Coopers Craft Brew kit

[Payno]

Hi there

Im a newbie - just started with a brewing kit I got at my local brewing shop. Its a larger 23 litre FV.

 

Looking on the Coopers site I saw the Kit for the craft beer - just wondering if people have bought/used it wit the recipes online and stuff and what they thought.

I love my craft beer and thought it might be good to have two lots going - one larger one for session ales and one smaller one for stronger ales etc and this looks like a good way to go.

I notice unlike my other kit it doesn't have an airlock (read the FAQ's where it says it doesn't need one) and also doesn't come with a heater. Also PET bottles vs glass?

 

Any experiences? - is it as good and easy as the video shows?

 

thanks heaps

[Soundawake]

Especially in this weather, you don't need a heater. Aim to have the temp of the FV between 18 and 21 degrees. Fermentation creates its own heat - meaning if its 20 degrees in the room, the temp of the fermenting wort will be 21 or so.

 

I prefer glass over PET as I found that the PET bottles would lose carbonation over time. Which also means you have an excuse to go out and buy some beer!

 

Also the best advice I could give is keep your expectations low at first. You're going to make a few dodgy batches. All part of learning. I'm close to 5 years in now and only in the last year have I been usually satisfied with the beer I am making.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Agreed, heaters aren't necessary in this weather, then again I don't know your location but it is coming in to summer - you'll be looking more at cooling it than heating it. Despite what your brew shop sold you, a heater is not a standard piece of equipment in a brewing kit. It's an optional extra, if needed. I ferment all my ales at 18C in a temperature controlled fridge - probably the best piece of equipment I added to my brewery. Simply set and forget.

 

In essence, the craft kit is no more easier or difficult than the 'normal' size 30 litre fermenters - it's exactly the same process, just in a smaller vessel. I don't have one and doubt I ever will, but I can see how they'd be useful for experimental and/or small batches of strong beers.

[Payno]

cheers Otto - will forgo the heater, craft kit doesn't come with one anyway. think I might try one then have 2 brews going - one big, one small

thanks for your help - next time I'm in Brissy ill shout you a beer!!

[Ricko1525229757]

New at this and just bottled my first batch using the larger 23l fermenter. When I bought the kit I also bought a can of the craft series that makes a smaller 8l batch as I am keen to try that as well.

 

What are the thoughts about making this up in the larger fermenter? Will it be an issue with too much head room or will I need to get a smaller fermenter as well?

[Beerlust]

Hi Ricko.

 

I'll be honest in that I don't actually know if it would be detrimental to do so. What I do know is yeast use up oxygen sources before beginning fermentation. I have always assumed that oxygen present in the wort is what is used, so am happy to be corrected if oxygen outside the brew wort is also somehow used by the yeast. I've always assumed once the oxygen in the brew wort is used up, the yeast go into fermentation mode & begin expelling carbon dioxide as a bi-product of that process, & the oxygen above the brew wort is inconsequential.

 

If it were me, I'd buy a second craft kit & brew a double batch. The 23 litre fermenter would be more suited to brewing something of that volume, but I wouldn't think it would matter a whole lot if you brewed a smaller volume in it.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

[Payno]

Hi Ricko.

 

I'll be honest in that I don't actually know if it would be detrimental to do so. What I do know is yeast use up oxygen sources before beginning fermentation. I have always assumed that oxygen present in the wort is what is used' date=' so am happy to be corrected if oxygen outside the brew wort is also somehow used by the yeast. I've always assumed once the oxygen in the brew wort is used up, the yeast go into fermentation mode & begin expelling carbon dioxide as a bi-product of that process, & the oxygen above the brew wort is inconsequential.

 

If it were me, I'd buy a second craft kit & brew a double batch. The 23 litre fermenter would be more suited to brewing something of that volume, but I wouldn't think it would matter a whole lot if you brewed a smaller volume in it.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.[/quote']

 

 

Lusty is right - you can use the larger FV to do a smaller batch, when I got both I bought a handful of the craft kits to give them a go and brewed them simultaneously in the two FVs, big and small - and they brewed fine. Smaller FV is handier for the craft series though as 8.5 ltrs is really quite small and more suited to the 15ltr FV, and they cost bugger all!

they are also handy for brewing 10-12 ltr batches using standard size kits and either halving the can ( keeping the remainder in the fridge) or when halving volume for stronger brews

[Phatmouts]

Hi All, first time on the forum and got some questions regarding the craft kit fermenter. I haven't got any gear yet and planning on getting the craft kit to start out learning how to brew. In my research and planning everyone seems to say get a brew fridge ASAP to keep the ferment temp consistent. I've got one of those beer can shaped fridges sitting in the shed not doing much, and was thinking the craft fermenter would fit perfectly inside. Measurements of the craft FV say 28cm diameter and my fridge is 35cm so it should fit fine, although I'm not sure how far the tap sticks out beyond this. Can anyone tell me if the craft FV will fit in my fridge? Just want to make sure before I go out any buy it, cheers.

