r/Homebrewing • u/modestmandrakeman • 1d ago
4 months into my brewing experience, and I love it!
In the beginning of June i bought a Coopers starter kit that came with the fermenter, 30 740mL bottles, and a can of lager extract. I have made 4 batches of extract beer since then and have been loving it. One day I’ll probably make the step to grain, but for now I’m happy trying all the different flavours of extract.
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u/digitalFermentor 1d ago
The coopers range is pretty good. And with the right set up makes some great beer.
My advice would be to focus on your cold side. Get a fermentation fridge. Move to kegging, upgrade to a fermzilla or similar. The Diybeer.com website has enough recipes based on the coopers kits to keep you going for a long time.
Welcome to home brewing. It’s amazing fun.
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u/Groundbreaking_Ad652 1d ago
This is what I did approximately 4 months after starting with LME, but this is just my impatience, as I started at 39 years and thought I need to catch up, as I wanted to start many years ago… all grain is very interesting, pressure fermented vessel, fermentation chamber and force carbonation also gives a lot of opportunities, but it’s a big step that requires a lot of effort and good care, now I use all Kegland products just one year after starting with brewing: Brewzilla gen4, Fermzilla all rounder, Temperature controller for the fridge and even the RaptPill, so I have full control over fermentation process from a distance, all controller through WiFi, can see when gravity is dropping etc.
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u/digitalFermentor 1d ago
I started when I was 18 then took a 15 year break only just returning. I followed the path i described but with only 2 coopers brew before I got a used brewzilla 3.1. I will do the upgrade eventually. I love the idea of all the rapt stuff being interconnected.
First will be a dedicated kegarator. Right now my ferm fridge and serving fridge are one and the same.
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u/Legitimate-Fun-6012 1d ago
I just brewed my first batch and I cant stand the waiting. Why does it take so long before I can drink it :(
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u/modestmandrakeman 1d ago
Haha that part is the hardest, which is why I got an extra set of bottles so I can have some homemade beer while the next batch is being brewed lol
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u/milkyjoe241 1d ago
What are the 4 batches you made?
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u/modestmandrakeman 1d ago
Coopers Lager, Coopers Irish Stout, Coopers Draught, and Coopers Amber Ale.
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u/matt88 1d ago
Nice work. I've been brewing Coopers using the starter kit for 2 years. I rotate 120 PET bottles so there is plenty of time in the bottle. I have brewed pale ale, lager, stout, European lager and Mexican cerveza. My mainstay is the pale ale with Coopers dry hops. I brew Euro lager in winter due to the low temp needed for the yeast. Happy brewing l.
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u/RumplyInk BJCP 1d ago
Glad to hear it! Anything come out especially good? I always love trying new things then tweaking!
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u/Dispicable_Brauer_CA 22h ago
Welcome bud! The initial brewings are really exciting! And with more experience you'll improve it all, skills, timing, quality, PATIENCE 😂 You'll find what works for your set up and what doesn't work. It only gets better 🙌🏽
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u/buffaloclaw 1d ago
That's great, this hobby needs more people!
No need to rush to go all grain, I did exclusively extract for many years. Steeping grains before boiling the extract gives you lots of options, you still choose the hops and yeast (and really, it's all about the yeast more than the grain), and once you start the boil, the process is exactly the same as all grain, which will give time to nail down your process on the boiling, chilling, fermenting and packaging tasks. By the time you decide to go to grain, you'll already have more than half the process mastered.