Coopers Brewery DIY Beer Kit
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List Price: Our Price: $109.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Coopers Brewery DIY Beer Kit
Customer Review: Perfect brewing kit
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this kit in 2007 and this may seem a long time to wait before writing a review but I wanted to make sure everything went perfectly before doing the review. And it did.
First, the DVD that came with the kit makes everything easy to understand. They don't just tell you want to do but WHY to do it, how everything works and how to maintain it. This means you can explore on your own, after the first batch, on how to brew beer. The booklet came with extra information on future brewing, giving you the information to do your own measurements and so on.
My first batch, by the way, was great. Everybody who tried it, some of them being old fashion home brewers themselves, really enjoyed it and said it was excellent. Also, the reason I decided to brew some beer was to see how it worked, being a history and food nut, and also to make some for my brother. I wanted to put the beer in glass bottles and, while I guessed how many carbonation drops would go into them, I still sent a e-mail to Coopers to ask. Not only did they send a reply they sent it within six hours. I sent my question at breakfast and find an answer in my inbox by lunch. When you figure they are half-way across the world from me that's GREAT customer service.
Course, they use the metric system and I use gallons and such, but that's just math and, frankly, the system is very forgiving. Don't be scared about going online and checking out their website, which is very user friendly, and other sites dealing with beer brewing.
While my brother is now on a diet I plan to start a second batch. Yes, a long time from the first, I know, but to me it is like a holiday. It is a rare treat and once I make all the beer I have to find somebody, besides me, to drink it!
Get it for a gift for somebody who loves beers. Easy to use, great customer service, FUN to use and great results. I understand more about brewing AND feel some pride in having brewed real beer!
The only warning is for you to remember that this is NOT American beer and it has a REAL kick. About three times the kick, so please be careful, don't drive after testing.
Customer Review: Liquor is Quicker but Beer is Here!
Summary: 5 Stars
I think this is a really good kit for anyone who wants to break out in the beer brewing world. The dvd really helps with the directions. You will have to convert measurements if you're in the U.S., but just Google the stuff, you'll be fine.
Oh, and the only reason I say "break out" is because everyone is different. Some people getting into this hobby may be happy with this kit and extract brewing long term, and others will want to add equipment and "brew from scratch." And then there are the crazy brew freaks digging up their driveways so they can fit 57 different strains of hops in their front yard.
The bucket is nice and big...much better than a cheapo beer pail because you can actually see what's going on through the clear top. It is plastic and some people will tell you glass is better...but not for me. I'll never want a glass carboy...they're too heavy and I'm way too petite and clumsy.
I just recently started my 1st batch with this kit and I'm so thrilled! It's so much fun watching beer happen in your house. I do recommend buying some sanitizer. It's really worth it if you don't want to work too hard. Bleach is a pain in the tookus because you have to rinse the heck out of it. I bought some no rinse stuff online.
This kit comes with pretty big reusable plastic bottles which means a little less cleaning and sanitizing. I've read that the plastic caps that come in this kit are also reusable but will eventually have to be replaced. I like regular glass bottles too, but capping is tedious, so I think alternating between these plastic bottles and glass ones will work out great for me.
I love that it comes with a hydrometer. I just used it today...and broke it tonight. I told you I was clumsy.
'Nuff said...I am really happy with this kit.
Happy brewing!
Customer Review: Excellent Product
Summary: 5 Stars
This product is an incredible way to begin home brewing. I was really impressed with how easy it was to do, even just by myself. There aren't a lot of 'custom options' in terms of the full beer packages that are ordered, but it's an awesome way to begin learning the process of brewing.
I started out following the instructions (after watching the amusing DVD) quite precisely, and ran into no trouble getting set up. After the first step (mixing the wort, pitching the yeast) there was a small leak around the plastic tap, but I tightened it a lot more and there was no more trouble. I was worried that the brew would become infected due to the breach, but it did not.
Bottling was also easy, due to the plastic bottles (say what you want about them, it's a whole lot easier than capping). There was a slight annoyance involving the 'little tap', which supposedly makes the bottling easier. I thought it helped with foam control, but I still had to open and close the tap to stop the flow. Regardless, the process was easy and relatively quick.
A couple of weeks later I brought the brew (a standard lager with a slightly bitter finish) to a party. All twelve 24 oz bottles I brought were consumed (out of a total of about 30 made), so I took that as a sign that it went well. Everyone that's had it has been impressed that it was a non-disastrous first home brew. I look forward to brewing more of the kits that they have on their website (makebeer.net), which has monthly specials on beer kits.
Eventually I'll move from the pre-mixed stuff to actually making recipe beers, and while I'm not sure at this point what is required, I assume that the unhopped malt extracts (also available on makebeer.net) are the first step to getting that started.
All in all, this is an excellent way to start a home brewing operation.
Customer Review: Excellent Kit
Summary: 5 Stars
I brewed my own beer once before using a Mr. Beer kit and the final product was only so-so. Considering the cost of the refill kits and the amount of time and effort, I decided it wasn't worth it for only so-so beer. The Mr. Beer kit doesn't go into very much detail with the brewing process. It's more like "Boil this for so long, add this, wait this long and you have beer."
With the Coopers Brew kit, much more detail is given to why you are doing these things and what to look for. This results in better beer or at least an understanding on what went wrong and how to make it better next time. This kit comes with a thermometer to get specific temperatures. This kit comes with a hydrometer so you'll know how long to wait before the yeast is done working it's magic (and you'll know how strong your beer is going to be).
The kits to make more beer are much more affordable than the Mr. beer ones. You can actually make decent beer with this kit for about half of what it costs at the grocery store. And the kits come with everything you need, including the sugar added when bottling. The Mr. Beer kit has you add your own sugar, which can be a pain if you didn't realize you need your own sugar and when it comes time to bottle you run out.
Bottling the beer with the Coopers kit is also way easier with the device that is included.
Overall I've been very impressed with this kit and plan on using it again and again.
Customer Review: Good beer that's fun to make
Summary: 5 Stars
I gave this kit to my husband for a Christmas present, since he's a big beer fan. (I prefer martinis, but I'm high-maintenance that way.) He was originally reluctant to try it -- there's nothing worse than a bad beer, he assures me, and he worried it would be a pain in the neck to brew.
Turns out, the process was straight-forward and rather simple. The hardest part, he says, was waiting for the beer to be ready to drink. Once it was, he invited some beer-loving friends over and they each raved about the flavor. "Nice and crisp," said one. "No bad aftertaste," said another.
We did note that the alcohol content is somewhat higher in this brew than, say, the one you'd buy at the liquor store. (Around 9% vs. 6% or so.) I even liked it, perhaps because it wasn't in the least bit bitter.
I just ordered him a couple of refills since he and his buddies polished off the first batch. Each of the Cooper's refill kits contain all you need (besides water) to make another batch while producing about 32 pints of beer, which actually translates into decent savings.
The only downside of the kit is the non-reusable caps on the plastic bottles. (Well, technically I suppose you could re-use them but they won't provide an air-tight seal after first use.) We may fork out for old-fashioned beer bottles (the kind that Grolsch still comes in) as a more environmentally friendly way to, well, make and drink beer.