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20% off Coopers Home Brew Mixes and Accessories @ Big W

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WatchNerd on 21/02/2018 - 11:56 bigw.com.au (1155 clicks)
Last edited 21/02/2018 - 13:43
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20% Off All Coopers Home Brew Mixes and Accessories

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  • Nousernamehere on 21/02/2018 - 12:05
    +3

    Sweet, was hoping they'd have a sale again soon!

  • furiousgeorge on 21/02/2018 - 12:07
    +3

    Good work. Cervveza comes up pretty good with brew enhancer.

  • urbancartel on 21/02/2018 - 12:10

    Do these things taste any good? Have a kit but only ever did 1 brew…keen to give it another go

    • WatchNerd on 21/02/2018 - 12:13
      +6

      Yes I find if you can leave it in the bottle for at least 3 months then the taste really improves.

      • rover on 21/02/2018 - 13:57
        +3

        "leave it in the bottle for at least 3 months"

        How is that even possible? It would be drunk well before that. I sometimes can't even wait to bottle it and carbonate right after primary fermentation.

        • WatchNerd on 21/02/2018 - 14:01
          +1

          Haha I've got enough long neck bottles to have 3 brews stored away, so that's the only way.

    • rover on 21/02/2018 - 12:17
      +4

      These are quite tasty, but of course YMV. Just keep everything clean during the process and you'll be right, there is quite a range to choose from. I go the full oz-b and brew with cheap table sugar and still get a good result. At these prices I might even try brewing without sugar/dry-malt/brew-enhancer but instead use two tins of the mix for extra maltiness and yumminess.

      • [Deactivated] on 21/02/2018 - 14:09
        +2

        Toucans are they way to go. I use the Woolies homebrand as my 2nd tin. Theyre ~$8.
        https://www.woolworths.com.au/Shop/ProductDetails/74631/home…

        For extra flavour, add 25g of hop pellets (in a big tea ball or mesh bag) on day 3 for ~5 days, pull it out.

        Use Amarillo hops for that James Squire taste. Saaz for that pilsner taste.

        As @rover said, 3mth = yummy (even if you leave just 5-10 aside).

      • Dave Id on 21/02/2018 - 18:02
        +2

        That's what I used to do in the old 30L fermenters, two cans.

        Also best to leave the brew for 10 days or more to let most,not all,of the yeast to settle before bottling.
        That's after primary fermentation.

        Plastic soft drink bottles are excellent. Use a bit more priming sugar due to higher alcohol content.

        The longer stout is left,the better. 12 months is yummy.

        • [Deactivated] on 21/02/2018 - 18:42
          +1

          Are you my twin?

          One thing I love to do with stouts is get 50-100g choccie malt, put it thru the coffee grinder (so its a powder) & add it to the brew, its like flavouring hops a nice velvety choccie/coffee taste. 6mths is probably the sweet spot.

        • Dave Id on 21/02/2018 - 22:50

          @supabrudda:

          Used to put some coffee in the stout tins when extracting the last bit out of them with boiling water. Bit of a stir with the spoon.

          A spoonful or two of Lactose per 1.5L bottle is yummy.

    • hotmumbo on 21/02/2018 - 13:47
      +2

      These kits are great especially if you add some enhancer or just some corn starch (250g-500g) if you are on a budget so that it retains a good head. Beware that the enhancer or cornstarch will bump up the alcohol % some - mine are typically at 8%. My favourite by far is the Dark Ale kit which makes beer that is on par with some of the European dark ales I like to drink.

    • Fergy1987 on 21/02/2018 - 14:04
      +1

      Also replace the brew enhancers with some Light dry malt and you'll improve it big time

  • Daniel Plainview on 21/02/2018 - 12:16
    +7

    For home brewers hygiene & brew temperature are the big variables. You've got to keep that brew's temp as stable as possible - think about how much temps fluctuate in your home between night and day. And the flavours thrown off by a brew at 25c vs 18c is VERY different. I've always had a home made brew fridge with a temp controller and always allows me to keep at the perfect temp for the 2-3weeks of fermenting.