Tim

[Happy Chappies]

Hi All' date=' first time on the forum and got some questions regarding the craft kit fermenter. I haven't got any gear yet and planning on getting the craft kit to start out learning how to brew. In my research and planning everyone seems to say get a brew fridge ASAP to keep the ferment temp consistent. I've got one of those beer can shaped fridges sitting in the shed not doing much, and was thinking the craft fermenter would fit perfectly inside. Measurements of the craft FV say 28cm diameter and my fridge is 35cm so it should fit fine, although I'm not sure how far the tap sticks out beyond this. Can anyone tell me if the craft FV will fit in my fridge? Just want to make sure before I go out any buy it, cheers.

Tim[/quote']

 

(been lurking on this forum for a while, but given I can answer this question it seems like an ideal time to go from lurking to contributor!)

 

Just went down and measured the craft fermenter. The tap sticks out about 8cm from the side of the vessel.

 

Also worth noting that the diameter, including the handles, is more like 32cms. It's the one thing that stopped me from being able to fit the FV into my Waeco, which I was rather miffed about as I'd have then had a brewing fridge ready to go....

[Phatmouts]

Hey Chappies,

 

Thanks heaps for the info on the fermenter dimensions, unfortunately it sounds like it's not going to fit as it would require around 40cm. I might have to rethink this option, maybe the can fridge will work better to house a 9L keg and stick a tap on the lid.

[Happy Chappies]

It may still fit - the diameter is largest at the top where the lid fits on, and where the tap fits it's significantly narrower due to the taper of the vessel. Assuming your can fridge is 35cm diameter and perfectly round, I'll have another investigation tonight and see if it would fit in such a space.

 

I'm exploring whether I can shave down the handles of mine to get it into the Waeco, so needed to do some measuring anyway!

 

 

 

[Phatmouts]

There's still hope! Look forward to hear back

[Happy Chappies]

I think you might be in luck!

 

From the front of the tap to the widest part of the FV at the back is about 32cm. So if the internals of the can fridge are 35cm you should be fine.

 

That's got me thinking about buying a second hand one as a brew fridge too! Assuming they're all the same, what's the height/depth of the internal space? (The craft FV is 38cm high, or 43cm with the krausen collar)

[Phatmouts]

That's great news. The internal height of the can fridge is exactly 40cm so the craft fv will fit perfectly without the collar. Just need to get a temp controller and I'm sorted. If you're interested in getting one here's some pics, not sure if there's different models/dimensions, it was a gift so I've never looked into it further.

Can fridge1

Can fridge2

 

[Beervis]

I really like my craft kit, just so easy to use, easy to clean and perfect for small flats/apartments, all round I much prefer it to the larger fermenter.

 

Only issue is, and it's important I think for anyone considering purchasing one of these, is that it's not as good value for money overall, you can easily spend around the same price as a recipe for the larger kit but end up with a 1/3rd of the product. Also, when you do brew a really tasty recipe, the fact that you're only getting 1 carton out of it can be disappointing cos it just gets drunk so quickly! That is becoming a big turnoff for me using the small FV.

 

Another issue I'm having with it is when I brew a ROTM I really like, I'm not sure how to scale up the ingredients to get a similar effect from a larger batch. That's something I'm sure I can fix with trial and error but it's not immediately obvious to a novice brewer.

 

Some advice with the craft FV as well is definitely invest in hops, at least some finishing hops, but a short boil even better, and spec grains if you can. I find the straight kits for the craft FV a bit unbalanced, the higher alcohol doesn't seem to sit with the flavours that nicely without additions. The Bewitched Amber for example I thought was a pretty rough nasty brew by itself, especially compared to a straight kit for the larger FV, but when combined with a cascade boil addition it was delicious.