Coopers Canadian Kit?

covey09

I ve just justed tasted it 4wks in and its not like any thing ive tasted before, its not a lager or a beer more like an ale, what do you guys think it tastes like. I used few drops of Hop oil, thinking it might to make it less sweet since i has read the finished product was sweet. please tell me what your verision of this brew turn out like weather its me or its the beer it self.

Im still drinking it though,but dont know Y..........

merc230ce

I did it for my first brew and it was rubbish. I'm sure that it was my fault though so don't take it as an example!

bbam

Mine is about three weeks cooking.
Currently in second fermentor.
Tasted it when transferring and it was like flat bud or mjd, not sure if thats a good thing or not but I'm happy so far, worked out at 5%.

leggit

tasted mine after 3 weeks fermenting and 2 weeks in the bottle and funnily enough it kind of tasted like Smithwicks??? I like Smithwicks so I'm not complaining

Ended up around 4%, think it'll be dranks this weekend after nearly 4 weeks in the bottle!

covey09

44 Bottles thats go goin wish i had the time, im going to take some % Acl reading with out the Hydrometers tonight! brewing the european lager tomorrow night with some Saaz finishing hop pellets (well im going to try!). Hope this one will end up a bit better and more of a kick around 6% maybe.

Bugsyboy1

I've done 2 of these and both tasted very sweet. After about 6 weeks in the bottle it was a little better but still not great. On both brews though my temps got over 25 deg for a few days and I've read that this can give funky flavours. Obviously I still drank them all.
I have found wit and wheat beers to be more reliable.

Yawns

Did the Canadian blonde as my 1st. Wasn't nice until 5 weeks in the bottle. Fermentation started at about 22 but after some advice I brought it down to 18 for the remainder. Total fermentation was about 2 weeks. Just the can and 2kg of enhancer #2. Bottle primed with Glucose from supermarket. Up to a flat teaspoon in each bottle I think was what I used.

Anyway after the 5 week mark, everyone that's tried has loved it and taken a few bottles home to drink with some coming back for more so I'm happy. So happy whilst I was passing through Belfast I stopped off and picked up another one. Started brewing back in September and this is my 6th brew now so am really enjoying myself. Hope my other brews come along nicely cos it'll be a while getting through them all.

para45

Yawns wrote: »

Did the Canadian blonde as my 1st. Wasn't nice until 5 weeks in the bottle. Fermentation started at about 22 but after some advice I brought it down to 18 for the remainder. Total fermentation was about 2 weeks. Just the can and 2kg of enhancer #2. Bottle primed with Glucose from supermarket. Up to a flat teaspoon in each bottle I think was what I used.

Anyway after the 5 week mark, everyone that's tried has loved it and taken a few bottles home to drink with some coming back for more so I'm happy. So happy whilst I was passing through Belfast I stopped off and picked up another one. Started brewing back in September and this is my 6th brew now so am really enjoying myself. Hope my other brews come along nicely cos it'll be a while getting through them all.

Hi . I am looking at getting a KIT myself and firstly doing my home work . Trust that you lads will have some advise . What to do/NOt and also best kits etc or are the brewing kits necessary or is best to make one up from bits and bobs from the Beer kits shops extra accessories.

Thanx in advance

I also see that you said passing through Belfast---- where in Belfast do you get it from

Yawns

Nature's Way Home Brewing. No website as of yet but the lady said they are making one up. Here's a link to shop pics tho

http://www.4ni.co.uk/39254x919x3_natures-way-home-brewing-belfast.htm

I was in shopping in Connswater and drove up the road. Nature's Way home brew is what the shop was called I think. It looks close on the map but it's a fair bit down the road driving tbh. Small shop that you'd easily miss unless you were looking for it specifically. Has some parking outside. Head towards Newtownards on the A20 from Belfast City center. It's a green fronted shop on the right hand side a few mins drive out past Connswater.

Tis roughly here on the map. http://g.co/maps/erzqt

para45

Thanx Yawns. What advice can you give to a newby? Starter Kit or not etc

Yawns

Tbh I'm still a newbie myself! I started back in the middle of September. I went with a starter kit that included the Canadian blonde. I ordered a tap and asked them to fit it for me too.

