New member! Just ordered my first kit!

lee_baby_simms

Could anyone recommend a good IPA kit? Has anyone tried the St. Peter's India Pale Ale?

Cheers.

merc230ce

Limericks wrote: »

What would you recommend then? Should I just go for the regular lager with the kit instead of the Canadian blonde upgrade?

I did the Canadian for my first brew too and wasn't pleased with the result, although I assume that that was my fault not the kit! I've read good reviews of the Mexican Cerveza though - is that an option?

The two big things to watch for I reckon are Sanitation and Fermentation temps - get those two right for your first brew and you'll be sorted :-)

Martyn1989

merc230ce wrote: »

I've read good reviews of the Mexican Cerveza though

This may be of interest to you,http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=70599384 I did the muntons mexican cervesca as my first brew.

scrapsmac

lads! today is bottling day!!

I've sanitised all the bottles using the vinegar and bleach method. Do I need to rinse these bottles further? I currently have them draining on the kitchen counter stacked up next to eachother on their necks lol

I am using carbonation drops. Do I put these in the bottles before pouring the beer on top or vice versa? Anything else I should know before I crack on?

joeKel73

foto joe wrote: »

Stout was my third brew and it's currently about 10 days in the bottles, I've tried a few and they're tasting really good! I'm going to try hold off another week at least.

I went for this;
3.2 Kg All Malt Coopers Brewmaster Irish Stout Kit

Enjoyed one this evening... nicest brew yet. And only ~10days in the fermentor and 2weeks in the bottles. Should get even better with time...

scrapsmac

looks great foto joe!

starting my stout this evening. anything I should be aware of or any tips before I start? I take it you made it up similar to other kits:

Light malt extract first, bit of a stir, followed by the stout, stir, top up with water?

I'm going to try a bit of vanilla pod in it. Do you reckon I just open the pod up and bung in the seed before adding the yeast?

scrapsmac

might dabble with a bit of chocolate too. Any ideas how I can make this work? I've read a lot of stuff over on homebrewforum.co.uk however It's all a little confusing for a newbie like me haha

calvin_zola

hi guys my stout has been fermenting for about 5 days now.... when I left on friday ot was at 25celcius and when I came back after the weekend it is now at 17.. is 17 too low, the airlock is not bubbling as much as it was ..

scrapsmac

Ignore the airlock. Stick with your hydrometer readings as they are the only accurate way of telling what is going on!

I can't answer your question on the temperature, mine usually hangs around 22/23 because I'm limited by space in the house. From what I gather speaking to the lads/lassies on here, you should be okay at 17!

scrapsmac

Tried a bottle of my first Brew tonight, the Canadian Blonde Ale! T'was tasty!

A little bit sweet but I think that's down to me using a little too much dextrose. I shall be enjoying a few more tomorrow night.

They've been conditioning in the bottles for a week now, is it okay to throw them into the fridge?

BeerNut

scrapsmac wrote: »

They've been conditioning in the bottles for a week now, is it okay to throw them into the fridge?

I'd give them another week at room temperature. Possibly the reason it was sweet was it's still conditioning.

Yawns

I tasted 1 after 4 days in the bottle cos I was bored and was tempted. It does seem very nice. I'm leaving them for a further 3 weeks before they go into the fridge. I'm keeping myself busy meanwhile with the 2nd brew in the fermenter since yesterday.

Also thinking about doing a 3rd brew tomorrow. I have yesterdays in the fermenter with the tap, gonna bottle prime that. However I have 2 33L fermenters with no tap, have a auto syphon and am gonna batch prime tomorrow's brew.

What's people's opinions on 1kg of brew enhancer, 200g of extra light spraymalt and 200g of brewing sugar. It should bump up the alcohol content a bit and am planning on leaving it for 3 weeks in the bucket before bottling.

scrapsmac

So my stout has been in the fermenter for a week now! I went with the Coopers Stout Kit and the 1.5kg of liquid malt extract.

I have vanilla pods, is there any way or point to me adding these now to give it a bit of something extra? Cheers lads and lassies!

lee_baby_simms

I just bottled my first batch but i'm concerned about how its gonna turn out. I went with St Peters IPA

I pitched the yeast at too high a temp - around 28C. It fermented well for a few days but around 5 or 6 days later I gave it a stir to try to reactivate fermentation as it had died down a lot. I kept it at 18c to 22c during fermentation.

OG was around 1.045/50 and the FG was 1.015. I bottled it after 11 days.

Would pitching the yeast at that temp ruin the finished brew? I plan on leaving it in bottles for 4 weeks before trying it.

I used coopers carbonation drops which are designed for 350ml bottles yet I was using 500ml. Will this mean i'll be left with a fairly flat ale?

Thanks.

joeKel73

lee_baby_simms wrote: »

OG was around 1.045/50 and the FG was 1.015. I bottled it after 11 days.

That sounds about normal.

lee_baby_simms wrote: »

I used coopers carbonation drops which are designed for 350ml bottles yet I was using 500ml. Will this mean i'll be left with a fairly flat ale?

I usually split some of them and do 1.5 drops per 500ml. I don't know why they don't make drops for 500ml bottles!! But if you're bottling for 4 weeks I'd say it should carbonate grand. Keep in similar temperatures as the fermenter.

Martyn1989

lee_baby_simms wrote: »

I just bottled my first batch but i'm concerned about how its gonna turn out. I went with St Peters IPA

I pitched the yeast at too high a temp - around 28C. It fermented well for a few days but around 5 or 6 days later I gave it a stir to try to reactivate fermentation as it had died down a lot. I kept it at 18c to 22c during fermentation.

OG was around 1.045/50 and the FG was 1.015. I bottled it after 11 days.

