Post
by sparky Paul » Tue Aug 19, 2008 11:08 pm
I can recommend any of the Cooper's Lager type kits, the Heritage Lager I have on supping is particularly good, and all are quite happy at ale temperatures with the supplied yeast.
I would go for 50-75% Light Spraymalt, make the rest up with Glucose. I find 100% Spraymalt makes a drink which is a little 'heavy' in mouthfeel for my taste, compared to a commercial lager.
Bottling gives better carbonation, I think you need it for lager.
The best tip I can give you for improving a kit lager is adding some hops for extra hop flavour and aroma. Saaz (my favourite) and Halletaur are useful varieties, and I would normally add 30g or so to the Cooper's kit, more if the hops are not so fresh. You could always experiment with less initially if you're not feeling so brave, but I find all of the lager kits really benefit from some hop addition.
After emptying the extract into the fermenter, rinse out the kit can with two can fulls of boiling water into a pan. Add perhaps 1/3rd of the quantity of hops and boil for 10-15 minutes, then take off the boil and add the remaining 2/3rds to steep for 20-30 minutes. Strain and add to the wort.
Last edited by sparky Paul on Wed Aug 20, 2008 9:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
