Coopers DIY kit

kirky80

Hi all, sorry for such a beginner question but.. I have just bought the coopers DIY kit, the one with the removable krausen collar and no airlock. I am going to brew a few beers and lagers first off but then I fancy trying cider and wine, and then once I've got the hang of it all, maybe even have a little venture into playing with hops and grains to tweak brews here and there. My question is, can I do all this with the coopers fv? Or should I get a proper fermenting vessel with an airtight lid and airlock.

davemorton

many schools of thought on this one to be honest! I also started out with the Coopers kit and although it does the job well and there is nothing wrong with it, after a couple of brews I started to devise what I think is a better way of doing it.

I now have 2 HBO fermenting vessels both without taps and with airlocks. I brew in one then syphon off after primary fermentation into the second FV. I then use my syphon with the little bottler attached to the end to bottle up.

The reason I started doing this is because the Coopers FV doesn't sit properly on the heating tray and I was also wasting a few pints of beer with each brew as you have to tip the FV to get it all out in doing so getting sediment in your last few bottles. But I guess this is just personal preference and you will find your way of doing things that suits you best.

Personally I would use HBO fermenting vessels for your cider and wine and would also use seperate ones for each just to avoid any cross contamination with flavours, smells etc. between wines, beers and ciders.

Let me know how you get on and feel free to share any useful tips you pick up along the way!!

kirky80

Thanks for getting back to me Dave, it makes sense to keep fv's for different brews, ill have to get some ordered.

davemorton

Just use the Home Brew Online ones available on this site, they are well priced and more than suitable for the job. Happy Brewing!!!

HBO_Staff

Thanks for the great answers dave, and the plugs! What you say makes sense and is a good way which you use, some ingredients kits now come with hops, the 'Ultimate Brewery' range has hop essence in a pot for adding once the wort is cooler, and the Festival and York Brewery beers come with hops included already for that fresh taste which are added to the wort as it ferments. Hops can be bought both vac-packed and in teabags for adding to your brews, so this is a very easy way of tweaking a brew to your preference without needing any equipment and is a very cheap way of doing it

kirky80

Thank again for your quick responses. Ill let you know how it all goes!