Coopers, Canadian Blonde Review

[willycoolj]

Will be doing this one very soon, will be adding elderflowers and dry hoping with falconers flight i think

 

[LarryF]

Brewed 23L - 06/06/15 - 20/06/15 temp: no temp control so it's down to the weather.
11g Maribrew Yeast + 1tsp YN.
1Kg Youngs BE, 454g Lyons Golden Syrup
25g Galaxy Hops, 20m boil and added to FV
OG:1060

Very nice taste from the sampling jar, looking forward to this one. Got a bit of a hot FV so I'll be pitching the yeast at some point in the evening.

I bottled this today, OG:1060 - FG:1012 - 6.5%, what I tasted in the trial jar was very nice, a real kick from the Galaxy hops, can't wait to try a first bottle of this in two weeks.

 

[wheazy_joe]

So opened another one of my Canadian blonde to see how it getting on. Last one was opened about two weeks ago and was still a little under carbed even though it had been in the bottle for three weeks at that point. Now it is perfectly carbed and tasting fantastic! Nice subtle sweetness at the start, from the added honey I guess, followed up with a decent level of bitterness. All in delighted with this brew.

 

[Spapro]

So opened another one of my Canadian blonde to see how it getting on. Last one was opened about two weeks ago and was still a little under carbed even though it had been in the bottle for three weeks at that point. Now it is perfectly carbed and tasting fantastic! Nice subtle sweetness at the start, from the added honey I guess, followed up with a decent level of bitterness. All in delighted with this brew.

Sounds good Joe, I would liken my Canadian Blonde, which has been in the bottles around 2 months to San Miguel, and I like a chilled pint of San Miguel on a sunny day !

 

[wheazy_joe]

Sounds good Joe, I would liken my Canadian Blonde, which has been in the bottles around 2 months to San Miguel, and I like a chilled pint of San Miguel on a sunny day !

Mines nothing like San Miguel have to say, however I did make a few changes like adding 300g honey, saaz hop tea and also dry hopped so that will have changed the character of the beer a fair amount. Whether it turns out as you hope or not I'm sure you will still have a very tasty beer!

 

[Spapro]

Mine was done fairly standard - just used Coopers Brew Enhancer 1 and 250g of Brew Sugar along with the Canadian Blonde kit. Yours will be totally different with those additions, sounds nice though Joe

 

[Slid]

Will be doing this one very soon, will be adding elderflowers and dry hoping with falconers flight i think

So how is this one going?

The kit is a good choice to try these things out, since it is very non-invasive, taste-wise. I have used it to do a blackberry based "Blushing Blonde" with very good and interesting results.

I have picked my Elder flowers, made a syrup from the boil and am awaiting the moment to add it to a fermenting brew.

 

[noddyman]

So how is this one going?

The kit is a good choice to try these things out, since it is very non-invasive, taste-wise. I have used it to do a blackberry based "Blushing Blonde" with very good and interesting results.

I have picked my Elder flowers, made a syrup from the boil and am awaiting the moment to add it to a fermenting brew.

I have just bought one of these kits and I'm looking to make it "fruity"! Any tips for an easy way? I would like to add strawberries as i have some growing in the garden.

 

[Slid]

I have just bought one of these kits and I'm looking to make it "fruity"! Any tips for an easy way? I would like to add strawberries as i have some growing in the garden.

Strawberries should be interesting, if you have them to hand and would not prefer to eat them and use somthing else for beer!

The important thing is to add pectolase overnight, otherwise the result is very hazy, which is off-putting.

An easy way is to add a litre (or more) of red grape juice, WOW-style after the first 3 days of fermentation. That is something I will probably do at some time and really will be so easy, it's almost cheating .

 

[noddyman]

The important thing is to add pectolase overnight, otherwise the result is very hazy, which is off-putting. .

Pectolase?? Please explain. As far as the grape juice goes, will that be better than Strawberries?

 

[Slid]

Pectolase?? Please explain. As far as the grape juice goes, will that be better than Strawberries?

Pectin is found naturally in fruit and it is what makes jam set.
Pectolase is a Pectin destroying enzyme sold by homebrew shops, including Wilko's. You need to sterilise fruit and leave overnight with pectolase.

If you have a hop bag or similar, put the fruit in it and steep it overnight in water plus campden tablet and pectolase. If you have no steriliser, use boiling water, cover and add pectolase when it has cooled down, then leave overnight. If the strawberries are large (ours never were!) you might cut them in half.

I would imagine adding RGJ to a Blonde will have similar effect to adding raisins to Coopers Stout, except that the impact will be more noticable.

Whether that is better than strawberries, I know not.

 

[noddyman]

Many thanks for your comment Slid (sorry i've taken so long to read it). I think i might give the strawberries a miss and possibly put some fruit teabags into the brew. I'll let you know how i go. :p

 

[noddyman]

Just bottled it! 90g of brewing sugar used to batch prime. Didn't go down the strawberry/grape juice/tea bag road after all. Cheers.

 

[noddyman]

The beer is very clear after 12 days in the bottle and there is a bit of sediment when disturbed. I'll give it a couple of weeks and then try it. :whistle:

 

[SteveB67]

I've made this a month ago, added brew enhancer. Nice and clear, strong and a good head, but sadly lacking in flavour. Wished i'd added hops.

 

[Slid]

I've made this a month ago, added brew enhancer. Nice and clear, strong and a good head, but sadly lacking in flavour. Wished i'd added hops.

Very difficult to get a hoppy flavour or aroma just from LME. Bitterness is the main thing that comes across from a can.

Adding some hops as dry hops or a hop tea, or perhaps steeping some grains and doing a boil with hops is well worth the effort. This kit will work for tweaking, simply because it is a little bland on its own.

 

[wheazy_joe]

Got my second go at coppers Canadian blonde on the go today. Used 1kg of BE 2, 150g of brewing sugar I had left over, about 100g of honey and a saaz tea boiled for 20mins. Re-hydrated the pack year for the first time, usually just lob it in dry.

SG of 1044.

This is pretty much the exact recipe I used last time and was very happy with the beer, hopefully have the same results this time. May add a dry hop later, see if I have time!

 

[stetay2]

Blonde kit add light spraymalt brewing sugar and half a bag of saaz hops fement in the fridge with s_23 yeast. Best yet been doing this years

 

[00bygrees]

My Canadian Blonde

Additions:
Brew Enhancer 1
100g Golden Syrup

Brewed to 23l
S.G. 1.045 06/02/16
F.G. 1.012 21/02/16

Batch primed with 150g sugar and bottled.

Result is a crisp, clear beer with great carbonation. Probably best enjoyed on a hot summers day as a refreshment - flavours are not strong.

 

[philt99]

Ive got this kit on the go now

14/12/16
Coopers Canadian blonde
1kg muntons brew enhancer
Brewed short to 21 litres
OG=1.050

Its down to 1.010 today - see how it is over the coming days and move to 2nd FV. I'm going to dry hop with 25g of citra which is left over from my previous brew