Homebrew Beer Howto

Saruman

I salute you on your choice of Beer Glass Des. Next time though let the O'Hara's show in the image and give them some free advertising as if there is an Irish brewery that deserves it, it's them

Mayordenis if you want a hop nazi then try a double IPA.

10-10-20

I tried one of Craig's tips to reduce the water ratio to a can of extract to obtain a 'fuller' brew.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSZhF4d1GYg&feature=channel
(he's a hoot!)

I used 1x Coopers IPA to ~ 13l of water instead of 20l. I reduced the DME in half. The brew started at 1.059 and finished at 1.012.

Well, I can report that I now have a very bitter end result. It's got a real (nearly nasty?) bite at the end.
I don't think I'd recommend trying this with the IPA as it's just on the far end of the pleasantness scale.
It might be better off tried with a lager instead.

mayordenis

Saruman wrote: »

Mayordenis if you want a hop nazi then try a double IPA.

That's the road I'm going down, something in the realm of 7% and 90-100 IBU.

Saruman

Nice

Frisbee

Considering getting into the Home Brew side of things myself and have had a decent read through this thread and have one or two questions.

I like the look of the iBrew and that it's seperated into two ten litre tubs which you then pour out of.

But Ireally want to brew some of the Coopers mixes as I really like the Coopers Pale Ale.

If I bought the iBrew kit and used the Coopers ingredient packs would that work out? Or would I have to use the Coopers ingredients with the Coopers Brewing Kit?

Cheers

BeerNut

Frisbee wrote: »

I like the look of the iBrew and that it's seperated into two ten litre tubs which you then pour out of.

It's a bit inflexible though, and very expensive for homebrew. Plus, if you don't like the results you're stuck with the system. It's better to buy something more flexible and upgradeable, IMO.

Frisbee wrote: »

If I bought the iBrew kit and used the Coopers ingredient packs would that work out? Or would I have to use the Coopers ingredients with the Coopers Brewing Kit?

The only issue is capacity: a beer kit like the Coopers ones will make 40 pints, whereas the iBrew can only handle 20. You could buy two iBrews, but that's ramping up your costs even further.

It might be a good idea to read an independent guide to kit brewing too. From what I've heard, Coopers instructions are a bit misleading when it comes to fermentation times and temperatures.

Frisbee

Cheers for the quick reply man. Jsut one more question:

BeerNut wrote: »

It's a bit inflexible though, and very expensive for homebrew. Plus, if you don't like the results you're stuck with the system. It's better to buy something more flexible and upgradeable, IMO.

That system you linked to, is that for bottling? Or is there a container with it you can keep it in and pour it out of once it's ready?

BeerNut

Frisbee wrote: »

That system you linked to, is that for bottling? Or is there a container with it you can keep it in and pour it out of once it's ready?

Yeah it's intended for bottling. For a keg you're looking at an extra €37 or so (here or here).

Frisbee

BeerNut wrote: »

Yeah it's intended for bottling. For a keg you're looking at an extra €37 or so (here or here).

I'll stick with the bottles then so!

Cheers man

silliegillie

ive just finished mixing my first brew and did a few things wrong with respect to the Hydrometre.

1) I forgot to take the SG reading before adding the yeast
2) Then I Broke the Hydrometre so I could get any Sg reading

Is there anything I can do to find out the alcohol content when Im finished or ready to bottling ? Any tips would be greatly apprecieted.

BaZmO*

silliegillie wrote: »

ive just finished mixing my first brew and did a few things wrong with respect to the Hydrometre.

1) I forgot to take the SG reading before adding the yeast
2) Then I Broke the Hydrometre so I could get any Sg reading

Is there anything I can do to find out the alcohol content when Im finished or ready to bottling ? Any tips would be greatly apprecieted.

Take a sample of the brew and place it in a bottle and put a lid on it and then take the reading when you get a chance to pick up a new hydrometer. Obviously this will only work if you haven't added yeast to the sample.

wobzilla1

Quick question, My first All grain brew will be giong into the keg on sunday.
I have a bag of light spraymalt lying around so I thought I'd use it for the priming. How much should I use roughly for ~20 litres of beer.
I don't want too much carbonation as it's a very dark chocolatey porter

silliegillie

BaZmO* wrote: »

Take a sample of the brew and place it in a bottle and put a lid on it and then take the reading when you get a chance to pick up a new hydrometer. Obviously this will only work if you haven't added yeast to the sample.

Ive Added the Yeast

slayerking

silliegillie wrote: »

Ive Added the Yeast

You could take a small sample anyway and place it in a bottle and in the fridge.
The fridge temp will prevent the yeast from kicking in. Then when you get a hydrometer, take it out and test it.
When you get a reading you'll have to do a temperature correction (Hydrometers are usually callobrated for 20oC) but theres lots of online calculators for that anyway.

BeerNut

wobzilla1 wrote: »

How much should I use roughly for ~20 litres of beer.

