What is the best lager kit ??

[russginge69]

I am relatively new to homebrewing and have tried various kits. The first few kits I tried were Coopers. Tried the Cerveza and European lager which I had little success with. Then I tried their real ale kit and this was better. My last two brews have been Festival kits and I have found these much better. My misses is a lager drinker though and wants me to try another lager. Having checked up on various threads it would seem that the best place for this would be in the garage as it is now that time of year and the house maybe too warm for lager?

I have looked at the Beerworks kits and they look very similar to the Festival kits so I may give one a bash. Does anyone have any suggestions for a better lager kit than Coopers? My misses likes European lager such as Stella or Grolsch so we were gutted when the Coopers one turned out bad. Any suggestions for a better lager kit would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Roadrunner]

How long did you condition the European Lager for?
It is supposed to condition for at least three months according to the little booklet that comes with the tin.

 

[the_kitchen_brewer]

I am relatively new to homebrewing and have tried various kits. The first few kits I tried were Coopers. Tried the Cerveza and European lager which I had little success with. Then I tried their real ale kit and this was better. My last two brews have been Festival kits and I have found these much better. My misses is a lager drinker though and wants me to try another lager. Having checked up on various threads it would seem that the best place for this would be in the garage as it is now that time of year and the house maybe too warm for lager?

I have looked at the Beerworks kits and they look very similar to the Festival kits so I may give one a bash. Does anyone have any suggestions for a better lager kit than Coopers? My misses likes European lager such as Stella or Grolsch so we were gutted when the Coopers one turned out bad. Any suggestions for a better lager kit would be greatly appreciated.

Have a look at the Better Brew Czech Pilsner - very popular and uses an Ale yeast so less fussy with temperature/long conditioning than the Coopers European I believe.

I like the Coopers Canadian Blonde which is a bit like Molson.

Also if youv'e been looking at Beerworks then I assume you live near one of the shops? The Liverpool (and I presume the Chesterfield one) will give you a sample bottle if you ask for it.

Their golddigger lager had a lovely smell, but tasted a bit too much like Stella for me (as I'm not a fan of stella). If you like Stella it could be ideal :)

 

[Hopping_Mad]

...the one that doesn't get made?

But ignore my biased anti-lager gags!

Try a good pale ale kit, over carbonate it slightly then, when conditioned, chill it well. You might be pleasantly surprised by the end result. People I know who drink lager (...see, I can't even bring myself to refer to them as 'friends'!) tried some and are now prepared to drink pale ales as well!

 

[kodak79]

I like the Bulldog Brew Hammer of Thor - they sell this in lovebrewing (chesterfield branch). As stated above for another lager this needs around 6 weeks conditioning before it starts to taste any good (even though the instructions say its ready in 2 - its better to wait). I've done it in the keg and bottles - don't do it in a keg, bottles taste way better.

 

[russginge69]

How long did you condition the European Lager for?
It is supposed to condition for at least three months according to the little booklet that comes with the tin.

I conditioned it for thirteen weeks. It was perfectly clear and really looked like a great beer. Frothy head all the way to the finish. Trouble is all it tasted of was yeast!

 

[russginge69]

Have a look at the Better Brew Czech Pilsner - very popular and uses an Ale yeast so less fussy with temperature/long conditioning than the Coopers European I believe.

I like the Coopers Canadian Blonde which is a bit like Molson.

Also if youv'e been looking at Beerworks then I assume you live near one of the shops? The Liverpool (and I presume the Chesterfield one) will give you a sample bottle if you ask for it.

Their golddigger lager had a lovely smell, but tasted a bit too much like Stella for me (as I'm not a fan of stella). If you like Stella it could be ideal :)

Thanks for the reply. The golddigger sounds perfect for my Mrs if it tastes like Stella. I live pretty close to Chesterfield so will call in. Thanks again for the advice.

 

[russginge69]

...the one that doesn't get made?

But ignore my biased anti-lager gags!

Try a good pale ale kit, over carbonate it slightly then, when conditioned, chill it well. You might be pleasantly surprised by the end result. People I know who drink lager (...see, I can't even bring myself to refer to them as 'friends'!) tried some and are now prepared to drink pale ales as well!

Ha, ha - love the gag about lager. I agree as I too am an ale drinker. Was just looking for something for the Mrs who is an avid lager drinker. She won't touch pale ale - silly girl !!

 

[russginge69]

I like the Bulldog Brew Hammer of Thor - they sell this in lovebrewing (chesterfield branch). As stated above for another lager this needs around 6 weeks conditioning before it starts to taste any good (even though the instructions say its ready in 2 - its better to wait). I've done it in the keg and bottles - don't do it in a keg, bottles taste way better.

Brilliant advice. Thanks - I am calling into the Chesterfield branch tomorrow.

 

[the_kitchen_brewer]

Thanks for the reply. The golddigger sounds perfect for my Mrs if it tastes like Stella. I live pretty close to Chesterfield so will call in. Thanks again for the advice.

If the owner Richard is in (he goes between the 2 branches) he's very knowledgeable about brewing in general - he created the Solomon Grundy and Beaverdale kits back in the 80s.

They run brewing classes, and the beer made during these sessions are kept to give away as samples to anyone thinking about buying one of the kits - which is a great idea as you don't end up buying a 23 litre kit and then discover you don't like it!