[Run_to_da_hills]

Whats the best lager home brew kit on the market?

The last time I brew my own beer was back in the 80's when college funds were tight. Beer tasted gack but had to put up with it at the time.

just wondering what improvements are there since the 80's.

Any complete kit recommendations?

[BeerNut]

Originally Posted by Run_to_da_hills

just wondering what improvements are there since the 80's.

There's the internet, which can stop people making daft mistakes which lead to gack beer, like adding a kilo of table sugar or fermenting in the hotpress.

I'm not a fan of lager kits myself -- it's a tough style to do well and any mistakes stand out a mile. But people seem to have been having good results with the Cooper's European Lager kit.

[Sky King]

I did the coopers canadian blonde for my very first home brew and it came out great - really nice, and clear too. The kit said ferment between 21-27 C but i did mine around 18 and it took a wee bit longer but the results were fab.

I am not much of an expert on beer but apparently this is an ale and not a lager, though it looks like a lager and tastes kinda like one - a little bit sweeter maybe and different, though it should appeal to lager drinkers.

Why not try that one?

[Ronan cork]

I'd say try the Canadian blonde and use the brew enhancer with it. A blonde ale is a lot easier to make than a true lager if youre just starting out and there is very little between them at the end of the day. Have a look around homebrewwest.ie but as a general rule the more you spend on ingredients the better quality beer you end up with. The cheaper "lighter" kits need you to add sugar or enhancers and the heavier slightly more expensive kits are all in which I prefer (I'm just starting brewing too) as it leaves less for me to mess up!
Lager kits have to be brewed at lower temperatures and take longer to ferment/ carbonate than ales.

Home brewing has got a lot more popular recently so there are some very good kits for all styles out there all of which should produce good quality beers.

I recommended homebrewwest because it gives you options of necessary ingredients when you pick a light kit such as coopers which I find very handy.

[idrinkbeer]

I've heard that lagers are more difficult to brew than other beers but I tried Geordie Lager and had great results. Ferment it at a cooler temperature than other beers and the longer you leave it conditioning, the better it'll taste. I've just bottled a John Bull lager and have a Coopers Mexican Cerveza fermenting. The plan is to store these in the shed for at least 3 months!

[Shiny]

I have found the Coopers Mexican Cerveza to be quite good. Despite it being my first brew I wasn't expecting it. It turned out to be a crowd pleaser...
I always put limes in every serving though....

Every time I tell someone (who experienced brewing in the 80's) that I brew they, without fail, either start talking about explosions, bottle bombs or sometimes even diarrhoea! In fairness as BeerNut said, we have the internet now which wasn't available in the 80's. I had a big chat with one of my Aunt's recently and they used to brew ale and cider in the 80's. As they lived in Kilkenny some of their friends worked in glanbia (Avonmore back then) so had access to fermentation vessels, yeast propagators and lab technicians to advise. Despite all that they still had exploding bottles and diarrhoea from drinking too much yeast sediment.

The internet has really revolutionised home brewing as almost every possible problem, configuration, recipe, ingredients and equipment is available.

[Sky King]

Yeah home brewing certainly has a bad rep. When I told my folks I had gotten into it they made a 'thats revolting' face - and recited a few tales of scummy 10% ABV brew from back in the day which served as a means to get pissed on the cheap and not much else.

They are probably the reason too that I always assumed homebrew was the sole preserve of the student and pauper

[wet-paint]

Same. And that's also the reaction I got from the family when I told them.

[hardCopy]

Originally Posted by wet-paint

Same. And that's also the reaction I got from the family when I told them.

Half the people I mention it to think it's illegal and that I should make poitin.

[covey09]

I found the Coopers BM pilsner, really good and fast

[mixthetricks]

Coopers DIY Beer kits. 3 short weeks an ya'll be drunk as a wheel for days mmm. Constant supply is key!!

[wet-paint]

Yeah, thanks for that ad there.