Beer82 Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 Can someone please tell me why coopers supplies a brew enhancer one in there diy kits (I have 3 now) with there lager and the lager that comes in the kit says it should have brew enhancer 2. In fact I have not seen one of the coopers brew's that reqiure a brew enhancer 1 they are all either brew enhancer two or threee except for the british lager which are 500grams of light dry malt. Why is this? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lab Cat Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 Old kit stock probably. They only recently changed from recommending BE1, to BE2. 1 doesn't really add anything flavour wise. I brew all my kits with dry malt as brew kits make very thin tasting beer for my tastes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbot-67 Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 I just bought the kit and had been wondering the same. Looked through recipes and the other extracts and found nothing which uses Enhancer 1. Guessing you can just use it to experiment along with some dry malt and or hops, which is what I intend to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lab Cat Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 I can't remember the exact make up, 600 Dex and 400 maltodextrin? The other kits have less dex and dry malt extract You can use the BE1 to kick up the ABV without adding any other flavours. You can let the malt and hops do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbot-67 Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 I've just been looking for a recipe for my first brew, using the English Bitter extract and found this one Extra Smooth Bitter 1 × English Bitter (1.7kg) 1 × Coopers Brew Enhancer 1 (1kg) 1 × Coopers Carbonation Drops (250g) 1 × 200g Molasses Ideal for me and uses the BE1, even found some Molasses in the fridge that needs using up.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus O'Sean Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 The following Coopers recipes use BE1 Blushing Blonde - Also has 500g Frozen Berries Extra Smooth Bitter - Also has 200g Molasses Irish Ale - Also has 300g Golden Syrup Lawnmower Lager Strawberry Blonde - Also has 325g Honey Unreal Ale - Also has 500g LDM I have only done the Unreal Ale. However, I added 200g of steeped light crystal grains. This made a really nice beer. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_G Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 9 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said: I have only done the Unreal Ale. Must admit the Ale kit is very useful ... on it's own with 1kg LDM and it makes a very acceptable 4%ish beer and pimped up one can make some very good brews with it ... it is a good base ... 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beervis Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 It is a nice kit.. I wonder, does anyone know if it's based on a commercial beer they no longer produce? I wonder that with some of their kits. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 10 minutes ago, Beervis said: It is a nice kit.. I wonder, does anyone know if it's based on a commercial beer they no longer produce? I wonder that with some of their kits. The only link I've noticed with it in regard to the commercial brews is that the Real Ale flavour(s) are an important component of Vintage Ale. It has me suspect Vintage Ale may well have started out (or still is) a blended beer. Just my 20 cents, Lusty. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 Recently in my local Big W I've seen a cheaper (maybe $65?) version of the Coopers DIY kit, which I believe is just the equipment without any ingredients. I think this is a great idea as you can then grab whatever fermentables you like from the shelf immediately above, rather than having to figure out what to do with the OS Lager and BE1. Cheers, John 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Jones Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 When first started brewing about 12 months ago I was glad to get the full kit with all bits and pieces. If I had just the FV I would not have known what to do or how to progress. The instructions in the kit along with the correct ingredients allowed me to get going instead of having to source the ingredients I new very little about. Subsequently being able to buy an additional FV, ingredients etc singly as required, I agree, is a good move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beervis Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 They've got both at my Big W, I wonder if they're just providing an easier way for more experienced brewers to replace some of their gear without having to pay shipping. Personally I reckon they should ship it with a nicer kit. Nothing wrong with the Lager I actually quite like its flavour, just that lawn mower beer is bland and ordinary and if you don't know any better, which lets face it many people won't, they'll drink that and believe all the stories they've heard about how nasty home brew is. Bootmaker and a boc of BE3 and LDM, for the win! Only issue is it'd make it heavier. And more expensive I guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 The debate on whether the DIY kit should be shipped with a different kit is a constant point of discussion. My view is that most people who transition into home brewing for the first time generally come from the megaswill family of drinkers, thus the ideal kit for them to first come in contact with for a home brew is probably something like the OS lager or OS draught. There has been a shift in the commercial market toward acceptance of more ale orientated beers in recent years that I think Coopers would even admit to, so maybe the AUS Pale Ale tin will end up in that space one day. I personally think the death of the old termed "Draught" beer is inevitable as beer develops & palates change. The advent of the the craft FV was likely aimed at those drinkers who like more flavour forward beers, but probably enjoy savouring smaller quantities of these higher ABV types than the typical drinking habits of the megaswillers. Just my 20 cents, Lusty. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_G Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 12 minutes ago, Beerlust said: There has been a shift in the commercial market toward acceptance of more ale orientated beers in recent years Strange that you say that ... as an old timer who grew up in Sydney in the 60's and coming of drinking age in the 70's nearly all the beers were ales ... Black, Brown and Reschs were all ales ... Reschs Pilsner was only available in bottles at the time and most of the bottled beers were ales as well, DA (Dinner Ale) Flag Ale, ... the only lager on tap was New ... it was later that things like KB became popular in the mid 70's ... personally I have always preferred ales with one notable exception Pilsner and much much later the rice beers of Asia ... but never really been a fan of Dutch or German lager ... The only other lager, apart from Pils, I have liked was Harp from Ireland ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 (edited) 53 minutes ago, MartyG1525230263 said: Strange that you say that ... as an old timer who grew up in Sydney in the 60's and coming of drinking age in the 70's nearly all the beers were ales ... Black, Brown and Reschs were all ales ... Reschs Pilsner was only available in bottles at the time and most of the bottled beers were ales as well, DA (Dinner Ale) Flag Ale, ... the only lager on tap was New ... it was later that things like KB became popular in the mid 70's ... personally I have always preferred ales with one notable exception Pilsner and much much later the rice beers of Asia ... but never really been a fan of Dutch or German lager ... The only other lager, apart from Pils, I have liked was Harp from Ireland ... Yup times change Marty. I'm not old enough to know what was around pre-70's, but my first experiences in the 70's were the draught (on tap) beers converted into bottle stock under the same premise. (i.e. you were taking home draught poured beer in a bottle). These beers were lager yeast fermented beers & different to the European stuff in the way they were produced. The prominent beers in that space here in South Australia were West End Draught, Victoria Bitter, & Southwark Bitter from my early memories of family gatherings etc. There were a few off-shoots of those beers, but they were the mainstays I noticed regularly. My earlier comment about the "inevitable death of draught beer" comes from my observations around a couple of well known CUB beers & how the brewery has promoted them over the years. They being Crown Lager & Fosters Lager. Fosters lager died in this country after the 80's, but survived overseas on the back of the image of it & it's link to Australia. Domestically Crown Lager no longer has any off-premise support by CUB (at least here in SA) & I personally find that quite remarkable for the beer it has always been touted as by the brewery. I know the brewery was sold to overseas interests not too long back & their global visions don't match domestic realities etc. Global consolidation is BS (IMHO), & good on Coopers for not selling out to those b@$!@%)$ when push came to shove a number of years back. Sorry Coopers for the chat about beers outside your great ales. It's just something I've found very interesting over my life & 20 years in the commercial space. Lusty. Edited July 9, 2019 by Beerlust 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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