Coopers, English Bitter

[droche]

I brewed this to a recipe on the Coopers web site called Extra Smooth Bitter using brew enhancer and molasses. It came out at 4% ABV and even early on it was very drinkable. I kegged most of it and filled a few bottles, the bottled was ok but I always find the fizz does not suit this type of beer. The kegged was very .... erm .... :hmm: Smooth ! It had a good head and a slight after taste of the molasses but not too sweet. If I was served this in a pub I would have no complaints. This is the best 1 can kit I have done even though I bought the extras to pimp it up it was well worth it and I'll definitely be doing this one again.

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[Markus]

Oh, this is good bitter. The bottled stuff is top notch. The KK stuff a bit raw and gassy or something, but it has had 4 weeks less cold conditioning. Bottled stuff I'd veeerry nice :thumb:

 

[Sone]

Just put this on, I steeped 200g crystal malt then brought to a boil and used 30g east kent golding hops along with 1kg beer kit enhancer I had left. I have about 25g of the hops leftover, should I use these to dry hop after 7 days? OG was about 1.043

Smells great already, can't wait to give this one a try :thumb:

 

[gazkilla]

Kegged this today with 4oz of sugar after being in the FV for 14 days,11 in the warm and 3 in the cold after stable hydrometer readings. It was very clear going through the syphon tubes. Also chucked in some goldings hop tea (20g). Tasted great from the hydrometer tube so looking forward to leaving it until Xmas before I try,if I can wait that long :hmm:

 

[gazkilla]

Keg has sprung a leak so I drew a few pints off to relieve the pressure and it tasted great :thumb: Leaks stopped,next time I should vaseline up :shock:

 

[TheGrumble]

I'm on to the last bottle of a 23 litre brew of this and it's been a very nice beer indeed. I added the recommended 500g of spray malt and was surprised to find it had a low OG of 1030, but it came down quite a lot to a FG of 1006, so with priming it should have come out at about 3.5%. It definitely lives up to the "bitter" name when compared to other Coopers kits such as the IPA or the APA, I have their Real Ale conditioning now so it'll be interesting to compare that one.

I think next time I'll add a Brew Enhancer 2 and brew to 21 litres to get the ABV up, but it was a very drinkable beer that I'm looking forward to doing again.

 

[fumblefox]

I brewed this, my first ever brew, on the 8th September 2013 to the kit instructions, apart from using one and a half of the Cooper's carbonation pellets per bottle instead of one, which from the instructions would be appropriate for 330ml bottles, not the 500ml bottles I used. I dry hopped with 20gms Goldings pellets on the 15th Sept (ambitious, eh?). I bottled on 24th Sept, the SG having dropped from 1042-1010, which made it 4.2%.

I kept the bottles in the warm for two weeks, then put them outside on the 10th Oct and chilled a bottle in the fridge to taste. Fizzed more than I expected, but came out brilliantly clear and with a big old head on it. Taste was - almost ok. There was bitterness and malty sweetness, but too much of the latter, and the two tastes seemed separate from each other, if that makes any sense. However, masking it all was a distinctly yeasty flavour that I guess must be the notorious twang. I could drink it fine, but it would very definitely be homebrew and not that great.

So I left it outside till 26th October - the ambient temp still from 13-16, which was probably too warm. The next sample spouted foam. I suspect putting in one and half of the Cooper's drops per bottle was a half drop too many, and also, given my experience with subsequent brews, that it hadn't fully fermented out.

The bitterness was still there, the maltiness less, and the good news was it tasted more integrated. However, there was still a yeasty flavour overlying the whole thing, frustratingly masking what seemed to be a nice beer underneath.

I then brought it inside to the loft, where it's been sitting at 12-16C ambient since then.

It still fizzes too much and is still frustrating, because the fizzing stirs up the yeast/hops muck at the bottom of the bottle so that each glass has a touch of sediment with it. From the fridge it tastes bland and faintly yeasty. At room temp it fizzes a fountain and tastes distinctly yeasty. However, if I can hit a window of about 7-10C, it's an acceptable bottle of beer.

Would I brew it again?

Probably not, even though I suspect the twang in the glass was largely down to a combination of impatience and over-carbonation. I reckon to get the best out of it I should put it into a second FV vessel for a week or two before bottling, and frankly I can't be arsed to do that. Plus my two can kit results have been much, much better, and for only 3 or 4 quid more (the cooper's needs extra dry malt as well as the can) give better flavour beer.

 

[Paul1]

I brewed this beginning of December using 1kg med spray malt extract, plus 200g brew enhancer. Kept in the FV for 10 days, then like you bottled with 1.5 carbonation drops. OG was 1041, FG 1008.

Left it in the bottles for 4 weeks. It is a bit gassy, and not 100% clear, but turned out better than I thought. I really like the bitter finish, and there is no "yeasty twang".

I would brew this again, but leave in the FV longer, only put 1 carbonation drop per 500ml bottle, and also store the bottles in the garage after a couple of weeks

 

[mitsu monkey]

I've got one of these kits to make at some stage, I've not had this one before but I'm thinking of making it with a Munton's brew enhancer and some honey.
What do you all think? Will it be OK? How much honey would you use to give it a slight flavour?

Cheers

 

[louis macneice]

I brewed this at the start of Jan using the following:

Coopers English Bitter can of extract
1kg amber spray malt
500g crystal (steeped @ 60 for 20 mins)
100g roasted barley (steeped @60 for 20 mins)
25g Fuggles (boiled in steeping liquid for 20 mins)
500g brewing sugar
Cooper kit yeast & Safeale 04 Ale yeast

Brewed to 20 ltrs
1st week in primary
Then 25g Fuggles dry hop
2nd week in primary
Batch primed with 90g brown sugar

Bottled kept inside for two weeks; now out in the shed.