Would pitching the yeast at that temp ruin the finished brew? I plan on leaving it in bottles for 4 weeks before trying it.

I used coopers carbonation drops which are designed for 350ml bottles yet I was using 500ml. Will this mean i'll be left with a fairly flat ale?

Thanks.

Id say it will be ok, worst case scenario you can always open the bottles and add some extra sugar to get a bit more fizz, it mightnt be the most desireable thing to do, but Ive done it in the past and it was grand

scrapsmac

Lads, My stout has been in the fermenter for 15 days now. I'm pretty swamped with work so probably won't get a chance to bottle it for another couple of days. Is that too long to leave it or will I be okay?

BeerNut

It's fine for another couple of weeks at least.

ReallyWiggy

guys - really interesting reading here. A lot of you seem to be leaving the brews ferment for 10+ days before bottling. My first brew is on but the instructions were to start testing the gravity on day 6 and 2 consistent days means ready for bottling. I'm not in that mush a rush so was wondering does leaving it longer make it better or as soon as its had a consistent reading for 2 days in a row is that the right time to bottle. Coopers Candian Blonde is the brew.

BiddyBob

ReallyWiggy wrote: »

guys - really interesting reading here. A lot of you seem to be leaving the brews ferment for 10+ days before bottling. My first brew is on but the instructions were to start testing the gravity on day 6 and 2 consistent days means ready for bottling. I'm not in that mush a rush so was wondering does leaving it longer make it better or as soon as its had a consistent reading for 2 days in a row is that the right time to bottle. Coopers Candian Blonde is the brew.

You can leave the beer for weks in the fermenter as long as air is kept out (sealed lid / airlock). After a long time though, I believe there can be a reaction with the yeast lying on the bottom of the fermenter; however, this only happens after several months as far as I know.

BeerNut

ReallyWiggy wrote: »

does leaving it longer make it better

Yes, even after fermentation has finished the yeast can use the extra time to clean up the beer a bit. It's worth giving a beer at least two weeks, taking hydrometer readings in the second.

Kit instructions are often misleading, especially about ferment times and temperatures.

ReallyWiggy

BeerNut wrote: »

Yes, even after fermentation has finished the yeast can use the extra time to clean up the beer a bit. It's worth giving a beer at least two weeks, taking hydrometer readings in the second.

Kit instructions are often misleading, especially about ferment times and temperatures.

Thanks BeerNut - its in a week now and still very cloudy, good advice and will keep and eye on it this week. Based on some the the threads here I've probably been keeping it too warm @ about 22 per the kit instructions when a lot of folks on here talk about it being better at 18-20. anyway - its a great learning experience....

ILikeBananas

BiddyBob wrote: »

You can leave the beer for weks in the fermenter as long as air is kept out (sealed lid / airlock). After a long time though, I believe there can be a reaction with the yeast lying on the bottom of the fermenter; however, this only happens after several months as far as I know.

I keep reading about the importance of keeping the fermenter sealed. However I also keep reading about how the best way to test the progress of the fermentation is to test the specific gravity of the mix. My question therefore is how can you take a sample for testing purposes without letting air in?

Do you have to get a fermenter with a tap on the end of it or is it ok to open up the fermenter for a minute whilst you stick a sterilised syphoning tube into the mix to pull a sample out?

BeerNut

ILikeBananas wrote: »

I keep reading about the importance of keeping the fermenter sealed.

Wherever you're reading this is talking nonsense. The only purpose of the lid is to stop stuff falling in. Air can't get in to your beer because fermentation is producing a carbon dioxide blanket sitting on the surface. Also: "air getting in" isn't going to harm the beer. Why would it?

I take readings by sanitising a trial jar and dunking it in the beer to take a sample.

BiddyBob

If the beer is busy fermenting, it will produce CO2 which is heavier than air and sits on top of the beer, this protects it somewhat.

The original question was whether beer could be left for a long time in a fermenter before bottling.

In this case, its probably better to keep air away. If you keep your beer in a fermenter for months and regularly open the lid, I would imagine it would get a bit oxidised?

But if its in a fermenter for months, I don't see what the point of taking hydrometer readings would be?

I must admit that I have left beer for several weeks, but only because I have been too lazy to bottle it! It always turned out fine.

BeerNut

BiddyBob wrote: »

If you keep your beer in a fermenter for months and regularly open the lid, I would imagine it would get a bit oxidised?

I've never heard of a beer getting oxidised from ambient air. If you leave it in the fermenter for months you're more likely to get autolysis. That'll give you marmite off-flavours.

lee_baby_simms

Hey folks,

I've just put on a batch of Muntons IPA. I've read it has only a mild hop flavour which I'd like to adjust. I've also read that cascade hops are good for giving a nice american ipa bitterness which exactly what i'm after.

So how does dry hopping work? Do you just empty a sachet of powder/leaves into the wort?

Ta.

BeerNut

Yep: 20-30g in 20L, straight in, will do the job. It's best to add them about a week before you bottle.

ILikeBananas

BeerNut wrote: »

Wherever you're reading this is talking nonsense. The only purpose of the lid is to stop stuff falling in. Air can't get in to your beer because fermentation is producing a carbon dioxide blanket sitting on the surface. Also: "air getting in" isn't going to harm the beer. Why would it?

I take readings by sanitising a trial jar and dunking it in the beer to take a sample.

That thing about the CO2 blanket makes a lot of sense. I got a fermenter and brew kit recently and it specified the importance of including the O-ring in the fermenter cap and greasing the threads with petroleum jelly. What's that all about?

BeerNut

Not a clue. Sounds a bit more involved than my set-up, which looks like this: