New to brewing

Mau5

hi,

ive a couple of questions to ask:

whats the easiest to brew? I'd like to brew lager but ive heard its too hard with out expesive equipment because it needs to be kept constantly at 10 degrees celcius. Can anyone tell me of something like lager that would be easier?

also with regards to sugars,
ive heard to not use sugar and use dry malt extract instead as sugar can ruin the batch by making too much alcohol and stuff like that, is this true? is that for the sugar use in the entire process or just the sugar used when priming?
also read that dextrose is best to use, where can i buy dextrose?

thanks.

mayto

Lagers are hard to brew alright as you need to ferment at low temperatures if using lager yeast. I think most lager kits come with an ale yeast rather than a lager yeast.Ale yeast will ferment at room temp.(18C-22C roughly) meaning you can ferment it no problem and people are happy with the results from what I heard. You can get lager kits from thehomebrewcompany.ie http://thehomebrewcompany.ie/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_12&products_id=469 .Using 1KG of spraymalt along with 1 can kit is recommended. If you get a 3kg kit it will have all the ingredients you need, so no need to add spraymalt. Brewing sugar (dextrose) can be found on the same site. I use it for bottling myself. Best of luck with the brewing and I hope you enjoy the hobby

slayerking

Mau5 wrote: »

hi,

ive a couple of questions to ask:

whats the easiest to brew?

Any beer brewed with an ale yeast (i.e pale ales, stouts, wheatbeers etc)are easiest to brew as you dont need any fancy temperature control equipment.

Any of the kit lagers available are generally actually just blonde ales so they can be fermented at 18-22 degrees. I've never brewed any of the kit lagers but I've heard there pretty good especially the 3KG kits, and very aceptable to lager drinkers. I did brew a kit stout, and it turned out very nice.

Mau5 wrote: »

also with regards to sugars,
ive heard to not use sugar and use dry malt extract instead as sugar can ruin the batch by making too much alcohol and stuff like that, is this true? is that for the sugar use in the entire process or just the sugar used when priming?

When you use large amounts of table sugar in brewing you'll end up with quite a thin beer (almost cider like!!) as sugar ferments out completely, where as dextrose (which is just another name for glucose) ferments out about 95% and Dry Malt Extract about 75% so your left with a beer with a nice body.
1Kg kits require the addition of 1kg of Dry malt extract where as 3kg kits don't need anything added (just water!!).
Sugar is ok to use once it is small doses, i.e its fine to use for priming.
I use Glucose (dextrose) when priming.

Mau5 wrote: »

also read that dextrose is best to use, where can i buy dextrose?

thanks.

Dextrose (glucose) can be got in the baking section of mose supermarkets. It will be labeled Glucose.

If you want any more info on brewing head over to the Irish Craft Brewer website, it has a welt of information on it and a good community for helping you with any questions/problems you might have.

Mau5

great thanks!

should i stick to using one or the other with the spray malts & the glucose or could i use 500g spraymalt and 500g glucose? would it ruin the batch or anything?

slayerking

Mau5 wrote: »

great thanks!

should i stick to using one or the other with the spray malts & the glucose or could i use 500g spraymalt and 500g glucose? would it ruin the batch or anything?

I would stick to using 1kg of Spraymalt. You'll end up with a better beer in the end.
Happy brewing

Mau5

Is there much of a difference between spraymalts and glucose, as in end product or is it all personal preferance?

thanks.

Mau5

another question i just thought of there, can i use a solution of something like milton or dettol for sterilisation instead of going through the hassle of ordering more brewers sanitizer online all the time, would it leave any bad tastes in the batch or anything?

oconn

you can use thin belach or milton and vinigear ( 30ml of each to 5 gal of water) and its a no rince sanitizer....the spray malt will aff body glucose wont. go for more the malt as without it might taste watery....there is good detail on www.irishcraftbrewer.com makes great reading ..

oblivious

Mau5 wrote: »

Is there much of a difference between spraymalts and glucose, as in end product or is it all personal preferance?

thanks.

Two totally different products, one the glucose is a simple sugar and the other is malt extract

Mau5

thanks for the info, one other thing
the kit im getting has 2 fermenting bins but only one has a hole in the top for the bung, do you need another lid with a hole for a bung/airlock for secondary fermentation or will i be ok with the sealed lid?

mayto

Mau5 wrote: »

thanks for the info, one other thing
the kit im getting has 2 fermenting bins but only one has a hole in the top for the bung, do you need another lid with a hole for a bung/airlock for secondary fermentation or will i be ok with the sealed lid?

After about a week to 10 days primary fermentation should be about finished for a normal gravity beerkit. Some people recommend transferring the beer to a seconary fermenter for about a week to allow beer to clear more and get off yeast cake. You can use your lid with no hole for this stage as fermentation is virtually done and little C02 will be produced compared to initial fermentation. You can crack open lid a bit if it bulges alot. This is known as secondary or racking to seconary. Secondary fermentation is when you add some sugar to the beer when bottling, the yeast left in the beer eats up the sugar producing the C02 for your bottled beer and a small bit more alcohol. Be sure to bottle your beer only when you know it has finished fermenting by using a hydrometer. It should give a stable reading in the 1.010 range over a few days for regular beerkits.