It depends on the temperature of the beer. Here's a calculator to put the variables into. I'd go for about 2 volumes for a porter, so that's 151g of spraymalt for 20L at 18C.

silliegillie

I want to try and get this homebrew right. Ive done the Mix(Broke my hyrdometer) But Can get one from a mate. Now Im a little afraid of the bottling process. How much sugar should I add to a 500ml Bottle ? Some one else stated to me that regular sugar would be fine for this ie Sucra, So how much sugar should I add to each Bottle ? I only Have 1 Mixing bucket with a Tap.

BeerNut

Half a teaspoonful of white sugar per bottle should be fine. You'll know on the next batch if you need to increase or reduce that

FarmerGreen

@ Bazmo*
I'd guess its about 1040 OG .
Do you still have the tin? It usually says add sugar and 5 gallons of water.
Its finished fermenting at about a quarter of the Original Gravity 1008-1012.
As a rule of thumb, I reckon 1Kg/gallon=1080, which if it ferments out to 1000 is about 10% alcohol.
So, about 4% +/-.

silliegillie

BeerNut wrote: »

Half a teaspoonful of white sugar per bottle should be fine. You'll know on the next batch if you need to increase or reduce that

Thanks Beernut. Im Planning on using the same beer for the next few batches try and get everything correct with trail and error before advancing onto a different Brew.I must have been very excited mixing yeterday because when I got home last night I was looking at the mix and noticed something, I had forgot to add water into the air lock, Arghhh, So the mix was left for about 8 hours with no water in the airlock, Have I stuffed things up ? Its Bubbling away nicely now,Im hoping that any Gas escaping before adding the water would have stopped any air getting in.

BeerNut

silliegillie wrote: »

Have I stuffed things up ?

Nope. Airlocks don't really do anything, except show you that fermentation hasn't stopped. Most brewers I know don't bother with them after the first few goes. The bubbling is comforting, though

silliegillie wrote: »

Im hoping that any Gas escaping before adding the water would have stopped any air getting in.

Once fermentation kicks off, a protective layer of CO2 forms over the beer keeping bugs out. All you really need a lid for is to stop things falling into the beer. Leaving a solid lid unsealed at one side works as good as an airlock.

Nabber

Can anyone help me out. Where can I get a decent sized container to start me off?

The ones the home brew shops sell seem overpriced. Just curious if any of you guys managed to get a few on the side somewhere.

Cheers,
Nabber

BeerNut

Try these guys. Or procure one of those catering-sized mayonnaise buckets.

silliegillie

Im into my 4th day of the Beer fementing and noticed that there has been a significant reduction in bubbling, Still continue though but at a much slower rate. I have to move my Bucket to bottle, I was informed that it would be Ok to slightly give the beer a quick mix just to start off another little bit of fermentation once the bubbling subsides, Is this Advisable ?

BeerNut

silliegillie wrote: »

Is this Advisable ?

No, you risk oxygen getting in. The main fermentation happens in the first few days and slows dramatically after. The most important thing to do now is leave your beer alone. Don't so much as look at it until a week is up, then take the first gravity reading if you've replaced your hydrometer.

silliegillie

Thanks Again Beernut

Thraktor

Just a quick question; what (if anything) will happen if I leave the beer in the fermenter after it's finished fermenting? The kit I bought (Coopers starter kit from here, but with the Real Ale) told me to leave it fermenting for about a week (ie until tomorrow), but I might not have the bottles I need until next week, so will the beer be okay just sitting in the fermenter for that time?

YourName

Thraktor wrote: »

Just a quick question; what (if anything) will happen if I leave the beer in the fermenter after it's finished fermenting? The kit I bought (Coopers starter kit from here, but with the Real Ale) told me to leave it fermenting for about a week (ie until tomorrow), but I might not have the bottles I need until next week, so will the beer be okay just sitting in the fermenter for that time?

Don't worry about the beer being left in the fermenter, nothing will happen to it.

However I would be worried about bottling too early, sometimes those instructions don't take into account the fact that we are brewing in a different climate here in Ireland compared to Australia (Where coopers comes from) and they don't adjust the time to reflect that. I don't bottle my beer untill at least 3 weeks, that way I will get a nice clean beer, a week would definitly be too early I feel.

Thraktor

Thanks. I was a bit suspicious about the instructions saying a week, as I'd heard two weeks elsewhere, but I have a hydrometer, so I won't be bottling until I'm certain it's finished fermenting, anyway.

BeerNut

Kit instructions, especially the Coopers ones, are often quite misleading.

Leaving beer in the fermenter for two or three weeks is fine, but the beer can go off if you leave it longer: the yeast starts to eat itself and you get an off flavour, like Marmite.

oblivious

silliegillie wrote: »

I was informed that it would be Ok to slightly give the beer a quick mix just to start off another little bit of fermentation once the bubbling subsides, Is this Advisable ?

Its not mixing but rousing, use a Sterling long spoon (plastic preferably) or something similar and gently rouse the yeast from the bottom. Don't allow any foaming as this is the site of oxygen dissolution into your beer and oxygen at this point is not a good idea