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I have brewed this kit twice now, the first batch as per manufacturers instructions, the second with a few modifications to the recipe.
For my 1st batch I followed the Coopers instructions to the letter and used all recommended ingredients. Fermentation commenced within 24hrs and was very vigourous, eventually finishing after 6 days. I bottled and primed using Coopers carbonation drops. After 2 weeks it was ready to test. The lager cleared very well and kept its head to the bottom of the glass, however, I have to say that I was a little dissapointed with the taste. For me it was very thin tasting with almost no body and had that unmistakable 'homebrew' taste. I left it for a further 6 weeks to cold condition but this had very little effect on the outcome.
For my 2nd batch I decided to tweak the recipe. I used Nottingham yeast instead of the kit yeast, added 1kg of light dry malt and used 1oz of Hallertau hops for aroma. I primed using the Coopers carbonation drops and left for 2 weeks before testing. The result was a far superior batch. Much fresher, a far better body and a lovely aroma. I had my mates come round and try a blind taste test of the 2 batches. All agreed that the 2nd batch was far superior, some even commenting that the 1st batch tasted like p*** (their words not mine) , to be honest, I agreed!!!
I would do this brew again but not with Coopers standard instructions and ingredients. I am going to give this kit 3 stars as I am basing the review on the standard kit and not the tweaked recipe.
Rating:  [3 of 5 Stars!] |
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[4 of 5 Stars!]