Mau5

Cheers!

Got my kit today, think I'll start my first brew tonight!

Another thing though, how do i take a sample from the brew with my trial jar without contaminating the batch? My fermenting bin doesnt have a tap at the bottom of it I have a siphon, would removing the air lock temporarily and spihoning out a sample be much risk?

BeerNut

Mau5 wrote: »

how do i take a sample from the brew with my trial jar without contaminating the batch?

Sanitise the trial jar, then dunk it in the beer. If you're returning the sample to the fermenting bin, make sure your other instruments are sanitised too.

oblivious

BeerNut wrote: »

If you're returning the sample to the fermenting bin, make sure your other instruments are sanitised too.

Taste it, hydrometers are only one form of measurement:D

BeerNut

oblivious wrote: »

Taste it

Well obviously quality control is very important, but you may not want to drink the whole jar.

Mau5

oblivious wrote: »

Taste it, hydrometers are only one form of measurement:D

good idea!
just finished my first batch there, used a lager kit (i know theyre supposed to be bad) with a kilo of light spraymalt. got an OG of 1.040.

will it be drinkable? ive brewed before using different equipment and the brew turned out horrible everytime. put a bit more effort into it this time though so hopefully its alright.

slayerking

Mau5 wrote: »

good idea!
just finished my first batch there, used a lager kit (i know theyre supposed to be bad) with a kilo of light spraymalt. got an OG of 1.040.

will it be drinkable? ive brewed before using different equipment and the brew turned out horrible everytime. put a bit more effort into it this time though so hopefully its alright.

Congratz
It'll def be drinkable.
The most important things are to get the process down, makes sure EVERYTHING the touches the beer is satinised well, also, try and keep the fermentation temp down to the lower end of the range if you can, that way you'll get less esters from the yeast and a more cleaner taste like a lager.

And also try to give it lots of time to ferment (2-3 weeks anyway, use hydrometer to check when its finished and even leave it for a few days afterwards to be sure) and lots of time to condition in the bottles. There the hard ones esp on your first brew!!
Its amazing what a few weeks conditioning can do to a beers flavour!
Welcome to the obsession!!!:P

Mau5

slayerking wrote: »

And also try to give it lots of time to ferment (2-3 weeks anyway, use hydrometer to check when its finished and even leave it for a few days afterwards to be sure) and lots of time to condition in the bottles. There the hard ones esp on your first brew!!
Its amazing what a few weeks conditioning can do to a beers flavour!
Welcome to the obsession!!!:P

thanks for the help!
i read somewhere, i cant remember where, of a 2x2x2 rule of 2 weeks fermenting, 2 weeks secondary fermenting and then 2 weeks in the bottle for conditioning. would that be enough time?

slayerking

Mau5 wrote: »

thanks for the help!
i read somewhere, i cant remember where, of a 2x2x2 rule of 2 weeks fermenting, 2 weeks secondary fermenting and then 2 weeks in the bottle for conditioning. would that be enough time?

Yep, that sounds about right.
I personally wouldn't bother with the Secondary, unless im dry hopping or its a very high gravity beer. Risk of infection/oxidation, not worth it IMO, esp for first time.
I would generally leave the beer for about 3 weeks in the Fermenter and then just bottle/keg it and leave it for a further 4 weeks to carbonate and condition.

But before you bottle, make sure you have a steady gravity reading for about 3 days. It should prob be in the region of 1.009-1.013.
Somewhere around that! Dont bottle til its steady or you could end up with over fizzy beer or at worst bottle bombs!!

Mau5

thanks!

another thing ive found over the last week is the temperature fluxuation where i have my fermenter, its in a wardrobe where temp is usuall about 19.3C during the day and falls to 17 during the night. is that ok or is to great of a fluxuation?

BeerNut

No, that should be fine. You don't want it going much higher, though.

Mau5

i sterilised my testing jar in a hot water and milton solution, left it for half an hour then rinsed it off, opened my fermenter lid and took a sample today.
Got an SG of 1.024 6th day of fermentation. Just curious does that SG reading sound right? Also does anyone have another method of taking samples as i dont have a tap at the bottom of my fermenter and i dont want to risk contaminating my batch. I cleaned my hands well today before getting the sample, do you think it will be contaminated?

slayerking

That seems about right, maybe a little high but dont worry too much bout it once its not stuck your fine. It might be just a little slow if its in a cooler room. I've had beers before that were slow to ferment. Should be fine. Leave it to ferment away, check it again in another 2 or 3 days and see where its at then. Once it keeps dropping its ok.

I use a sanitised turkey baster for taking samples, does the job very well with minimal disturbance to the beer, i generally dont put the beer sample back in the fermenter. Usually keep the sample in a small beer bottle beside the fermenter and use it as a satellite fermenter. Saves me dipping in to the Fermenter everytime I want to check the gravity. Just be warned that the satellite can sometimes differ by a point or 2 to the fermenter buts its a good enough guide to see if it still dropping or not. Generally it matches the fermenter fairly well.

Another week and you should be close to final gravity.