Since then I picked up 2 more 33ltr fermenters without taps and use them as Primary and then use a syphon and rack into the fermenter with the tap for bottling. Makes it easier when you need to tilt it as you get to the end because all the sediment is at the bottom of the primary.

The Beernut gave me some great advise and also check out Beoir.org too. If you are starting off and funds are low just get the 1 bucket deal and have a tap put on for you. They'll just charge you for the cost of the tap and they'll drill the hole and attach. Saves you having to do it yourself. If you like brewing then or if you think you'll stick with it then I recommend getting 2 buckets and having a tap on 1.

As for the kit itself, my first one was Canadian Blonde with Coopers Enhancer #2. For bottling I picked up a bag of Sucrose in local supermarket for €1.50 for 500g. roughly 1 flat teaspoon for each bottle. However since then I've used Cooper's carbonation drops and they've been easier. Just simply drop them in the bottle. 1 drop for a 330ml bottle, 1.5 drops for 500 ml bottle and so forth. I liked the Canadian Blonde that I bought another 1 and have it in primary now atm.

Also with a second bucket for bottling you can batch prime which is basically add some sterilized sugar to the brew and stir it in. No need for sugar or drops in the bottles then. Just use a bottle wand for filling. It's so handy.

If you live in a hard water area it could be ideal to buy some 5l containers with still water. You can always use a water jug with filter but this can be annoyingly frustrating Another alternative is fill empty 5l containers and leave them overnight with lids off to reduce the chlorine. My tap water is very bad so I usually filter or leave overnight. My first brew I bought cheap Tesco 5l water containers. Supervalu are doing a better priced deal atm tho in my area. €1.09 for 5l

Best advice anyone can give you tho and it never hurts is to make sure everything is clean and sanitized. Don't forget that if you need to rinse, cold tap water could lead to infection too. Personally I use thin bleach and vinegar for a no rinse solution. Just make sure not to mix them neat. Always have the vessel and equipment soaked in water. You can use about 1ml of each for ever Litre. So 30ml bleach, 30 ml Vinegar for a full 33Ltr bucket is fine for example. I usually do it this way and soak all my equipment in it too. On my 7th brew now and no infections thus far (*touches wood )

para45

Yawns

Thanx for all the advise . Wow loads of info. The more info the better thanx . Its been great help . I cant wait to start will have to go and visit this shop when can . Looking forward to this now what is the price of one of those buckets barrel with tap etc. Does this have a pressure release for fomenting etc

Yawns

I usually order mine from homebrewwest.ie

I got the deal with Canadian Blonde here:

http://www.homebrewwest.ie/brewsmarter-starter-beer-kit-with-caps-and-capper-531-p.asp

and just ordered a quick serve tap here:

http://www.homebrewwest.ie/quickserve-tap-1249-p.asp

I was on the phone before I placed my order so asked him could he fit the tap for me and he did. Also ordered the brew enhancer #2 to go with it. I didn't order the drops at the time but they made it easier when I used them for another brew tbh. I'll only use the drops now if I'm not batch priming. If you get 2 buckets make sure to get a syphon. The auto syphon works a treat and is worth the extra money tbh

para45

Thanx thats a good site . I need to get to that shop in belfast. Whats the quality of the beer like compared to Heineken, bud etc

Yawns

Bud is disgusting to me personally. I would usually only drink Heineken or Corona in a typical Irish pub tbh with maybe a pint of Guinness if in the mood. The Canadian Blonde if left long enough to condition properly is better than Heineken imo. Of course that's just my opinion and you will find others who completely disagree and they have every right to as well of course.

Give your beer enough time and it should be pleasantly drinkable. Give it 14 days fermenting at 18 degrees at a minimum. Then when you bottle leave it for at least 3 weeks. Mine was horrible at 3 weeks in the bottle so I left it for longer. At 4 weeks it was a lot better but not fantastic. 5 weeks it was great. Lovely head when poured, great head retention, nice smooth feel and looked great. Everyone loved it. Had 2 women who only drink wine wanting some more of it tbh. I was chuffed with it. But it did take 5 weeks in the bottle.

para45

Ye my sentiment also re BUD . I dont know why so many people drink it . Heineken is my preference also so if it taste like heineken or beter it must be lovely

Yawns

I found it more similar to heineken than budweiser. Keep everything sanitized and have patience and you won't go far wrong. Don't worry about making mistakes either. I've done stupid things like I dropped a spoon into my brew bucket when it was full

I've broken 2 Hydrometers and my kid broke another all in the space of like 2 weeks. I sat on the 1st by accident. I dunno why I even put it there because I shouldn't have anyway but I did and I sat on it. The 2nd one I dropped it and it smashed completely. Then the 3 yr old must have gotten in to my brewing supplies press cos he went runnign out of the room as I came in and I saw it smashed in the bottom of my brewing pot.

