Basic Instructions for Brewing Great Beer with a Coopers Beer Kit

The first thing you will need is a pot capable of holding 1.5-2 gallons. Then you will need some good water. If you generally drink water from your kitchen tap, you can use it for brewing. If you don’t, bottled water may be preferable.

If you are using tap water, bring 2 quarts (or liters) of regular tap water to a boil for 5 minutes to precipitate out any chlorine. Bottled water may be used to eliminate the pre-boil step. Remove pot from the heat and mix in the Coopers Unhopped Malt Extract, dry malt extract or sugar called for in the recipe. For further discussion on the use of Coopers Unhopped Malt Extract vs. dry malt extract vs. sugar with Coopers Beer Kits please refer to Understanding Brewing Sugars. Reapply heat and slowly bring this liquid to near a boil. Be sure to do this slowly and stir frequently.

After you have brought your liquid (referred to in professional beermaking as “wort”) to near a boil, or around 180-190’F, remove from heat. Mix in the contents of your Coopers Brewery Beer Kit, making sure all syrup is dissolved in solution. Cool the wort while it is still in the pot. Putting it in a cold water bath will usually cool your wort to around 100°F in an hour or so. Add to 3 gallons of pre-boiled, chilled water already in your fermenter. Chilled drinking water may be used instead of pre-boiling tap water. Mix contents of fermenter well. Using a sanitized turkey baster, or "wine thief" remove enough wort to take and record hydrometer reading. Depending upon the amount of Coopers Unhopped Malt Extract, dry malt extract, or sugar you use, and the amount of wort you have, your “original gravity” reading will be anywhere between 1.038 and 1.050.

When the temperature of your wort is <75’F, add ("pitch" in brewing parlance) 7-15 grams of Coopers Brewery Beer Yeast, or yeast called for in recipe. Fermentation should commence within 12-16 hours.

Fermentation will be active and violent. If you are fermenting in a glass fermenter, you will want to put a "blow-off hose" on the fermenter. This will allow for a controlled expulsion of the foaming that occurs early in fermentation. Fermentation generally takes 3-10 days, depending upon Original Gravity, fermentation temperature and amount of brewer’s yeast added. When fermentation is done and you are ready to bottle refer to our instructions on bottling.

For more in depth discussions on beer making please contact us directly at michael@cascadiabrew.com.