Quicky Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Well its been 2 weeks in the bottles for my first homebrew . It was the Coopers Lager that came with the Home brew kit. Probably not a beer id usually drink but co's it came with the kit I thought id use it. My week 1 taste test had it smelling nice, good looking head with an ok taste but with a very strong "cidery" aftertaste. What a difference a week makes :-) was really surprised how bloody good it tasted after the 2nd week. Poured nice, good texture in the mouth and only a very slight hint of that aftertaste left. Im definitely gonna give it a few more weeks but im pretty excited that it tastes good already :-) Glad that it looks like I havnt stuffed it up and in a few weeks i'll be drinking my own beer. Thanks to any of you guys who gave me some helpful advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Hey Quicky Great to see your off to a great start. Have you got brew two going yet and what is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattrox Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Well done on the 1st brew. I love the hobby because you can taste the results of all the learning that happens along the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quicky Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 Hey QuickyGreat to see your off to a great start. Have you got brew two going yet and what is it? Gday Scottie Havnt started brew 2 yet, maybe in a fortnight i'll do it. As for what type of beer I will choose , probably the Pale Ale. To be honest I was never a Coopers Drinker but recently I stopped drinking beer with additives & preservatives in it so I was trying a lot of craft brews. Then I tried Coopers cos I read on the label it was bottle conditioned and was preserv/addi free. Some were a bit hit n miss but I like the Pale Ale and the Celebration Ale. Then from trying the Coopers range of beers that's where I got the idea of trying the Coopers home brew kit :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Fabulous stuff. The Australian Pale Ale can is not quite up to the quality of the bottled one. Some extra hops are a great addition to that kit. 25g of any US or NZ hop can lift that to another world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quicky Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 Fabulous stuff.The Australian Pale Ale can is not quite up to the quality of the bottled one. Some extra hops are a great addition to that kit. 25g of any US or NZ hop can lift that to another world. Thanks for the tip Ben. Probably for my 2nd brew I will just kiss ( keep it simple stupid) and just follow the basic Coopers instructions. But probably on my 3rd brew id be interested in adding something to improve the quality. That's when blokes like you will come in handy with your beerology knowledge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 To be honest I was never a Coopers Drinker......That's cool - the greater majority' date=' using our DIY Beer kits, are yet to taste our commercial beer [img']wink[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quicky Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 To be honest I was never a Coopers Drinker......That's cool - the greater majority' date=' using our DIY Beer kits, are yet to taste our commercial beer [img']wink[/img] I usually swap and change a bit, but at the moment Coopers Celebration Ale is my beer of choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdij1525228982 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 G'day quickly, I'm a long time beer drinker, short time brewer. Reckon you and I pushed off with our DIY kits within a week of each other. Just wanted to endorse ben 10's comments. I LOVE coopers pale ale commercial, which is why I made it my third brew but, upon taste testing the FV sample was seriously disappointed. dull, dull dull. When I issued a plea for help here Ben (and others) recommended adding some hops - available from the brew shop. 15g of finishing hops for just a few days at the end made a world of difference. Wonder what might have happened if they'd been part of the mix from the start? Time will tell. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 15g of finishing hops for just a few days at the end made a world of difference. Once you start buying 100g bags ($7 to $9) there is a whole world of mo' fun to be had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdij1525228982 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Mmmmm. Very interesting. you probably know, but Cascade do a beer called First Harvest to which they add fresh hops. Gives it incredibly grassy, lucerne notes. It's unusual, but not unpleasant. I cellared a six pack for a year and the way it developed in the bottle was remarkable. Any tips on how to replicate/emulate that would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Describe the taste and someone may be able to help. Have you tried SNPA? That has a load of cascade flavour that is a big flameout addition. The clone I made had 60g at flameout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdij1525228982 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Lost you at "Have you tried..." And what's this about flameout? Sounds very Year 12 camp to me. Seems my apprenticeship has a ways to go, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quicky Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 Ok Purdij and Ben , If I do the Pale Ale I could try the hops next time but I would need very detailed instructions on what to do and when & how to do it. Just think of me as an idiot (like my wife does ) and keep things simple to understand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Quicky and Purdij.. ask and ye shall receive detailed instructions. Not tonight tho, too many beers on the dance floor... Flameout..../ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdij1525228982 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 It's called a brew shop Quicky - and a magical place at that. They have lots of sachets of hops which, as its been explained to me are either 1) steeped/boiled for a time and strained into the start of the brewing process or, as I did, 2) boiled/steeped and added toward the end for 3-5 days. Then business as usual (but with a bunch more character, especially on the nose). Believe me, I've just done this the once, so don't take me as an instant expert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Hey Quicky I wouldn't worry too much about a nude Pale Ale kit, I really enjoyed it .. but my beer drinking was mostly limited to mainstream Lagers. If you have experienced the likes of Little Creatures Pale Ale, Fat Yak or some of the James Squire range then yes you will find the Pale Ale bland (but it is a big improvement over the Coopers OS Lager kit). So if you have experienced these others grad yourself 25g of Cascade hop pellets. In a pot place 2 litres of water and 200g of light dry malt and bring to a rolling boil. Throw the hops in and boil for 5 minutes. While boiling wget everything else ready for the brew as per the Coopers instruction. When the boil finishes put the other 800g of light dry malt (LDM) in the FV and strain the hop wort (the 2 litres of LDM and Hops) into the FV and then swirl it around. Add the beer can and top up as normal. Pitch yeast and ferment as normal. I'm not a big fan of the yeast that comes with the Pale Ale kit (lager and ale combined)so when you pick up your hops get some US05 (11g). Pitch the yeast at around 20 degrees and try and ferment at 20 degrees, 18 if you can achieve it. Cheer Scottie Valley Brew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quicky Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 I was so surprised that my first home brew tasted nice after just two weeks that I put a couple of bottles in the fridge last night and ive been drinking them today watching the NRL Auckland 9's on the telly I know its gonna taste a shipload better in a few weeks but I couldn't help myself LOL I hope drinking homebrew after just two weeks in the bottle doesn't bring me shame Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdij1525228982 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Morning all, Reckon you're impatient. I tried one of those pale ales last night which has only been a week in the bottle. Delicious! Thanks Ben10 and it seems I may have to moderate some of my early comments about the Coopers Pale Ale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quicky Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 Morning all' date=' Reckon you're impatient. I tried one of those pale ales last night which has only been a week in the bottle. Delicious! Thanks Ben10 and it seems I may have to moderate some of my early comments about the Coopers Pale Ale. [/quote'] You've done well Mine wasn't drinkable when I tried a taste test after one week, way too cidery with too much of a aftertaste tang. Was extremely surprised how much it improved in just 1 extra week. Would love to taste one after a few months in the bottle but I don't like my chances of any being left in a few months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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