HomebrewandBeer.com forum

Hi everybody,
Im new to home brew and im using the coopers brew kit as it was a birthday prezzy but its basically a bucket with a lid, im on my 3rd batch but ive only tried my Lager that came with the kit but im not quite sure about it as i usually drink Coopers Pale Ale.
Basically id like to know if people have made great beers using this fermenter vessel and if you could message me some recipes please as id like to experiment with my next few brews

Thanks Everyone

Just about all fermenters are a bucket with a lid and a tap, so you've got the right gear.

There is an entire board on this forum dedicated to recipes so browse through there.

Also read through the stickied topics in the making beer board to learn some basic tips on how to make beer better than you will by following the instructions with your kit.

cool thanks

The shape of the fermenter, within limits, doesn't make a great deal of difference, if any, to the outcome of your beers.
Read the stickies on this forum, and you will understand some of the most important things are temperature control and the yeast you pitch.

Having said all that, I understand the Coopers Brew Kits are pretty good, and will do you well.

Hope you learn to love the beers you brew, nothing like drinking something you made yourself!

BrewersApprentice wrote:ive only tried my Lager that came with the kit but im not quite sure about it

Yeah, that tin is a bit of stinker if you make it as per the recipe on the tin (although it can be used to good effect as a base further down the line if you like, adding extra bits and pieces). I made one as my second brew and was not thrilled - I assure you, pretty much every other tin they make is better.

Follow the advice given by everyone above and you'll love your next brews.

Welcome to the board and the hobby!

thanks for the feed back everybody im very quickly falling in love with the art of brew lol im still learning the lingo and am unsure with a few recipes they say to boil the ingredients yet ive watched the coopers vid on diybeer.com.au a few times and all they do is add boiling water to the vessel is this the correct method or do i use the stove lol

Once you start doing a bit of reading about the place the first thing you'll learn is not to pay too much attention to the instructions from Coopers. They're kinda shabby, to be honest. Bullet-proof but not necessarily the best way to make good beer.

Yes, there is a lot of stuff to learn but that is half the fun. I'm sure I don't need to tell you what the other half is (hint: it is washing bottles). Keep reading and it will make sense - don't forget to ask any specific questions you might have.

Bum wrote:Keep reading and it will make sense - don't forget to ask any specific questions you might have.

so when a recipe says boil do i use the stove or pour boiling water into the vessel?
thanks heaps for the help

It will usually be a proper boil on the stove but many simple recipes can be adapted to the "dump and pour" method advocated by Coopers almost all of us start out with. Simple rule of thumb is that if a recipe starts talking about grain you're going to need to alter your methods. You can't just put grain in your fermenter and hope for beer - but that's likely a few brews away just yet, no need to worry about it now.