half that remembles Keith's - closest was a Festa Blonde Lager+Festa Pale mix. My quest for a lighter drink would be a beer resembling Stella, Grolsch, Heineken, DAB, Becks and other northern European lagers. Many brew snobs poo poo these beers, but I've had  quite a few brews in my travels, and these are my benchmarks for "light lager" hot weather beers. I do enjoy my trappists, porters, stouts, and myriad ales and can make great ones even better than most commericial products. I have yet however, become the Maestro Lagerlout able to replicate those beers.

Great Beer

I will concur with PEI Home Brewer that this is one of the best browns I have ever made. It's a staple in my kegerators, and bottle conditions exceptionally well. My American Brown Ale (Brewhouse Munich Dark w/Fest West Coast US 05 slurry) is the only one I have ever fermented that rivals and at times - beats this one. These beers are like having a harem - so much beauty and variety it's hard to be pleased with just one - although like a beer sultan, I do have my favourites! Modding and hacking has become necessary, and ultimately might lead me back to cooking my own recipes again. Might...maybe...