Malter White

Is the wife away? Not the usual exotic, spicy dishes we see from you, Mick. Still looks the good though.

Hi all. Just offering a little feedback on these plastic kegs. The good: they are light, cheaper and at 20 litres will hold a couple of extra pints to a Corny. The not so good: their footprint is wider so harder to fit in fridge/esky and as you can see from this leaning tower of Pilsener they aren't very robust. This has only been filled and emptied twice. After soaking in hot tap water it's obviously softened the glue that holds the base on. In summation: they aren't a bad product but with the benefit of hindsight I'd spend $100 on one 19l Corny as opposed to getting two of these next time.

@ozdevil This is good reading. While you still have a way to go just take stock of what you've achieved already. You've dropped 12 fkn kgs! Imagine carrying around 7 tins of Cooper's extracts because that's what you were doing but now you're not. Brilliant! Keep at it.

Ever seen the movie Step Brothers?

Grab your scrotum and place on the bar

Of course! I did mention how bland those tins are.

Too late. Already done 23.

Members of Coopers online store only pay $15 for an Original Series tin plus $10 for BE2 plus free delivery once a month. Obviously the Thomas Cooper and International ranges are dearer. I'm also loath to add extra hops to the latter 2 ranges. I liken it to using Iced Vovos for a cheesecake base when a pack of Milk Coffees biscuits is suffice. They're already well hopped and 'supposedly' premium products, although my recent bugbear regarding the yeast change on Euro Lager would say otherwise.

We need to be mindful here of quantities. If you're using 50g, 100g or more in AG brews, well that's a different matter. As far as I'm aware @jennyss is extract brewing like myself. Extract brews are already pre-hopped, so 50g, 100g quantities for extracts are overkill IMO. I was careful to point out hops are "relatively" expensive. Using your pricing of $85/kg and using 50g would add $4.25 or 17% to the rough cost of a kit & kilo brew of $25. That is relatively expensive. It's not as expensive as buying a slab from the bottlo.

@jennyss I don't dry hop so I can't explain aroma fading and I seriously question the value dry hopping when brewers like @Classic Brewing Co suggest anything less than 50g is a waste of time. Relatively speaking, hops are expensive, so why blow 50g or more on an aroma that might not be there eventually? I do boil and steep hops though and also use PET bottles - have been for 6 years. I sometimes use as little as 15g of hops and can add a positive change to my brews. Is there hop fade? Not that I can tell. If there is it is far too negligible for me to notice. While I think the aesthetics of beer in glass is better than in plastic, I love the PETs because they are light, easier to cap, don't explode and you can get them delivered free from Coopers if you need them rather scrounging through recycling bins for glass ones. Do what suits you. Your beer, your choice.

Yes. Yes it would but our friend, @Journeyman, is like the Professor from Gilligan's Island who could build a radio from coconut shells but couldn't fix a hole in a boat.

I don't know any easy way. I just use what brute strength I have left in my almost arthritic hands. Can't say I've ever damaged the yeast packets though.

As with just about all "home brand" products, they're made by "brand" manufacturers. Some say it could be Morgan's. I don't know.

It's a bit like eggplant.

Exactly right, Paley. I've read so much about, "don't do this or don't do that", but taste is subjective and I need to find out for myself. I might just make a beer I like. Who knows until they try? If it doesn't turn out too well, I've SPLURGED a total of about $15 in the name of science. I spent that much on one beer in Singapore that tasted like an unwiped ar$e.

I'm about to find out but not with Coopers. On the journey of further experimentation I've just put down a tin of Woolies "Larger" with 800g of white sugar + 400g dextrose. Added 15g of hot steeped PoR hops because these WW tins are as bland as a cucumber sandwich. I'm not expecting award winning beer. My goal is to make a drinkable beer. If successful it'll equate to a slab (24 x 375ml) for $5.80. You could say $6 if I bottle it but I haven't decided if I'll bottle or keg it yet.

@jennyss For simplicity and cost I usually just add a 1.5kg tin of light malt extract and make it to 24 or 25 litres. Once bottled it comes in at low 4% range. IPA is already quite hoppy so I have never added extra hops to it. Personally I don't think it's necessary. It's a very nice, full flavoured beer.

A brand new beer mug I received the night this photo was taken (1987). A gift from the players and parents of the junior footy team I coached that year. I still have it somewhere, in the garage most likely.

I know that feeling. When I was a young man many people would say I looked like Kevin Bacon. These days I just look like bacon.

You'll have to renegotiate a higher salary at Black Hops now you're an award winning brewer. Well done, mate.

Only in relation to this change. The very simple Green Neck Lager recipe was one of my favourites but now it's Green Gills Ale.

No. The European lager was fine without hops added when it had lager yeast. The green neck lager recipe was great. That's no longer the case.

The spin was it was changed to make Euro lager more accessible to brewers without temp control. To the more cynical of us it was changed as a cost cutting measure. For those without temp control there's already Original Series lager with ale yeast.

Considering this is in a glass I've been drinking from all day and it's bottled beer the clarity and head are quite good. That's where the good ends. This is Coopers European lager which now has the "new and improved" ALE yeast included. Tastes like a coriander and dog turd smoothie. Thanks for nothin', Coopers.