    Buy some good Starsan type no rinse sanitiser…and wherever you can use only malt in your brews (avoid dextrose, brew enhancers etc).

    Most of the Coopers kits are pretty good (the APA is a great choice to do varients off) but come up a LOT better with some steeped grain and hop additions. Also you really need to hold off drinking for a few months for it to taste best and prime via a bulk priming bucket/method - never had a burst bottle. :-)

  • Scab on 21/02/2018 - 12:40
    +8

    Not a watch deal, I think someone hacked WatchNerd'account.

    Reported.

  • dazzaspazza on 21/02/2018 - 12:47

    Can you purchase the whole starter kit (discounted)?

    • WatchNerd on 21/02/2018 - 13:03
      +3

      I wouldn't buy that, instead look on Gumtree or eBay for a 2nd hand kit & the seller will usually throw in a lot of extra stuff like bottles etc.

      Otherwise do a search for your local home brew shop. While they will charge more than buying a Coopers Kit from Big W, the advice you get and the quality of the kit will be a lot better. They usually come with a good quality bench capper which makes life a lot easier. It could mean the difference between using it more than once.
      You will make the money back anyway the more brews you do, lol.

      Also don't get a fermenter where the sides curve in at the top & has a screw top lid, these are harder to clean.
      You want one with straight sides and a rip lid like this.

      • furiousgeorge on 21/02/2018 - 13:10
        +1

        I use the soda water bottles from woolies. 1.25l and a screw cap so no capping required. They don’t look the best I spose, but when your giving out free beer , no one seems to complain. Plus they don’t explode if you muck up your sugars.

      • rover on 21/02/2018 - 14:11

        PET bottles seem to the default these days, though a big advantage of the glass long neck is that you can sterilise in the dishwasher.

        • Daniel Plainview on 21/02/2018 - 16:48
          -1

          No offence but IMHO thats a really terrible idea - a dishwasher would do horrendous things to the lifespan of PET bottles. Sure they're cheap enough but that'd really be far from ideal.

          Again sorry but it's not sterilising them - at best it'd sanitise them - it's not semantics, home brewers know there's a world of difference & with new folks important not to confuse.

          You want your bottles to be clean - but really thats super easy. Rinse out AS SOON AS YOU DRINK - it's that easy. Several rinses with plain cold tap water will remove all yeast sediment is fine - you can wash with a lil warm suddy water if needed but thats options.

          Then prior to bottling you use a no-rinse sanitiser - Acid based ones like Starsan are the go to standard. Super cheap, use only a few ml's for several litres of 1.5% wash and only takes a few seconds of rinsing for each bottle and you reuse as you do each one just prior to bottling.

          If you wish to wash dirty bottles or brewing gear after use Sodium Percarbonate (the active ingredient in Napisan etc) is all thats needed.

        • rover on 21/02/2018 - 17:13
          +1

          @Nikko: Hi, I was referring to washing the glass bottles in dishwasher. I wouldn't recommend PET in the dishwasher. For PET bottles you would use chemical sterilising, diluted plain bleach followed by sun drying (to evaporate any remnants) is also an option.

        • Daniel Plainview on 21/02/2018 - 17:37

          @rover: IMHO a dishwasher does bad things to all bottles but feel free to use if thats your thing.

          Bleach even diluted is notorious for leaving taint behind as it bonds to many plastics - why would you do any of this when quality no rinse agents are literally a few cents per brew to use?

          Sun drying will not work as is the bottle up or down??? If up airborne stuff gets in, if down humidity won't leave - so no benefit. A bottle just needs to be generally clean then you sanitise prior to bottling.

          No offence intended but thats exactly the type of stuff that led to home brew getting bad rep as very odd tastes etc.

