Coopers Australian Pale Ale

Type: Kit Brew
Sugars: 1kg Cane Sugar
Yeast: Kit Yeast
Additions:Water dechlorinated with 1/2 Campden tablet.
Time in Primary: 2 weeks
Secondary method: King Keg
Time in Secondary: 2 weeks
O.G. 1040
F.G. 1002!

One of Coopers 'World Series' kits, at least here in the UK, I brought this kit as I wanted to test the effect that de-chlorinating water with a Campden tablet had, so wanted to brew a kit that I thought would be bland and flavourless to see if I could pick up the difference.

I could indeed, but this kit isn't as bland as I expected.

It is definitely an ale, rather than a lager kit shipped with ale yeast, but it is light and not at all hoppy. OK, I brewed it with normal sugars, but it is very quaffable, without being overly boring like many a commercial lager. My OG / FG calculations suggest a 5% a.b.v. which I am not totally sure is correct, so perhaps I misread the OG. The FG was almost certainly 1002, as I was worried that there would be little yeast left for secondary fermentation.

As is transpired, 85g of cane sugar in the King Keg, followed by the standard C02 purge has resulted in a very, almost over, carbonated beer after a couple of weeks, without any further C02 top-up. To be honest, better this way than flatter than a witches tit, and it isn't that hard to pour a decent pint, it just requires a little patience.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the outcome of this. A lovely weekday beer that you can drink a couple of pints of without staggering around the place, and as I have found with all Coopers kits, the actual brewing process is bomb proof. My 'to brew' list is pretty long at the moment, but I can well imagine returning to this kit, either on its own, or as a basis of experimentation with additional malts, hops, etc.


Coming up next : Coopers Canadian Blonde