Oh well. Also I saw a link up here about big soup pots in Heatons for €25. It is so handy for starting your brew in and making sure everything gets a good mix. It's nice n deep and then you can stick it in the kitchen sink and run cool water into the sink to bring the temps down quite quickly so you can pitch the yeast sooner. Afaik Heatons may still have them for €25

para45

Thanx Yawns . When I get sorted i will most definitely get hold of you . The sad part is i dont think i will get a chance to start before Xmass. So I see this as a project for the new year.

You have been very helpfull to me and sure to anybody else that gets to read this thread.

Regards and promise to give you a progress report in the new year .

Happy brewing .:)

Yawns

Glad to help in any way I can. I got most of my advice from here too from Beernut and some others. Just ask any questions when you're unsure and someone will be able to help. Tbh even if you got started now your beer won't be ready until after new years.

Just take your time and as I said patience is the hardest part

leggit

Yawns wrote: »

Glad to help in any way I can. I got most of my advice from here too from Beernut and some others. Just ask any questions when you're unsure and someone will be able to help. Tbh even if you got started now your beer won't be ready until after new years.

Just take your time and as I said patience is the hardest part

It's a nightmare! My latest brew is only 2 days old but I'm poking and proding at it already!

Yawns

lol I know you just can't help but to check on it.

covey09

right, i was watching the football in a mates houes yesterday and we had a blind taste test vs 3 other beers

1. Kapackie
2. Turborug
3. Pratski

And out the 5 guy who did it picked the home brew as the tastiest. I'm delighted.

Krusty_Clown

Hi Guys, stuck on my first brew last night (Canadian Blonde) from a HomeBrewWest kit and have a couple of questions, if you don't mind:

1) When sterilizing your brew bucket, do you fill it up and mix in the appropriate amount of sterilizer, or just fill around two litres, and wash the sides of the bucket?

2) I'm keeping the brew-bucket in a cupboard, and the temperature of the brew seems to be around a consistent 19'-20'C. Is this too low? Should I use a brew-belt or a blanket, or just leave it the hell alone?!

3) I made it with 1Kg brewing sugar. Should I have added anything else (too late now, just wondering!). Hydrometer reading was about 1.0035 at 24'C. Should I have waited until it hit room temperature (20'C) to take the hydrometer reading?

4) Think next time, I'll skip the bung/air lock as the risk of having the liquid drop into the wort is just too great, and just rely on hydrometer readings. Can I just leave the hole in the lid open and ignore it? In a clean cupbaord, not much risk of anything getting in.

5) Bottling: Do you wait until you're ready to bottle to sterilize the bottles, or can you do it in advance, and just stick the screw-caps on, until you're ready?

Sorry for all the noob questions, but you got to start somewhere, right?!

covey09

1) about 2 litres and rinse it about, let some through the tap as well. rinse with water if you have too
2)19-20 is sound
3) you can use dried malt extract/ but dextrose is fine. hop tea's if your a hop head
4) Never leave it open, the wort is just like media for growing bacteria, it would'nt take much and your brew would be spoilt.
5) I sterilze on the day to be sure, there is a shelf life on the how long the bottles are stirile once sterilzed

BeerNut

In addition to what covey09 says

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

1) When sterilizing your brew bucket, do you fill it up and mix in the appropriate amount of sterilizer, or just fill around two litres, and wash the sides of the bucket?

I fill it to 20L, but I use cheap homemade sanitiser rather than a pre-made powder.

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Hydrometer reading was about 1.0035 at 24'C. Should I have waited until it hit room temperature (20'C) to take the hydrometer reading?

No, you can use a calibrator like this. 1.035 at 24 gives an adjusted reading of 1.036. It's very low. Did you give the mix a thorough stir when you put the kit together?

