NS Ale - Will this work?

[drsmurto]

Bingo.

First thing i tell mates is to take the Coopers (and others) instructions that come with the kits and burn them.

Second thing is to never step foot in a brewcraft store.

And third is to read the stickies on this site about making beer including - a good yeast, ditching the enhancer blends, using fresh hops and most important... good temperature control. (well, i would normally chat about these things over a pint but its good to point them in the direction of sites like this as my opinion is only one of many)

Not everyone has time for all grain but that doesnt mean you cant make a good beer.

As for just using the ingredients, its a start but you can easily do better with minimal effort.

[inark]

Well i finally put it into bottles last night... weirdest colour ive ever seen for a beer... i put a few in carlton cold bottles (shudder), i dont drink them, i only use them so i can see the different colours of each batch and how clear etc plus i take photos of each one to put with my brew spreadsheet for future references.

Now the worst part begins... waiting.

[Hopmeister]

I now brew all-grain, but the Coopers Sparkling Ale brewed to the recommended recipe, but using Coopers pale ale harvested yeast and fermented around 18-19 degrees, remains my favourite kit brew.

[inark]

Ok, well im not normally this impatient but i have been curious ever since i bottled it to see how it was going...

so i opened one tonight.

Wow... best beer ive ever tasted thats only been in the bottle for a week.

Out of the bottle the aromas are very faint... just a subtle hint of passionfruit. But once you pour it and that head forms the aromas soon fill your nose. Very fruity, the aromas are actually very similar to that of the WYeast Czec yeast which smells edible (i hope im not the only one that takes to smelling the empty liquid yeast packets... sounds a little weird).

Definate hints of passionfuit, maybe a little too much really. Is a little sweet, not even any remote hints of smells or flavours you would expect with a standard kit brew being tasted at that time. Very bubbly thanks to high carbonation dosage of sugar, goes down well. Will definately add this to the favourite batches to be made leading up to next summer as it will be perfect for a nice hot day and BBQ. Only changes i would probably make would be to try and achieve a more bitter taste as mentioned it is a little on the sweet side.

Will try another one in a weeks time then in 2 weeks after that and so on.

[Bizier]

Sounds good Inark. The other good news is that if you can leave them for a little while, the sweetness should drop off a little bit with bottle conditioning.

[inark]

yeah i can leave it... i'm still drinking my first 2 batches from last September/October and have 3 cases left of a Mexican cerveza i made.

my dad popped around today so i gave him one to taste and see what he thought but this time i decided to stir up the dregs at the bottom of the bottle (i normally stop pouring just before it starts to come out) and it was a lot nicer, had a bit more bite to it.

[inark]

Well everyone seems to be loving this beer... i gave my boss a few to try and told him to drink one now to see what it tastes like then wait until at least 2 months before opening the rest.

After he had one he quickly drank the rest.

Brother loves it... dad loves it... even my mum loves it.

Ive been drinking a bottle or 2 here and there, dont think its going to last the full 8 weeks. It lost its sweetness pretty quickly and turned out really good. Aromas werent as over powering as they were when i first tasted it and to me it has the right amount of bitterness. Has excellent head retention, more then most other beers ive tried and a fantastic colour. Im going to do a 46l batch of it next week because it isnt going to last til my birthday which i was hoping.

[Bizier]

Ripper!

Are you able to split the batch somehow to get 1 change and 1 the same to compare brewing something nice with a single change eg hops or yeast or grain? I don't really do this stuff, but it is these activities that make people killer brewers because they understand each ingredient better.

[inark]

Do you mean split what i am about to brew?
So do i small bacth identical except for one thing?

So change the grains from Carared to something else to see what happens?

I wouldnt mind using the same, hops, grains and yeast again but trying a different can to use as a base and see the difference... while the 46l batch is brewing i could do a smaller 23l batch the same but with maybe an English Ale II or III yeast and see how it turns out.

[Bizier]

while the 46l batch is brewing i could do a smaller 23l batch the same but with maybe an English Ale II or III yeast and see how it turns out.

Good idea, it is absolutely amazing to know what difference yeast makes in a beer.

[inark]

I tried this recipe with a Coopers Real Ale can and some left over Czech Saaz i had and some Caramunich... after the first week it wasnt like the other one thats for sure Probably should have added the Saaz later in the boil as the mix of the 2 is very bitter at the moment. So will have to see how it settles after 6 weeks. Very brown in colour... still that nice NS fruity smell and good head retention