        • rover on 22/02/2018 - 09:46

          @Nikko: I wash all bottles in the sink as per normal washing up after drinking to get all sediment out, but this still needs sterilising. PET bottles can't be boiled. There are lots of alternatives. Diluted bleach followed by rinsing with freshly boiled and cooled water works quite well. I sun dry upside down but making sure there is a gap, but only when hot. I'll be making a drying tree soon. No odd tastes after many brews. But no rinse solutions are better when not sunny.

          But if you have glass boiling is best.

        • Daniel Plainview on 22/02/2018 - 10:58

          @rover: Don;t get me wrong I'm not saying that what you're doing isn't fine for you but one does not need to 'sterilise' bottles for home brewing. If you're preserving certain foods etc in jars (which I also do) then yes…..but home brew bottles need only be 'clean' - which depends on how dirty they were before hand - and then they require 'sanitising' prior to bottling.

          Hmmm well if you have an autoclave thats actually best but why would you do this when something vastly cheaper, easier & attainable by all is 99.99% as good? Clean bottle after use as you would a regular cup or plate and then a few seconds shake with a few mls of 1.5% Starsan rinse prior to bottling.

          Yes, you can use diluted bleach (which technically isn't actually a very good sanitiser unless you activate is by adding them same amount of vinegar, which is documented by the scientist who invented Starsan) - but why???? You go to all that effort to make a good tasting beer to rinse the bottle with bleach solution? No thanks, bleach is all too easy to leave traces behind.

          No offence at all but that you've noticed no odd tastes is pretty subjective and in itself not in any way indicative of whether using bleach in bottle prep is a good idea.

          And why use it when as I said such good no rinse sanitisers are easily available for essentially the same cost to you each use…..PLUS there's very little way you'll really have a good handle on how effective your 'bleach' solution is as it degrades so rapidly from the factory in terms of it's active chlorine content.

          I get it that you use it and feel comfy with that ….cool, but in home brewing folks have been using white sugar, bleach, brewing in bottles under the house etc and THEY feel it's great - ok - but a 3rd party would almost certainly say it's very average plonk and has all the traits that 'home brew' got a bad rep for. If folks are cool doing that - fair play to them, but for new users I'd STRONGLY urge them to read up and whats CURRENT best practices as its easier, essentially the same cost and vastly superior in results/products.

      • Daniel Plainview on 21/02/2018 - 16:55
        +1

        The 2nd hand stuff of Gumtree etc CAN be ok priced - but it's a real mixed bag as gear often grubby or dodgy in quality and those folks generally sell as they were terrible home brewers!

        Your fermenter suggestion is great. Bench capper is essential and they're often on Gumtree. Starsan is best thing I've ever bought - that and bulk Sodium Perc.

        New brewers (and even older ones IMHO) should only try to do ales, honestly far superior to Lagers IMHO and much, much, much simpler to do….especially if you don't have a brew fridge with temp control. That was my 2nd best acquisition(well I built it but it's very handy).

    • ebosh on 21/02/2018 - 15:36
      +1

      I've got probably 40-50 empty longnecks that you could have if you are in the eastern suburbs of melbourne and happy to collect. Heaps of bottle caps as well.

      • Daniel Plainview on 21/02/2018 - 16:42

        The trick thats overlooked by a lot of folks who resuse glass bottles is not all of them are suitable for the stress/pressure that can come from secondary/in-bottle fermentation. You'll actually see on a lot of them they have stamped "Do not reuse/Not suitable for fermentation" or something similar. The ones that are carbonated at the factory via CO2 are noticeably thinner than the ones used by manufacturers who ferment 'in the bottle'(sugars added to the fermented beer to start another round of fermentation where CO2 is given off making the beer bubbly) e.g Coopers.

        I know a lot of folks can and have used the thinner bottles without issue BUT it's a much thinner margin for properly dosing & there's absolute horror stories of bottle exploding and folks getting very severe lacerations from them. Not that I've ever had one but I've heard one a friend bottle go off and they're almost a small bomb - plus generally that one bottle that goes off will be packed in with other bottles and you'll lose many more of them in the blast - cleanup is terrible!

