modifying a Coopers IPA

[flatyre]

hi all after a fairly successful first attempt at home brewing (Coopers Cerveza), I'm busting to get my Coopers IPA on the go. I've done a bit of research and some people say it's quite short on taste which is a pity as I like my beer to have a fairly robust flavour. What can I do to the kit to give it a bit more taste? I was thinking of using the Coopers Beer enhancer 2 and possibly adding extra hops to get that proper IPA taste. Is it a bit too soon to play about with hops on only my second brew? and if not what type of hops and what method for adding them? cheers and thanks!

 

[honeymonster]

I'm at the point where I want to start modding kits but I haven't made the jump yet.

Not sure if it'll help but I came across this after a quick search!

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=33127

 

[Paulie Sk.]

hi all after a fairly successful first attempt at home brewing (Coopers Cerveza), I'm busting to get my Coopers IPA on the go. I've done a bit of research and some people say it's quite short on taste which is a pity as I like my beer to have a fairly robust flavour. What can I do to the kit to give it a bit more taste? I was thinking of using the Coopers Beer enhancer 2 and possibly adding extra hops to get that proper IPA taste. Is it a bit too soon to play about with hops on only my second brew? and if not what type of hops and what method for adding them? cheers and thanks!

Probably a bit late to reply now as I'm sure your Cooper's Pale has finished brewing. Are you sure it's India Pale (which in Cooper's kits I've never heard of) or Australian Pale. If it's Australian Pale Ale, it's not meant to be anything like IPA, and I wouldn't mess about with it too much. It's more like a lager, as most Australian beers are. I find that Cooper's Australian Pale is the home-brew which is most like the bottled commercial version which, when I had this in Australia, was surprised to find it had sediment at the bottom. I can also recommend Cooper's Australian Lager, which has a malty, Castlemaine like taste to it.

 

[anthonyUK]

Are you sure it's India Pale...

Is it this one?
I've never made it myself but most kits benefit from a bit of dry hopping :)

 

[froidy]

Yeah Coopers definitely do an India Pale Ale (Heritage range) I do it all the time! I brew it slightly short at 22lt, 1kg DME, 250g Dextrose. Brew between 18-20deg for 9 x days then dry hop (hang a sanitised muslin bag in the fermenter with string and weigh down with marbles) with 25-50g Cascade hops for 5 x more days then bottle. Comes out a treat, a banging kit!

 

[Paulie Sk.]

Are you sure it's India Pale...

Is it this one?

Never seen that one before, it's a new one to me. (Maybe not being a big fan of IPA I've never really looked for it.) The Australian Pale has a green & white label on the can, identical to the bottled version. It's definitely my favourite kit, but like I say, it's more of a tasty lager style pint than the Pale Ale we get in the UK. Some of the Australian brew kits, (Cooper's & Toohey's) do a dark ale, often referred to as 'Old'. I might give one a go soon, I think it's an amber ale, and reminds me of Double Diamond, (showing me age there!!).

Thanks for the advice guys, I think your brewing is maybe a bit more advanced than mine, I just go with a kit and a bag of sugar!

 

[flatyre]

that's the one. what's better for an amateur like me, adding hop pellets, dried hops, etc? and what's best for a traditional IPA taste, Goldings, fuggles etc?

 

[froidy]

I think pellets are easier for beginners I love Cascade the most in mine but have used Goldings and Fuggles in other types of kit and they have been nice, not sure with the IPA though

 

[anthonyUK]

For traditional English flavour I love Challenger for bittering and EKG for aroma. A lovely combo.

 

[flatyre]

i'm hoping to get the IPA started some evening this week. I couldn't get hop pellets so bought 100g of dried Goldings, also bought 500g of dark spraymalt as there was no beer enhancer 2, and I still have the 1kg of dextrose brewing sugar from the coopers cerveza kit. I'd like to create a nice well flavoured hoppy IPA but not overly bitter. Are these ingredients enough if I brew it short at 21 or 22 litres? Also this is only my second brew and have never used any kind of hops before. How do I add them, how much, and when? sorry for all the questions.

 

[froidy]

Those ingredients should be fine I would brew it at 21lt and dry hop the Goldings. I ferment for 9 x days then add the hops (50g gives a nice full hop flavour for me but you may want more) I use a sanitised muslin bag on a piece of string weighed down with marbles for 5 x days then bottle, comes out great! I love Cascade