Kip Posted October 9, 2004 Share Posted October 9, 2004 This is probably the wrong website to ask this question; but... Has anyone tried a Cascade kit? Which one? What is it like? Kip c41977 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kai Posted October 9, 2004 Share Posted October 9, 2004 I've got a Cascade Spicy Ghost in secondary, going to bottle tonight. I made it with a Coopers Lager kit It's nothing stellar, and it's been a bloody long time in the making because I tried to do it as a lager (fermenting down around 15\xb0C) and it developed some unsavoury yeasty flavours that have taken a couple weeks in secondary to mellow out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Posted December 17, 2004 Author Share Posted December 17, 2004 G'day Kai, Some follow-up on your Cascade experience. I tried the Golden harvest lager and noticed the of yeast stench as I was bottling, but the instructions warn about this. At 4 weeks it was still somewhat skunky, so I left it alone. At 10 weeks it's cleaned up into a good average, summer lager style with a quite bitter finish. Good icy cold on a hot day, but certainly not to everyone's taste. Kip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kai Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 I cocked mine up a bit and overprimed. It's a wee bit fizzy, but beyond that I wasn't terribly impressed with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossm Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 why would you even bother? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kai Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 Because I wanted to see what they were like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiposs Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Hi Kip I've tried all the Cascade kits, the Golden Harvest Lager was a bit too wheaty for my liking, the Chocolate Mahogany Porter is ok after a month, nothing spectacular though, The Spicy Ghost Draught was really nice - so much so that it was gone before it had a chance to mature proerly (but then that's a problem with any particularly nice brew I make) , The Imperial Voyage Pale Ale is brewing away as I write this. Yes this forum is probably not the best place to discuss Cascade....but hey, you try finding any of the Coopers premium brews in Brisbane. I've found one place (within a reasonable distance) so far that stocks them and they're nearly always out of stock. Pity coz by far the tastiest (and quickest disappearing) commercial brew I have done has been the Coopers Heritage Lager :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Which home brew shop do you frequent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiposs Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 Hi Paul I usually go to the Home Brew Barn on Gympie Road at Kedron. They've been out of the Heritage series the last couple of times I've been there, that's why I settled on the Cascade instead. I have since been told though that Big W at Stafford City, and BiLo at Westfields Chermside stock them so I guess I'll try those two places if the HBB is out of stock. That Heritage Lager is just too good to not make it every second brew :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 The Thomas Cooper Premium Selection includes: HERITAGE LAGER, TRADITIONAL DRAUGHT, AUSTRALIAN BITTER and SPARKLING ALE. They can only be bought at home brew specialist stores and our Coopers General Store. You won't find this brand in supermarkets or discount variety stores (Kmart, Big W, Harris Scarfe, etc). I will follow up on your supply dilema. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugo-nort Posted February 5, 2005 Share Posted February 5, 2005 My first brew was Cascade Spicy Ghost - a little pale in appearance but it worked OK - must be reasonable because there isn't much left Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kieran Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 any of you guys getting into or tried brewing from your own all grain mashes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Posted February 9, 2005 Author Share Posted February 9, 2005 G'day Kieran' Yes, way back in my early brews, I did a couple of malt and mash grain jobs. To damn it with faint praise, the results were "drinkable" Like performing your own appendectomy, everyone should try it once. Interesting but not worth the trouble. Options: a. take over the whole kitchen for 2 days and then clean up the mess for a pretty ordinary result, or b. buy a can of Coopers reliable expertise rotsaruck Kip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kai Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 I've started doing my own partial mashes, kieran, just in the kitchen. It's actually quite easy to make great beer this way, but it does take longer. It's 11:30 here and I've just finished brewing a batch I started at eight. It's more work but I think it's more rewarding. But then, if you're happy with the kits then the convenience can't be beat. If you're interested in reading up on it more, check out http://www.howtobrew.