New DIY kit - a review

[SteveL]

* I have no affiliation with Coopers (apart from drinking their beer and making their home brew). These are my independent, uneducated, unsolicited, thoughts on the DIY kit.

 

I'm a beer dunce. Like it, yep. Appreciate it, certainly. But make it?

But here I am, sipping my delicious home brewed porter - a year ago the only porter I knew of was in a hotel lobby - so how did I get here?

The simple answer: Coopers.

After a year-long brewing life, I remain a kits and bits guy.

I know of IBUs, EBCs, AAs, BIABs, but don't pretend to understand them, let alone practice them.

For me, it's K&K (and bits) and PET all the way.

Two young children, limited space, even more limited time, and a lack of spare funds to ride that slippery slope to all grain ensure my status.

I'm more than content with that. I love the beer I make.

I have no doubt others home brewers make better beer. More power to them. But for my brewing status, simplicity is key.

Which is where the new Coopers DIY kit comes in.

My uneducated opinion is, it's a ripper: the design is simplicity personified.

From my, again uneducated and unverified, vantage point, Coopers folk seem to have had one goal when designing it: make it as simple and user friendly (ie idiot proof) as possible.

Compared to my 'old' Coopers fermenter, I reckon it has advantages.

Mainly, less risk of infection; reduced cleaning time; and the ability to witness clearly what is happening inside the fermenter.

The DIY fermenter sides are flat, and it has been designed with no grooves in the vessel where bacteria can hide.

And you can see through it. Massive plus. I can actually watch my beer develop. No more peering through condensation on the lid of the 'old' fermenter in the vain hope of getting a glimpse of progress.

The DIY tap: no thread. Again, reducing infection risk and reducing cleaning time. It's so easy to insert and clean.

The DIY 'krausen collar': To my mind, a master stroke. No more scrubbing hardened krausen from the 'old' fermenter once the brew is completed.

Simply remove the collar once the krausen has subsided and clean it while it's still moist - reducing effort.

And the DIY fermenter has no airlock. Erases the newbie home brewer's main worry: why isn't it bubbling?

Instead, rely - and, for the first time, see clearly - the visible characteristics of fermentation (krausen, lid condensation, sediment on the base).

Other features include the plastic hydrometer. Brilliant. After my first glass one was dropped within hours of getting a kit, the advantage is obvious. And it's easier to read.

To sum up, I was happy with the 'old' fermenter. I'm absolutely rapt with the new one.