        So I'd urge folks to try and get good, thicker walled brown glass (never green or clear) glass bottles that are suitable for home fermenting. Can be tricky to find but last a lifetime. :-)

        • ebosh on 21/02/2018 - 21:35

          I agree wholeheartedly. That's why the bottles I'm happy to give away were all purchased at my local homebrewing shop specifically for bottling my own. I've moved onto kegging now and have some swing-top bottles that I use of I'm taking a few with me when I go out. Not trying to put people off bottling, but it's a total drag ;)

  • MathNerd on 21/02/2018 - 13:19
    +3

    I'm Watching my weight so I won't get this, but great price, so great deal.
    Upvoted and reported to the mods for not living up to the username.

    • pull the lever on 21/02/2018 - 14:20
      +2

      Well you could always watch it go up.

      • MathNerd on 21/02/2018 - 15:42

        It'll be so high that I'll need my Altichron to measure the height.

  • Bren20 on 21/02/2018 - 15:37

    anyone have an update on what's going on with their ginger beer mix? they phased it out a few years ago, I read somewhere on the coopers forums that they were going to release a new one but havent heard anything in years.

    • Daniel Plainview on 22/02/2018 - 09:36

      If you want a good Ginger beer mix really you'll have to do yourself from scratch - I was going to do but apparently all the kits on market are pretty crap e.g coopers one contains artificial sweetener. But on good brew forums there's a lot of good recipes but you're generally using base ingredients e.g fresh ginger, lemon zest etc - but would be amazing!

      Others say the kits are ok - but I would personally avoid them for Ginger beer and have others say the same.

      • Bren20 on 22/02/2018 - 09:56

        I've given up trying to brew from scratch, i always end up with a fizzy yeast concoction.

        I'm quite a fan of the coopers ginger, it does have an artificial sweet taste but that doesn't bother me. I've just ordered a mangrove jacks pouch, will see how that goes

  • bailbondsh on 21/02/2018 - 16:23

    cool i wanted to start getting into this

  • Winston100s on 21/02/2018 - 16:44

    What is the alcohol content of home made beer, can I get at least 4.5%?

    • Daniel Plainview on 21/02/2018 - 16:59

      Whatever you want….honestly with the right yeast strain etc you can do very strong imperial IPA etc thats well over 8% etc. But you'd have to like to drink that type of stuff.

      4.5% is very normal and do-able with the kit yeasts (which for most companies is generally a pretty good product IF it's used correctly). So no issues getting that - but don't place too much emphasis on alcohol % - as it's more how you get to that % - e.g if you just put simple suagrs e.g sucrose, dextrose in - you'll get some off flavours and a 'thin' tasting beer - but with only malt used it seems to have more body etc. Very general and depends on what you're brewing - as some beers e.g certain lagers etc benefit from a thin/watery body.

      • Winston100s on 21/02/2018 - 17:15

        thanks for clarifying that, i thought i could only get under 3% with the home made brews.

        • [Deactivated] on 21/02/2018 - 18:51

          Yep you usually get to ~4.5.-5% from a tin + 1kg of sugar. if you want more kick, you need more sugars (dextrose is good clean sugar that mostly gets converted to alcohol, malt also,and it also adds flavour). Once you get to ~6%, most kit yeast can't go higher, you need a specialist yeast.

  • User228035 on 21/02/2018 - 17:20

    Anyone got some advice on stout? My grandfather is having trouble brewing now and I'd like to surprise him with a delectable stout that tops coopers!

    • AmpeD on 21/02/2018 - 17:28

      the coopers stout is probably the best beer of all the kits its always as good or better than the commercial product. which is about $6 a long neck

      • User228035 on 21/02/2018 - 17:49

        Yeah he always says it's the best and his favourite even after I did the rounds on European stouts, buying anything of significance (Checked reviews and got two of each), all to no avail so I've looked into replicating Coopers on brew forums, I've never brewed on my own and always helped him do his.

