Ibrews Coopers lager upgrade kit and Coopers IPA recipes

[rivetcatcher]

Hello there,

Im new to this this forum and brewing. My names Davie but my boardname is Rivet Catcher named after my favourite Real Ale from the Jarrow Brewery in the UK.

First of all I would like to tell you a quick bit about what Ive done so far. Ive brewed the Coopers lager kit twice, once as per the instructions with the can then again using the upgrade kit recommended by Ibrew. Ive got to admit that I was impressed with my 1st batch, not the best tasting but hey, it was my 1st brew so its bound to taste good to me. Honestly, it was quite drinkable. After this I decided to brew using the Ibrew recommended upgrade so I could learn the differences adding different yeasts, adding hops and malt etc would make to the taste, more of a learning curve. I have to say, this brew was far superior.

Anyway, now Im going to brew the Coopers IPA and was wondering if any of you had any recommendations (simple) and instructions on how I can improve on the recipe. I am at heart a Real Ale beer drinker and love fruity beers. Any advice from you guys would be well appreciated.

Thanks

Davie

[southernoise]

You could steep some aroma hops like Cascade/Amarillo 15-20 grams in 0.5L of hot water for around 15 minutes. Using a coffee press would be convenient. Pour the tea into the fermenter together with the kit and everything else as usual.

[craigev]

If your into english style IPAs then you may want to stick with english hops first for an IPA. Im not sure if youv tried american IPAs before but they are quite diiferent.(not bad, but different !)

Actually you should just ask Mr Ibrew. I think Raymond has pretty much perfected the Coopers IPA and has probably tried most of the customizations you could think of !