Well met from West Dean, West Sussex

[blackBeer66]

Hello and thanks for letting me join

Started Brewing: 2013 wife got me a medieval cook book that had a recipe for mead and claret. I though why not try a beer? Its medieval, right? So off I went to my local Homebrew shop and got myself a bucket, pressure barrel and Coopers Wheat kit which I made with 1.3kg of honey... still thinking all medieval... loved it.

Had a short break from brewing between 2015-2019 as I worked away from home. Back into it now but have to keep it simple as limited space, absolutely no time and wife and kid to keep sweet... so I stick to kits and mainly Coopers. Amazing how the Aussies export absolute piss-water in form of Fosters and then make some of the best beer kits known to man!

What do I Brew?:
Just beer. If I go to a pub or supermarket I always go for dark beers. Stouts and Porters on top of my list... or a dark Lager if lucky. Unfortunately most of the time that dark beer available is Guinness and nought else.

So I make my own. I also like light beers with honey. Not much choice. So I make my own.

Current Brewing System:
I normally mix kit contents and extra malt (liquid or dry) in my bucket and chuck the yeast in. I no longer use the kit yeast. I leave in fermenter for minimum two weeks.

Equipment List:

30 l Plastic Fermenter
Cornelius Keg
Pressure barrel
2L growler
2L sparkling water PET bottles
Swing top bottles (500ml+750m)

Regards

Blackbeer

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Welcome to the forum thumb

 

[Cyberjip]

Welcome. Plenty of good people and info to be found here.

 

[terrym]

Welcome.
If you are a Coopers man as I was when I did kits, many of the kits provide good base to experiment. My favourite for this was the AuPA which is a bit uninspiring on its own but ideal for extra hops and grain steeps or even a minimash. And if you like stouts both Coopers stouts are really good with plenty of ideas for additions here
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/coopers-original-stout-review.17817/
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/coopers-irish-stout-review.17818/
I found most of Coopers kit yeasts to be reliable so never felt the need to change. And there is not a one-size-fits-all yeast for their kits, for example the yeasts for the stouts are different.
Anyway you might also find this useful
https://uk.diybeer.com/brewing-info/recipes

 

[Winterbournebrewery]

Welcome aboard . Coopers are great for tweaking. I use the Aussie pale ale kit as a great base , the kit yeasts are fine but if I’m doing a massive tweak then I will buy a specialty yeast for the style / strength. Enjoy & keep up the news & posts on this fab hobby.