        Would like to put down a couple brews, let them age and while they're ageing just top him up with the Coopers.

        I had a look into conical fermenters but many people seem to swear by the old ways being best, bit overwhelmed with all the terminology and components.

        Just want an intermediate process that yields the very best results as I'd hate to spend a couple months waiting on a brew all for a below average or green product :P

        I should be on the forums right now not burdening the OZB fam with a barrage of questions haha sorry

        • Daniel Plainview on 21/02/2018 - 18:03
          +1

          FWIW Stouts are actually the best/easiest for new brewers - no where to hide with lagers etc but the malt driven stouts are perfect to hide novice faux pas.

          Coopers stout kit + 1 dark liquid malt (also done by coopers) + some extra sugars (brown sugar is actually quite fine for a stout) - go to home brew shop and get specialist dry yeast for stouts - yeast makes a BIG difference and the generic yeast with the Coopers kit isn't really up to a stout.

          No need to add any extra hops - as thats really not whats in them - you want a highish alcohol content 5-6% or so, will taste best 6mths+. You won't want to prime it too much as it's not a bubbly beer. Get a firm recipe from a few googles but you'll nail it for sure as it's a good starter beer to do.

        • User228035 on 21/02/2018 - 18:48

          @Nikko: Appreciate it Nikko I feel better about the prospect of doing a few brews now, here's hoping I do nail it and get the seal of approval from chief.

          I can 100% see the generic yeast not doing the trick, been plenty of times I'd get a call from him thinking the yeast was expired because of little to no rise/head.

          Will start sifting through sites now for the best priced equipment but depending on how long it takes I might drop by the Brew shop instead, thanks again!

        • [Deactivated] on 21/02/2018 - 19:00

          @GozeGreedyGews: I find English Ale yeast (saffale S04) or Muntons Gold yeast best for stouts. Especially for this time of year, when the weather is warm (lager yeasts don't like it being over 20°c)

          I find the Thomas Cooper's irish stout or Morgans Dockside stout both really good kit tins (and the Morgan's kit yeast is also good to use).

          Like everyone says time is your friend. Stouts should sit in a bottle for at least 3mths. I find 6mths they're great.
          But here's some recipes

          http://store.coopers.com.au/recipes/index/list/section/stout

        • User228035 on 21/02/2018 - 19:56

          @supabrudda: Cheers Brudda, I might have to put down one of the others you mentioned alongside the coopers, will need to find a nice cache of bottles first haha and maybe reconsider what to use as a brewing vessel or figure some way to keep it cool and insulated, as you said this time of year is warm especially where I'm situated!

    • Dave Id on 21/02/2018 - 18:11

      Southwalk Old Stout. Bit stronger.
      Easiest to place an order with Dan Murphy's as stock is often limited outside of Adelaide.

  • Dogsbreakfast on 21/02/2018 - 18:08
    +1

    Kegging is the only way to go!

  • The Magic Pudding on 21/02/2018 - 19:01
    +1

    The Coopers forum is a good source of info.
    The toucan stout/dark ale + dextrose is popular.
    The coopers fermenting vessel/fv/bucket is better than others, easier to clean and other reasons.
    Coopers online has free postage for over $80 maybe bi-monthly for a week, just had one.
    Coopers online offers a good price on 1.5kg liquid malt varieties.

    • Nousernamehere on 22/02/2018 - 20:29

      Also Coopers online has 5% off for members as well as the free delivery promo's they run.

  • craigd on 21/02/2018 - 23:16
    +1

    Any advice on the best place to buy hops online?

    • Daniel Plainview on 22/02/2018 - 09:34

      Is complex as postage etc comes in so best to check the brew forums - Coopers one and the Aussie Home Brewing are best IMHO.

  • MathNerd on 22/02/2018 - 06:48
    +3

    Thanks heaps BrewNerd.

  • [Deactivated] on 22/02/2018 - 19:17
    +1

    These are strange looking watches

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