Homebrew Travesty!!

[Brewbob]

I was checking out a few kits last night and a few of the shops that supply them, ie Wilkoss, Tescos, and now Lakeland, as well as my local homebrew shop.

What shocked me most was Coopers is Australian, something I never knew. I mean, whats going on there?? Don't we live in a country that has a great beer tradition? So much so that the Aussies want to copy it, which is fair enough its miles away and they've copied most of our bands. But why then fly it around the world back to us, OK make an Aussie lager from an Aussie kit, but English style bitter, or German style lager? Sand to the Arabs comes to mind.

Surely homebrewing is one thing where keeping it local can only be a positive, don't we have the best English bitters in the world? Why bother with some Aussie copy? Just because its the biggest HB Co in the world, even more reason to help the smaller independents..

Another thing that I was surprised about is Youngs kits include colouring, if you have to include colouring in your beer doesn't that indicate that something is wrong?

Just some little gripes I have, I know I certainly won't be buying anything from Tescos (I never do anyway). I won't be buying anything that includes colouring, and as much as I can I'm going to keep it local.

:hat:

 

[BIGJIM72]

Sorry the bubble has burst Bob! Muntons are UK based & owned privately,but best check their yeasts (generally labelled produced in the EU) Fermentais (spelt right?)-makers of Safale yeasts are French & Brewferm are Belgian.One of the producers of liquid yeasts is from the US. Selection wine kits are also stateside. To avoid all imported brewing products may be tough.

Brewers caramel is an additive used by some,but not by me.But if you are extract brewing & trying to clone a commercial brew in appearance then it may be a necessary evil.

Don't take me the wrong way- I'm not having a dig. Home brewing is global (one of the better BIAB sites is Aussie,lots of the Youtube homebrew vids are from the states)-if someone outside of our country makes a decent product that folk like & buy in abundance then I don't really have an issue.

If you want control over what is in the beer you are drinking then AG is the way forward for you my friend.

Please take no offence as none was intended

 

[oldjiver]

I used to live not far away from EDME's in Manningtree Essex. 30 years ago I used to buy a 56lb sack of malt there and walk home with it on my shoulder. The place smelt gorgeous. I think it still makes malt, but they never even replied to my recent email asking if I could still buy a sack. Perhaps thats why Australia got in on the act? :sulk:

 

[RobWalker]

best barley in australia so i hear. they don't make fosters with it either, it's made up. :lol:

 

[Brewbob]

No offence taken, I just think when there are kits by the likes of Ritchies, Milestone, Brupaks, St Peters, Woodfordes (which is Muntons right?) then why use something that is made in Oz?

Of course I understand brewing is global and so it should be, and I guess brewers source their ingredients from wherever is cost effective, and companies such as Brewferm specialise in Belgian beers, so if you want to make a Belgian beer then they would be the best ones to get.

No, I guess my beef is with the Coopers English Bitter thing, I just don't see the point of it over here, except for the fact that its the Coca Cola of brewing companies and its stocked at Tescos the behemoth of not-so-supermarkets.

On that point, what English yeast strains are there? and while I agree AG is the way forward, I need to get more kit before I can contemplate that, so is there anyway to try kit/extract brewing and keeping it as local as possible?

 

[bobsbeer]

While I hate to admit it, the beer turns out good. So why not make it and drink it if it's good? I drink Chilean wine, South African, French, USA and Aus and all are good so where's the problem?

 

[SloeBrewer]

Muntons make quite a lot of the beer kits, actually. As well as their own-branded ones, they make the Woodfordes, and St Peter's kits and possibly Festival, too, plus others I can't remember. It's because they are one of the largest malters in the UK, so have the ability to make the kits on the breweries behalf, as the breweries themselves wouldn't have the capability.

As for Coopers, they make some very good beer in Australia and it makes sense that they have seen a market here and exploited it. I don't know if the kits are imported, or made under licence in the UK, by someone like Muntons. I sincerely hope that the Coopers PET bottles are made in the EU, as it seems crazy that they would ship all the way here, for something so bulky, yet light weight.

 

[peelman]

I drink Chilean wine, South African, French, USA and Aus ........

Not all at the same time I hope?? :rofl:

Better Brew? Now where are they from? I think they are British? Tried their IPA recently and I have to say I think it was better than the Coopers one... Or on par at least!

 

[bobsbeer]

Not all at the same time I hope??

Depends. :grin:

 

[BIGJIM72]

On that point, what English yeast strains are there? and while I agree AG is the way forward, I need to get more kit before I can contemplate that, so is there anyway to try kit/extract brewing and keeping it as local as possible?

This was part of the issue I was hinting at. There are notable english ale yeast strains (WIndsor,Nottingham & English Ale). The problem is they are not always produced by english manufacturers. Danstar & Lalvin are definitely overseas producers, and I would bet my boots that Youngs don't produce yeast in the UK. Whitelabs & Wyeast are American firms.

Again, Muntons are a UK based firm that do sell a few yeast products-but the sachets that come with their kits tend to have an EU production marking.

Again,this post is not meant to offend. If read out of context of the thread it might make me sound like a pompous little englander-when I only intended to answer a question about locally sourced ingredients.

 

[Brewbob]

Again,this post is not meant to offend. If read out of context of the thread it might make me sound like a pompous little englander-when I only intended to answer a question about locally sourced ingredients.

I agree, I've traveled the world, lived in Portugal and Thailand, eat food from around the world, drink drinks from around the world. I'll drink wines from around the world as other countries make great wines, but I'll drink English cider, occasionally French, never Kopperberg! But what's the point of drinking Savannah, its OK and if I ever go to S. Africa I'll drink Savannah, but English cider is the best in the world so why bother with the other, and its the same with bitter. When I lived in Thailand I drunk Singha, or Leo, there was a place that sold Newkie Brown but I didn't bother. There are a couple a English boozers on Sukhumvit Rd that make their own beer and that was fine, but I still preferred the local stuff generally.

What I couldn't get was making an English Bitter from an Aussie kit. If I lived in Oz I'd make a Coopers kit as I'm sure they're very acceptable, but the kits and bitters here are just as good if not better, so why not just make them?

 

[Stu]

So I'll put my ten pence worth.

Firstly, I'm a crap home brewer. Doing AG and mixing stuff is way beyond my capability. I've been doing this on-off for over 20 years, but always with kits. I've just started my first WOW which is really pushing it for me.

Although I enjoyed my home brew, it was an acquired taste - I could never encourage anyone to drink my beers. It was always sharp and didn't really taste like anything you would get in a pub. Mostly, I brewed bitters although I did a couple of lagers and they were awful. My kits were always UK ones.

Then about 15 years ago (I think), my then father-in-law introduced me to Coopers. It changed my perception entirely of home brew. This was more like the sort of stuff I wanted to taste. I was enjoying both bitters and lagers. IIRC, they only did these 2 types. In addition, I had an Aussie friend who used to insist on bringing a crate of Coopers Lager to parties which was always good so I knew about the heritage.

So for this reason, I've always stuck to what I know. Crap excuse I know and I will get round to trying one of the Woodforde's ones very soon, but I'm afraid to step outside my comfort zone. I have got a Wilko's pear cider on the go, but I have no idea of the source of it.

My now ex-father-in-law still brews Coopers bitter exactly the same as he has done ever since they came out in the UK.