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Can I just leave the hole in the lid open and ignore it?

A bit of clingfilm, or a jam jar lid or anything clean and the right size would be worth putting over the hole to reduce the infection risk.

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Do you wait until you're ready to bottle to sterilize the bottles, or can you do it in advance, and just stick the screw-caps on, until you're ready?

Yes to both The former is safer but I can't see there being a problem with the latter.

Yawns

I use a home made no rinse like Beernut and fill most of the bucket with appropriate amounts.

I would use the airlock, the co2 released will push the water up to the other side of the airlock. You can just put a lid on and leave it open a crack tho. Make sure you cover the hole in the middle tbh. I use filtered water in the airlock and just fill the bottom 2 bubbles. That way the co2 pushes the water thru the u bend and it fills 1 and a half on the far side only. Been working fine for 7 brews.

Temp is fine so leave it.

The ABV is low tho so did you give it a good mixing when adding it all in? That's the only thing I would be worried about and that's not a big worry for a first brew tbh, it should taste just fine. I get my bottles from a pub so I wash them just to get rid of the smell asap. Then I run them all through the dishwasher prior to bottling to be on the safe side.

Krusty_Clown

Thanks guys, I figured it was a bit low. Yes, I gave it a good stir, particularly down the bottom. I may be reading/interpreting the Hydrometer incorrectly though. It's a Stevenson Reeves hydrometer, like this one:



The hydrometer was at a depth towards the top of the red level in the picture, which according to the hydrometer instructions, read something like 'Start beer' or something along those lines, so I reckoned it might be ok. It would be nice to get something drinkable out of my first batch, but if it goes down the sink, I won't be terribly disappointed. Worth taking another hydrometer reading (via the tap) this evening, to try and get a more accurate picture? (not to calculate the OG, but rather to check to see if the batch is screwed).

BeerNut

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Worth taking another hydrometer reading (via the tap) this evening, to try and get a more accurate picture? (not to calculate the OG, but rather to check to see if the batch is screwed).

Do you see "Screwed" written on the hydrometer scale somewhere?:p

No, leave it alone for the next couple of weeks and see what it's like then.

Krusty_Clown

BeerNut wrote: »

Do you see "Screwed" written on the hydrometer scale somewhere?:p No, leave it alone for the next couple of weeks and see what it's like then.

It's merrily bubbling away anyway, so we'll see what happens. In the meantime, I'll start experimenting with the hydrometer!
When you say 'next couple of weeks' you don't mean that literally, do you? I was expecting to have pretty stable specific gravity levels after 6-8 days.

BeerNut

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

When you say 'next couple of weeks' you don't mean that literally, do you?

I do.

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I was expecting to have pretty stable specific gravity levels after 6-8 days.

You might, but the beer won't be ready. The yeast needs time to clean up some of its own mess, especially in a blonde ale where off flavours will stick out a mile.

Don't so much as look at the beer until a week is up. At the start of the second week take a gravity reading, and do so every couple of days through the week. You should have stable readings by this stage, and if so you can bottle. If you don't, give it another week.

Yawns

give it 14 days in the fermenter. Start taking readings after the 14 day mark. You can do it sooner but best to leave it.

leggit

I always leave it alone after taking the OG reading, take a reading on the 19th day and if it's the same on the 21st day (3 weeks) then I bottle.

Don't waste too much beer that way

Krusty_Clown

Consider it done. Will report back with plenty more annoying questions when it gets to bottling stage, but for the time being, my thanks and praise for your sage advice and patience!

BeerNut

From my early bottling experiences, it's good to have the whole thing rehearsed and all questions answered well in advance

There's a very good guide to the process here.

calvin_zola

para45 wrote: »

Ye my sentiment also re BUD . I dont know why so many people drink it

Thats Marketing!! Damn stuff is rank

para45

calvin_zola wrote: »

Thats Marketing!! Damn stuff is rank

You are so correct ......................

TPD

I'm going to be trying a Coopers Canadian Blonde for my first brew in the new year. I'm very fond of Blue Moon. Would it be advisable to add orange zest and coriander to this kit?

evolving_doors

TPD wrote: »

I'm going to be trying a Coopers Canadian Blonde for my first brew in the new year. I'm very fond of Blue Moon. Would it be advisable to add orange zest and coriander to this kit?