It already tastes really good; cleared well, sufficient carbonation and head. Lot's of big malty flavour (like the Coopers IPA I tweaked) but more bitterness and a lot darker. It's like an old ale in a Harvey's Old sort of way. Now I've just got to leave it alone for a bit!

I must say I'm really impressed with the Coopers kits as a base for messing about; first the IPA and now the English Bitter have both turned out really well.

Cheers - Louis MacNeice

 

[jphil123]

Here is my experience (brew details below): this kit produces fast results and the taste remains fairly stable after. Brew and enjoy quickly. Perhaps not the most complex or intriguing beer, but great to share with buddies while talking about more important things in life than brewing, for example. I didn't fiddle too much with this kit, but could imagine this is a great base for experimenting with malt/hop additions.

This is what I did:
On 15/01/2014, added 1,150g of Amber DME and brewed to 22 litres. OG 1.052 (higher than expected).
Left to ferment in PV until 01/02, when FG dropped to 1.009. Batch primed with 115g cane sugar, and bottled. Very clear. According to my calculations, this would mean ABV 5.8%.

Enjoyed it after two weeks in the bottle, enjoyed pretty must the same after 6 weeks now. Good kit to brew to make it easier to leave other brew to mature.

 

[Tean Buns]

All right ... craigtube likes this one, I mean Cooper's kits in general, I have to know whether he is talking poohpooh or not ... so let's check out these Cooper's kits, a first time for me. English Bitter here we come ...

 

[Tean Buns]

The kit has been done according to basic instructions, one kilo of sugar, slightly short brewed to 20 litres but I'll be adding another litre of fluid with the priming sugar and the finings. It'll be going into a pressure barrel, more news in a couple of weeks' time.

 

[Tean Buns]

Seven days in the primary, fined at quarter gravity and then put in the barrel on day 10. Perfectly clear beer has gone in to the barrel and it has been primed to the tune of 43gr of brown sugar. There is not much ullage, so it seems pointless adding any more, I will have to reprime half way down the barrel.

Initial impressions ... are not too bad, really. It seems like a typical kit to me, thin, leaning towards the hop side and nothing too impressive in there. This will no doubt evolve with time and it will improve. BUT i am not too keen on the hops coming through for the moment, they seem a bit raw, undercooked and green ... but once again, this will evolve. More news in a couple of weeks. :

 

[Tean Buns]

Another week on ..

Beer, out of the barrel, looks the part, spot on, wonderful even. Then comes the taste test, the beer is acidic, due to the hopping and not a fermentation problem, the hops remain green, acidic and over-powering and not very pleasant at all. This is a shame because there is a definite caramel background trying to push through. I am somewhat reminded of The Wherry with the caramel background but the overall impression for the moment is of a beer that is totally out of balance. I am a major hop-head, so a lop-sided beer on the hop front should not present a problem, here, however, it does. Even one week later, the hop taste is raw and unbalanced. This will no doubt evolve with time but I am wondering whether the kit would benefit from a 1/4 hour boil before fermentation ... ???

But I will almost definitely NOT be buying another one to find out. I am not impressed, it's a beer from a kit, just doesn't have the WOW factor. :nah:

 

[louis macneice]

Another week on ..

Beer, out of the barrel, looks the part, spot on, wonderful even. Then comes the taste test, the beer is acidic, due to the hopping and not a fermentation problem, the hops remain green, acidic and over-powering and not very pleasant at all. This is a shame because there is a definite caramel background trying to push through. I am somewhat reminded of The Wherry with the caramel background but the overall impression for the moment is of a beer that is totally out of balance. I am a major hop-head, so a lop-sided beer on the hop front should not present a problem, here, however, it does. Even one week later, the hop taste is raw and unbalanced. This will no doubt evolve with time but I am wondering whether the kit would benefit from a 1/4 hour boil before fermentation ... ???

But I will almost definitely NOT be buying another one to find out. I am not impressed, it's a beer from a kit, just doesn't have the WOW factor. :nah:

The Coopers is bittered with Pride of Ringwood hops; I've seen some You Tube footage where people just don't like the taste of these hops at all. This may not be so odd as they are apparently responsible for the distinctive taste of Fosters...make of it what you will.

For my part I really like the Coopers English Bitter (and their IPA) as a base to experiment with.

Cheers - Louis MacNeice

 

[Tean Buns]

Louis
Get where you are coming from, accept your point of view. Part of it might be due to my water supply and part of it may be due to my impatience, the beer is still young, but I don't think it is going to move on that much. Glad you like it but I'll definitely not be experimenting with Pride of Ringwood hops having tasted the Cooper's Bitter.

 

[pms67]

Hi, I brewed this around 4 months ago,tried it after 2 weeks and couldnt drink it.
Tried again after 4 weeks and whilst drinkable,it was only just.
After 8 weeks it turned into a nice pint,similar to the IPA but i wouldnt rush to buy it again when there are so many other good kits out there.
Hope it turns out for you.

 

[Tean Buns]

PMS67

Sounds pretty much like my point of view, hence my idea of giving the kit a bit of a boil just to round off the edges ... but I'll not be doing another one.

cheers

 

[chinacat]

just done this one brewed 26 april 2014 with brewing sugar bottled with 1/4 teaspoon of caster sugar ( all i had at the time )
og 1039 fg 1007 so looking at 4.2 abv
brewed withwha i had to hand so nothing special bu tasted ok at bottling so could be a reasonable session beer
i find the coopers kits ok and fairly good with just brewing sugar better if spray malt added