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kieran Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 yeah, I have a mate who only does mashes, and his results are absolutely spectacular. He really does have it down to a fine art, but he destroys the kitchen (and half his flat) in the process. He also dreams of getting hold of a mega 25+ litre pot and enough gas power to mash a full fermenter load in it.. because at the moment, it takes over an hour to heat up his 12 litre pot to 65C (or so) to get those amylases working, on his poxy electric stove. The poor guy has been out of work for over 8 months, so that's all he's doing at the moment! Its a pain in the arse being overqualified (he has a PhD, and it costs that little bit too much to employ someone with one of those, so most Labs will rather pay for a less-skilled employee that is $10k a year cheaper! :evil: ). Coopers' need anyone in Melbourne with a PhD and a good knowledge of brewing, and a love for their beers? He'd be a good employee, for sure! :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossm Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 no such thing as over qualified, tell him to take the less money job and work his way up the ladder like the rest of us have to, then he would be able to afford to buy his 25l pot! Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kieran Posted February 13, 2005 Share Posted February 13, 2005 heh... there isn't a lot less than you can do when you have the type of qualifications that he does. ie. even if he has a "lesser" job, due to his qualifications, he has to get paid more than someone without them. That means that basically its bloody hard to get a job unless you know someone or are really good - because employers will 95% of the time employ someone who is less qualified and cheaper just to save $$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Posted February 14, 2005 Author Share Posted February 14, 2005 I think we're getting off the subject. Kip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleChevron Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 I've tried the Casade spicy ale and chocolate mohogany. Drinkable but not a patch on the Coopers pale ale (at least not to my taste buds). My favorite is still Canadian Blonde from coopers ...... So smooth & creamy, it always comes out brilliant after a few weeks bottled. The only other brands I've tried that have come close to the coopers is Muntons (not cheap though). Spotted the new Coopers heritage range at the local home brew shop ... I can see some new brews being tried in the near future :mrgreen: seeya, Shane L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg B Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 Shane, The Canadian Blonde is smooth after a few weeks in the bottle - try hinding a couple from yourself and try them after six or so months. Concur on the Muntons - thier 'Yorkshire Bitter' has been a favourite since when ever. Cheers, Greg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleChevron Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 Yeah, I hid away the original brew of Canadian blonde I did. It simply doesn't have the creamy mouth feel of every other brew of it I've made since. I'm not sure why (it tastes ok). The bottles would be over a year old. I very rarely make Muntons stuff (it's to expensive) however I did make one of there (irish ?) stouts at christmas.... I opened the first bottle of it lastnight .......... MMMAAANNNNnnnn, that stuff is brilliant.... Even though it was at room temperature. I think I'll have to hide it from myself for another 6months or so. It's the first stout I've ever made that tastes better than the Stout/Lagar Coopers recipe (1 stout, 1 lagar, 300gms of dexrose). I'd never realised that Lagars were supposed to be stored for a length of time. I think I'll make up a couple of batches of Bavarian lagar and stick 'em under the house and forget the exist for a couple of years. seeya, Shane L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kieran Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 I have been eyeing off the cascade kits during my fortnightly shopping excursions with SWMBO.. they are quite a bit more expensive than the coopers, even the pale. given the remarks here, I reckon I'll do another australian pale. The last one i did was bloody fantastic, and really benefitted from the secondary racking IMO. kieran :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAl Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 I find Morgans are extremely good brews, their malts are one of the best I have found. All my Coopers brews get the Morgan's Malts, and they come out really good. I think the variety Morgans put out in the Master Blends range really give you a host of different combinations of taste and colour. My Coopers Sparkling Ale gets 1.5kgs Morgans Extra Pale unhopped malt. Coopers Stout gets the Dark Crystal Master Blend, although the Morgan's Dockside Stout is as good as Coopers Stout. I reckon with Coopers kits and Morgans Master Blends and Malts you are getting the best of both worlds.....enjoy!! :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyd1525228696 Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 I've also done a Cascade Chocolate Mahogany Porter. The first one I did died a horrible death. :-( Working late hours didn't allow me to bottle before it went belly up. The second one I did is maturing now. I plan on leaving it for a good 3-6 months before having a look. I used the follwoing recipe from a mate whose porter was silking smooth. 500gms dark malt 300gms light malt 200gms corn syrup Safal yeast. I have also done a Cascade pale but don't think much of it. I would recommend a faster acting yeast than the Cascade one as it can take up to 36 hours to get going. I don't really like the idea of my wort sitting for so long while the yeast gets itself going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAl Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 Gary, Try geting a Coopers Pale Ale yeast culture going, talk about fast!!!!, will be vigourously devouring those simple sugars overnight! :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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