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This one had me stumped for a long time, I have been a home brewer for a long time and had been using the Coopers Home Brew Kit I purchased from amazon when I noticed that my brews were starting to get a bad taste.

The first thing I thought was maybe I’m doing something different with my brew process that is introducing a funny taste to the brew. So I checked everything, gave all my brewing equipment a thorough clean, bought a new bottle brush to make sure the bottles were getting a good clean and then I made another brew. I also reviewed my whole brewing process and checked the notes that I had written about previous brews. Everything was the same, but this brew also ended up having a bad taste and no head. I really had no idea.

So I asked some of my home brewer mates and what one of them told me that he had come across this problem and after months of trying to work out why he had come across the problem. The problem was that after you have used the same plastic brewing keg for a while the plastic becomes worn on the inside from all the scrubbing and as a result the brew will start to taste bad and not have a good head.

After hearing this I was keen to test this solution, so I headed down to my local home brew store and bought myself a shiny new plastic keg and rushed home to get another brew going. For the next month I eagerly waited for my brew to get to the stage where I could drink it. I usualy wait for 2 to 3 months before drinking, but in this case I had to know if the new keg had solved my problem.

So the day finally arrived, I had chilled a dozen bottles in my fridge overnight and carefully washed my favourite beer glass ready for filling. I slowly poured the beer into the glass and immediately I could see a difference, the beer already had a nice smooth head on top and I could see many fine bubbles forming inside the glass. Now for the real test, The Taste. I had a small taste and I couldn’t believe it, the brew I had come to enjoy was back, the taste was amazing and the bad taste that I had to put up with for a few months was gone. The brew was a success!

This problem had plagued me for a few months and it was such a relief to find out the problem was only the keg. So now I try to buy a new keg every 12 months and I haven’t had the problem since. I also replaced the other brewing equipment after it started to look a bit worn. This can be a bit more expensive than buying a new Cooper Home Brew Kit, so I recommend buying a new kit every once in a while just to eliminate any problems.

If you are having this problem then why not give it a go, if this isn’t the problem then at least you have a second keg you can use to get more beer brewing.

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For many of us the new year makes us think of what we can do to improve our health, lose those extra pounds we gained over Christmas or perhaps change jobs, but for me it is to make even more great beer and to continue in my search to find that ultimate home brew. I am after all, a lover of beer and making my own beer at home.

If you are thinking about what you would like to add to your list of new years resolutions then I suggest you add ‘make beer‘ to that list right at the very top. Unless you are already a fellow home brewer I recommend becoming a home brewer, not just as a means to brew beer, but as a hobby and a way to save yourself money on beer.

Of course if you have been a home brewer in the past and stopped for whatever reason, then you should get back into it. Not because I’m telling you to, but because you love beer and enjoy making your own.

To get yourself started I suggest you get on down to your local home brew shop and purchase a home brew kit. You can also purchase a home brew kit on Amazon. My recommendation would be the Coopers Home Brew Kit I posted about on this site recently and that I have used a number of times in the past with great success. This will get you started with everything you need for your first batch of beer.

And don’t forget to check back at this site for more useful home brew information, tips and beer recipes.

Happy New Year!

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The Coopers Brewing company has done a really great job of putting together a basic home brewing kit that is great for the beginner or experienced brewer who doesn’t have a desire to have one of the more complicated home brew setups that you can find at your local home brew store. Each Coopers Home Brew Kit comes with everything you need to get started making your own beer at home, including a step by step DVD that shows you all the steps you need to make your very own home brewed beer.

What the kit includes:

• 1 x Beer Pack
• Dextrose
• Bottles & Caps
• Instructional DVD
• Mixing Spoon
• Hydrometer
• Plastic Brewing Keg
• Plus more…

You might not know what all these items are, but after you do your first brew you will know what each item is used for and most importantly you will know how to use them. Okay, so a couple of questions are probably already coming to mind. Like how much beer do you get from each brew? or how good does the beer taste?. Well usually you will end up with around 30 x 750ml bottles, that’s a bit over two cartons of beer if you follow the instructions exactly and don’t add too much or too little water. The taste of the beer can be quite good or it can be extremely bad, but don’t be disheartened. Home Brewing is something that takes time to learn and if you persist you will eventually get to a point where you are brewing great beer that you can share with all your friends.

