just out of interest (ive never added anything to a brew before), ive got one of these sat in my draw as the next thing to go into the fermenter. after reading the reviews, im definitely not wanting a thin ale, but also dont like an overly hoppy bitter. ive got some medium spray malt - will this add enough depth and flavour?
Re: Willco's hoppy copper.
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I've bought is in the Wilco's sale before looking at the reviews. Whilst the reviews for brewing as following the instructions may not be the best, I'm planning on using 500g medium spray malt, 500g muscavado sugar and maybe a tin of dark treacle. A chance to experiment with my first can brew and see what flavours arise. It's only like £8 in the end so it's a chance to learn and see what could be changed in future
wow! this kit is definitely better than some of the reviews give it credit for. i used 500g of medium malt spray and same again brewing sugar. i brewed it short at 20L rather than 25 and gave it a week in the fermenter. even when barrelling today, it was forming a lovely creamy head with the 85g of sugar i used to start conditioning. and the taste i got from siphoning was good too! another few weeks and this will be a good ale!
Frogbrew
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I've done two of these now, one to 23ltr which was a bit pale and watery, the second to 20ltr 750g brewing sugar and 250g mdme bottled and tasted good, didn't last long.
Keep us updated on the outcome as I have another sat in the cupboard waiting to go on;-)
Keep us updated on the outcome as I have another sat in the cupboard waiting to go on;-)
Sorry, but the answer is actually "No".
For next time, some Dry Malt Extract (DME) or a 1kg Brew Enhancer is going to address some of the things that cause this.
For now, almost anything that messes with it, makes it worse.
Just rejoice that brew 1 is OK and get some advice to move forward.:thumb:
![BREWING THERMOMETER STICKERS ACCURATELY MONITOR FERMENTING BEER & WINE LIQUID TEMPERATURES 5PCS HOME BREW SPIRITS WINE LCD ADHESIVE [US]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/311DDjo2X3L._SL500_.jpg)
Vaseline or similar is suggested on leaky taps, somewhere.
The "General Beer Brewing Equipment Discussion" area is the place to look.
Good luck with the Hoppy Copper, BTW. Most homebrew turns out OK with a bit of patience.
Another 3 weeks in the keg, taste is better, but not to my taste. Not as hoppy as I thought it would be. I gave it a go, but won't get it again. If you like a light summer ale which is not too strong, a nice session ale then try it. 
500g medium spray malt and 1kg brewing sugar and a Challenger hop tea 4 days before bottling and it came out a very quaffable brew. Not as hoppy as I'd hoped but very drinkable nevertheless. For £10 you really can't go wrong :-P
brooklandbackyardbrewery
New Member
bought this while on offer £8.00, i thought bargain!!!!! then i read the reviews, had to make some adjustments so brewed it to 20 ltrs, with 1kg of brewing sugar and 400grams maltodextrin. used the yeast that came with the can then after 5 days dry hopped with 50grams of simcoe, smells great, its now in the secondary awaiting bottling. og was 1.046. will post review after its conditioned.
LarryF
Brew Numpty
Wilko Hoppy Copper
23L 05/09/15 - 19/09/15, summer temps no temp control
Re-pitched Mauribrew 514, 1tsp YN
40g East Kent Golding hop pellets, 20m boil, bag and tea added FV
SG:1048 -
Nice tast in the sample jar. FV lid bowing after four hours, now where did I put the blow off tube?
23L 05/09/15 - 19/09/15, summer temps no temp control
Re-pitched Mauribrew 514, 1tsp YN
40g East Kent Golding hop pellets, 20m boil, bag and tea added FV
SG:1048 -
Nice tast in the sample jar. FV lid bowing after four hours, now where did I put the blow off tube?
LarryF
Brew Numpty
Had my first one after ten days in the warm and two days in the fridge. It came out very nice, it's a very drinkable beer I had an OG of 1048 and and FG of 1006 (5.7% or thereabouts). I certainly wouldn't recommend doing this as per the kit instructions and just using brewing sugar I have a feeling you'd have a very thin brew wanting in flavour. What I forgot to add on the last post was that I used 1kg Youngs BE and 100g of honey and this gives the beer a body that I don't think it would have with just brewing sugar. The East Kent Golding hops bring a lovely flavour and it's these that make the beer. This is a good base kit to add to or to tweak and if on sale again I will get it but line up some good hops to add to it and maybe even add a tin of Lyons Golden Syrup to add the extra body. Anyway, I've 35+ pints of this now and really looking forward to drinking them.
