Comments on: Brewing Beer With the Coopers Home Brew Kit-Part 2

By: Don

Don — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:18:32 +0000

Or maybe a Yam…

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:34:30 +0000

Don, if you don’t simmer down I’m going to add Pumpkin to the mix!
Scott´s last blog ..Brewing Beer at Home With the Coopers Homebrew Kit

By: Don

Don — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:49:48 +0000

OK so let me see if I got this straight,
1) open it up
2) wash it

Are we ready to brew yet?

By: Scott-TBC

Scott-TBC — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:46:23 +0000

@Billy Broas – gotcha! Actually the Coopers equipment ‘aint half bad. I researched all the popular kits and went with the Coopers. Nothing in the kit is crappy at all, I’m sure at least the fermenter and the hydrometer could be used in the future. In addition, of all the home brew kit makers, Coopers is the only one that is a real brewery. These guys actually make beer.

The other point you touched on is reading and research, which is probably a good idea to do especially if you’re just starting out. That said, I find that by brewing my own beer this basic home brewing kit, I more fully understand what real home-brewers are talking about. It’s given me a context by which I can better understand what other people are doing, and in general how beer is made.

I think after this, I’ll more easily absorb information about home brewing, but I’m a pretty slow learner!
Scott-TBC´s last blog ..Brewing Beer at Home With the Coopers Homebrew Kit

By: Billy Broas

Billy Broas — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:43:17 +0000

@Scott Right on I definitely see your point. The key part of your comment was that if you spend a few bucks more for better equipment, you lose the “foolproof” advantage of Coopers. You’ll need to do more research on the brewing process (read books, etc.) and what/what not to do. I think this is unfortunately, really. A good equipment kit + idiot proof instructions would be the ultimate combo.

BTW I was still talking about a beginners kit, an all-grain set up is a whole different ballgame :>).
Billy Broas´s last blog ..billybroas: "10 Cool Beverage Drinking Gadgets" http://digg.com/d31ADnh

By: Scott-TheBrewClub

Scott-TheBrewClub — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:29:48 +0000

@ Michael Reinhardt – gamma rays. LOL!
Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Brewing Beer at Home With the Coopers Homebrew Kit

By: Scott-TheBrewClub

Scott-TheBrewClub — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:27:24 +0000

@Billy Broas ~ Thanks for the warm welcome! You’re definitely correct. If you’re going all-out beer-geek, spending a little more will get you a decent setup that’s more scalable.

OTOH, if you’re looking to just try home brewing to see what its about, then the Cooper’s kit is hard to beat. Its almost idiot proof (I will surely be the smarter idiot!) so, it serves its purpose in that regard. Everything is measured out, all the ingredients are provided. Easy. That’s where I wanted to start. Easy.

With the kit, if you end up not going all-out beer-geek, then you’re only out $100 and when you decide to do it again, you can just buy a refill kit for $25 or so and make yourself another easy 6 gallons of beer and put it away again.

We’ll see in a couple of weeks how it turns out. Eventually I’ll move on, but for me this is a good start and I wanted to try it without anything but the instructions that come with the kit.

A note to anyone venturing this far down in the comments, people in the home brewing community LOVE to help, share information and offer advice, so don’t feel like you need to get a kit if you’re just starting out. You can definitely go the route that Billy Broas did, and with some help from the community do just fine.
Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Brewing Beer at Home With the Coopers Homebrew Kit

By: Michael Reinhardt

Michael Reinhardt — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:26:35 +0000

I’m glad you made the plunge. The sterile vs. sanitized thing is not a big deal. Sterilize simply means to render it free of bacteria, which is what you are doing when you sanitize. Any good Thesaurus will show you that these are largely over-lapping terms, depending on context…which, I’m pretty sure, is about brewing. I guess you could get something with UV rays to sterilize…maybe some gamma rays. What’s the difference? Are you ridding yourself of bacteria. Good! That’s the important part, like you said. I hope the terminology doesn’t mess up your batch.
Michael Reinhardt´s last blog ..Burton Baton VS. 90 Minute IPA

By: Billy Broas

Billy Broas — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:09:12 +0000

Hey Scott, congrats on your adventure into the world of homebrewing! Beer-geek brothers 4 life!

I’ve been curious about Coopers kits since you see them everywhere so it’s nice to see a review. My friend who taught me to brew did all-grain (talk about beer-geekdom lol) so I jumped into that fairly quickly after doing extract recipes.

My big issue with these all-in-one kits is that it cost $100 for equipment that isn’t scalable. Eventually you’ll want a carboy, bottling bucket, glass bottles, etc. If you’re going to continue with the hobby, and it appears you are, you could spend $50 more and get that equipment that will last your entire life.

Still though, you’re making beer and that’s the main point. Kudos to you for that. When you start looking around for equipment, I just saw a good deal by Northern Brewer. MoreBeer is good too, or of course your LHBS if you have one.

Take it easy and I’m looking forward to the upcoming posts!

By: Scott-TheBrewClub

Scott-TheBrewClub — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:44:15 +0000

@Jim – I think this step is really the foundation of the whole thing. If your gear isn’t really clean, the beer could get infected and funky. Somehow, with Lambics, that’s what you want, (sort of) but for this project we like to introduce our microbial pals to Mr. Bleach for a good beat-down. Yes, this is done prior to any of the fun stuff. I found that it can be made more fun if you wear a party hat.

@Nate, love your pointless stories because they actually make a point! Words do mean things, and its important to use the right terminology while not knit-picking, and you give a great example.

Nobody is checking their gear with microscopes or running cultures on petri-dishes – but just get it carefully cleaned!
Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Brewing Beer at Home With the Coopers Homebrew Kit