The Coopers Home Brew Kit is great to buy for yourself or to give to a fellow beer lover as a gift. As a beer lover I would love to receive a home brew kit for Christmas or for my Birthday if I didn’t already have one brewing away in my shed right now. What more can I say except that if you love beer and want to try your hand at making your own beer then you should buy yourself a Coopers Home Brew Kit and give it a go.

You can buy one of these home brew kits online from amazon and have it shipped to your door without a day or so. There are other home brew kits around, but they don’t include everything you need like bottles for example.

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After home brewing for a while I decided that I wanted to add more taste to the beer I was making, I have drunk a lot of premium beers such as Heineken in the past and wanted to achieve the same flavor. The taste I am talking about is the hop flavor you can taste that distinguishes Heineken from other domestic beers.

To achieve a similar taste I found out that by adding hops to my brew I could add this flavor to my home brew and the easiest way to do this by far is by using Finishing Hops. You can purchase Finishing Hops in a teabag like sachet and then add them to your wort.

The steps are as follows:

1. Remove Finishing Hops sachet from packet
2. Pour boiling water into a sterilized coffee mug
3. Place the Finishing Hops sachet in the coffee mug the same as you would a tea bag
4. Allow to sit for 10 minutes
5. Add to your brew before you add the yeast

This is just one method to use hops in home brew, you can also use hops to add bitterness and flavor. I haven’t used these myself, but there is a lot of information on Google if you want to go down this path. Just use the Google search bar above and search for something like “when to use hops”.

I suggest trying this method first though, because it is really easy and will give you an idea of the effect hops can have on your brew. Plus finishing hops are fairly inexpensive.

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I know from experience that it can be quite easy to make the common home brew mistakes when you are making beer and the problem is usually from lack of information, lack of patience or not taking care when following the homebrew steps.

To begin fixing these mistakes you need to get all the information you need and the first place to start is with the home brew instructions that come with the home brew kit or brew pack. The information contained in these instructions is usually enough to make an okay tasting beer when followed correctly, but not enough to make a great tasting beer. So to accompany this information you really need to seek out more information on the finer points of home brewing like different yeast types. The best place to find this information is in a Beer Brewing Guide such as Better Home Brew Formula. I recommend this guide to any home brewer, it has a answers to all of the common home brew mistakes you will come across and much more.

If you are completely new to home brewing and have only done a couple of brews then I suggest you keep brewing and follow the home brew instructions very carefully until you make a decent tasting beer, don’t start experimenting or trying more advanced techniques until you can master the basic brewing steps. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep reading and searching for those killer home brew tips, the more you learn about home brewing the less likely you will be to make common home brew mistakes and the more likely you will be to get to the stage where you can make beer that is exactly to your liking.

Ok, so you might be thinking that there isn’t a lot that can go wrong with the information contained in the home brew instructions, but your wrong, there is a lot that can go wrong. Here is a list of the common home brew mistakes:

• Failing to clean all equipment correctly

You might as well not bother brewing if your not going to clean your equipment correctly. It is crucial to the brewing process that all equipment is properly cleaned and sanitized, otherwise you will end up with a brew that either doesn’t brew at all or has an unsavoury taste and is flat.

• Not maintaining the correct brewing temperature while brewing and when stored

The home brew instructions included with the home brew pack will specify the ideal brewing temperatures for the brew at brewing and storage stages and will be different for the different brew types. The temperature can be the hardest thing to maintain and can require constant monitoring thoughout the brewing and storage stages. If you don’t maintain the temperature you run the risk of having a brew that is very poor tasting and flat.

• Not keeping the brew covered or closed while brewing

In order to keep the brew free from contaminants you need to keep the brew covered with a lid or at the very least a cloth to cover the brew. Resist the urge to keep opening and viewing the brew as you will increase the risk of introducing contaminants into the brew and again ruin your chances of making a great tasting beer.

If you can avoid making these mistakes you will be on your way to making some really great beer that you can enjoy and take pride in.

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