I brewed this last month and after reading on here about it being quite thin changed from the recipe with the following:
500g Medium DME
500g dark brown sugar
250g brewing sugar
I brewed short to 20l SG of 1044 with FG being 1012.
Tasted yesterday after three weeks in the warm and it's horribly sweet with very little flavour. The trial jar sample when I bottled tasted very nice so I'm disappointed. Hopefully the longer it is left the better it will get.
Is the sweetness likely to mellow out the longer I leave it or shall I just save it for guests I don't like?
500g Medium DME
500g dark brown sugar
250g brewing sugar
I brewed short to 20l SG of 1044 with FG being 1012.
Tasted yesterday after three weeks in the warm and it's horribly sweet with very little flavour. The trial jar sample when I bottled tasted very nice so I'm disappointed. Hopefully the longer it is left the better it will get.
Is the sweetness likely to mellow out the longer I leave it or shall I just save it for guests I don't like?
Last night, by way of an experiment
-One (�ã8 sale) Hoppy Copper kit can.
-One 454g jar H&B ME.
-100g crystal malt steeped for 15mins at 65*Cish then a short boil.
-15g First Gold 15min boil in the bag then all chucked into the FV.
Topped up to make up a 15 litre brew.
SG 1042
Pitched with kit yeast at 22*C.
Now sitting in the warm at about 20*C
Will dry hop for 5 days with 20g First Gold when primary over.
And will update in just over a month's time.
Hope it's going to be worth it given the mixed bag of reviews on here!
-One (�ã8 sale) Hoppy Copper kit can.
-One 454g jar H&B ME.
-100g crystal malt steeped for 15mins at 65*Cish then a short boil.
-15g First Gold 15min boil in the bag then all chucked into the FV.
Topped up to make up a 15 litre brew.
SG 1042
Pitched with kit yeast at 22*C.
Now sitting in the warm at about 20*C
Will dry hop for 5 days with 20g First Gold when primary over.
And will update in just over a month's time.
Hope it's going to be worth it given the mixed bag of reviews on here!
I've put one of these on tonight, brewed short to 10L with no extra fermentables and included a 25g hop tea (challenger/pacific jade 50/50).
Trouble is the OG is 1056! I was hoping for a session strength bitter but it has the potential to go well above that.
I can't water it down just yet as it's in a 10L fermenter. Question: when I transfer into secondary for clearing, could I water it down a little?
Cheers!
Trouble is the OG is 1056! I was hoping for a session strength bitter but it has the potential to go well above that.
I can't water it down just yet as it's in a 10L fermenter. Question: when I transfer into secondary for clearing, could I water it down a little?
Cheers!
H0PM0NSTER
Regular.
You should be able to add extra water and lower the strength of the beer. Just remember that you'll be diluting the taste at the same. This shouldn't be too much of a concern as your brew is going to be pretty hoppy based on your current volume plus the additional hops you've added, but don't add too much water as it would be a shame to spoil it (based on the current recipe it will probably be in the 6% region)
In that case I'd look to dilute it by about 20%, with 2 litres of water in the secondary. Perhaps I could hop tea the extra water to salvage the flavour, or do an over the top dry hop in primary.
Decisions decisions, at least I've got two weeks to think about it :whistle:
Decisions decisions, at least I've got two weeks to think about it :whistle:
I bottled my Hoppy Copper tonight. From OG 1.042 it struggled to get past 1.020 and eventually did get down to a disappointing 1.016 in the end, in spite of some coaxing along on my part. I put this down to the yeast which may be a clone of the Muntons Wherry yeast which also struggled to go past 1.020.
So factor in a stuck fermentation into your decision tree!!
Thanks Terry, it went off like a rocket but will keep an eye on the SG.
Can anyone offer advice as to when I should water down? I'm leaning towards adding dilution when I rack into secondary, but I've seen on other forums that people are watering down when the beer goes into bottle.
Is the risk of oxidisation from additional water a risk? If so, what's the best way to deal with it?
I guess that once I water down, all bets are off when it comes to measuring SG. I'll just have to hope I get it right!
Can anyone offer advice as to when I should water down? I'm leaning towards adding dilution when I rack into secondary, but I've seen on other forums that people are watering down when the beer goes into bottle.
Is the risk of oxidisation from additional water a risk? If so, what's the best way to deal with it?
I guess that once I water down, all bets are off when it comes to measuring SG. I'll just have to hope I get it right!
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