Hmm thats the second person talking about blue moon today...

anyway.. for a hoegarden/blue moon have a look here at this dude ,seems straightforward...

followed his recipe but with a coopers wheet beer and it turned out grand,, should have done a secondary though as it's fairly muddy..

use coriander basically that's what gives it the orange tang (rather than the orange itself!!)

Crack about 25gm with pestel and mortar then warm em on hotpot for a few mins till you can smell the coriander roasting.(not burning) then chuck it into boiling water for about ten mins with some sazz hops if you can get it.. i've found to use a bit less water with the coopers kits (about 20-21litres)and that'll bumo up the alcohol content a little,,,,

TPD

Armelodie wrote: »

Hmm thats the second person talking about blue moon today...

Subliminal advertising :P
Cheers

Krusty_Clown

Yawns wrote: »

I use thin bleach and vinegar for a no rinse solution. Just make sure not to mix them neat. Always have the vessel and equipment soaked in water. You can use about 1ml of each for ever Litre. So 30ml bleach, 30 ml Vinegar for a full 33Ltr bucket is fine for example.

Just a quickie newbie question, before I go bottling this evening: what kind of vinegar? Just your standard Distilled Malt vinegar?

Yawns

Tbh I just use malt vinegar. Others use distilled.

I use the same for getting rid of limescale from kettle etc. Others use distilled for same purpose. There's a chance you could cause discoloration by using malt but it's so minimal the amount used that I doubt it would as it's always diluted with water and bleach.

Hope this helps.

Krusty_Clown

Well, I bottled my brew last night, after around 16 days of fermentation. I reckon the prolonged fermentation was down to the fact that the temperature seemed to have dropped to 16'C for the last week of fermentation, despite covering the bucket in a heavy blanket. For the last couple of days I stuck on the brew belt, but kept it at the very top of the bucket, which seemed to keep the temperature at around 22'C. I worried that my low OG was down to not mixing sugar/wort properly at the start, but I presume this would have left a sugar residue at the bottom of the bucket, which didn't seem to be present (though there was some white cream-like residue at the bottom).

I used the thin bleach/vinegar mixture to sterilize the bottles (20lt water, 20ml bleach, 20ml vinegar). Couple of questions as a result (again too late to do anything about it, but for future reference!):

1) I used the mains tap water (kitchen), for my sterilizing solution. Would've been handier to fill it from the bath tap, but didn't want to use water sourced from the water tank in the attic. Given that it's ultimately for use as a sterilization solution, with the bleach and vinegar added, would it have made any difference which water I used for the sterilization?

2) After leaving the bottles to drip dry for 15-20 mins, there was still some drops/moisture in the bottles, which I tried to shake out. Would this be enough to kill the yeast, or should it be ok?

As others have reported, the taste at this stage is quite unique (perhaps Canadian blonde is a style of beer with which I am not yet aquainted!). I wish I could taste others' Canadian blondes to see if they are equally unique.

BeerNut

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

(20lt water, 20ml bleach, 20ml vinegar)

The recommendation is 30ml each of bleach and vinegar.

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

1) I used the mains tap water (kitchen), for my sterilizing solution. Would've been handier to fill it from the bath tap, but didn't want to use water sourced from the water tank in the attic. Given that it's ultimately for use as a sterilization solution, with the bleach and vinegar added, would it have made any difference which water I used for the sterilization?

I wouldn't. It's best to keep things food-grade all the way through.

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

2) After leaving the bottles to drip dry for 15-20 mins, there was still some drops/moisture in the bottles, which I tried to shake out. Would this be enough to kill the yeast, or should it be ok?

It'll be fine.

Krusty_Clown

BeerNut wrote: »

The recommendation is 30ml each of bleach and vinegar.
I wouldn't. It's best to keep things food-grade all the way through.
It'll be fine.

Great, thanks. I reckoned that 30ml was based on having 30+ Litres of water, so for 20L of water, 20ml of each would be more appropriate. Looking forward to trying it in a few weeks time. Thanks as always for the guidance.

Yawns

I also use 20ml of each if only using a 20L container. I do try to get everything done in the 30L tho. Don't worry about the drops left, just shake out all that you can but a small amount won't harm you or the beer.