Ready by Xmas?

KAGY

Hi All,
Due to life's little pressures I haven't made anything in a while and I've depleted my stocks (save a few bottles of TC and a few Ruby Reds). I've a few kits ready to go, but need to get one on to be ready by Xmas, which of these do you think will be most drinkable in 4 wks!

Cobnar Wood Northern Brown
brewferm Grand Cru
Young's Harvest Barley Wine
Coopers irish stout
Muntons Wheat Beer
Muntons Pilner

BeerNut

I'd go with the wheat beer. The brown should be OK too.

KAGY

Thanks,
I've two buckets so I'll do both! I might even risk putting them in a warmer room, I normally leave them around 17-18 for three weeks, but hard times call for drastic measures .
I also have a mini keg (tap-a-draft), so could force carb the wheat beer?

BeerNut

KAGY wrote: »

I also have a mini keg (tap-a-draft), so could force carb the wheat beer?

Using CO2 bulbs? I'd say it would take a lot of them.

00833827

i think with mini-kegs ideally you still need to prime?? the co2 bulbs will just push it out/preserve it for a while -

zacmorris

KAGY wrote: »

Hi All,
Due to life's little pressures I haven't made anything in a while and I've depleted my stocks (save a few bottles of TC and a few Ruby Reds). I've a few kits ready to go, but need to get one on to be ready by Xmas, which of these do you think will be most drinkable in 4 wks!

Cobnar Wood Northern Brown
brewferm Grand Cru
Young's Harvest Barley Wine
Coopers irish stout
Muntons Wheat Beer
Muntons Pilner

Starting a coopers Irish stout myself tonight with the hope of drinking it at Christmas- reckon it won't be ready on time??

Carawaystick

zacmorris wrote: »

Starting a coopers Irish stout myself tonight with the hope of drinking it at Christmas- reckon it won't be ready on time??

While it might be drinkable, stout always improves with age ( up to a point obviously - but that point is probably measured in months or years not weeks)

zacmorris

Carawaystick wrote: »

While it might be drinkable, stout always improves with age ( up to a point obviously - but that point is probably measured in months or years not weeks)

Sound, I'll get it on this eve anyway and see how it turns out

KAGY

Carawaystick wrote: »

While it might be drinkable, stout always improves with age ( up to a point obviously - but that point is probably measured in montes or years not weeks)

On a slightly related note opened a minikeg of finlandia winter ale made in Nov '12 , it was pure mank (prob infected in hindsight) when I opened botles of it a few weeks later. Dumped a few bottles but forgot about the keg. Is actually drinkable now, still a back ground twang, but still drinkable.
I think I'm missing out drinking my brews too soon, if time can make that crap better maybe I should hold out drinking my beer for a couple of months not weeks.

poitinstill

i've turned round the coopers wheat with 1kg wheat dme in about 10 days last summer...i think it actually peaked at about 3 weeks...

on the finlindia i dumped a corny of it the other day too dont think it was really infected just manky stuff. not a fan of that brand at all...

zacmorris

My coopers Irish with 1kg dark malt is 15 days in the fermenter , gravity is at 1.016, what should the final be around? I stupidly forgot to take an original gravity reading...

blueshed

i bottled one a few weeks back at 1.014, it started at 1.050.

zacmorris

blueshed wrote: »

i bottled one a few weeks back at 1.014, it started at 1.050.

Cheers for the reply, I'll give it a few more days and hopefully will get down towards 1.012- 1.014.

Have you tried any yet?

zacmorris

Hi lads,

Stout has stopped at 1012, so I'm going to bottle (won't be ready for Christmas now?). I have carb drops, but think I'd prefer to prim as have to transfer into bottling bucket anyway.

What would be the recommended amount of sugar to water to use and also what's the best sugar for it?

Thanks

BeerNut

I use this to work it out, and would be shooting for about 2.2 vols in a stout. I prime with dextrose, but any sugar will do, really.

Carawaystick

zacmorris wrote: »

What would be the recommended amount of sugar to water to use and also what's the best sugar for it?

Thanks

Cheap white sugar
It's cheap
It will add no flavour to the beer
It's very widely available
(Your other half will have one less brewing ingredient to complain about)

KAGY

BeerNut wrote: »

I'd go with the wheat beer. The brown should be OK too.

Tried both tonight. The wheat beer is stilla bit too sweet - sticky teeth :-E . I'm starting to think I should cut down on the spray malt. The brown ale is nice even if the hoppiness needs to mellow. Not sure either will suit my guests (at least not to start with!) Luckily i picked up some Franzikanker while it was on offer.

Happy (or should i say "merry") Xmas to all ye home brewers and thanks for the advice through the year