First Brew.. questions & help

keppler

Hi all,
Firstly I'd like to apologize for yet another "first brew" thread. I've read tons of threads on the forum so far but I still have some specific questions to ask.

Firstly, I bought a coopers diy beer kit online with a coopers dark ale and a coopers stout kit. I started with the dark ale kit first, it went into the fv 8 days ago. The kit diidnt come with an airlock, instead it came with a Krausen collar and a lid. Now, the Coopers instructional videos are saying that after the krausen has dissipated, the collar should be removed and the lid placed back on the fv. however, I have also read numerous times that the best thing to do with your brew is leave it alone. So should I remove the collar or will it do no harm to just leave it alone?

Also I took a hydrometer reading at the start of 1038(500g dme and 500g dextrose for 23 litres) does that sound low? An online app tells me that that's a potential abv of over 5% after bottling, although I doubt I'm going to get all of that? Thing is though, when I took the hydrometer reading I didnt sterilize the tap nozzle, I just closed the tap as I;ve never seen it done on any you tube videos or read of it on any of the threads on this forum. Should I spray a bit of bleach & vinegar solution or milton up there before bottling.

Also is there any harm in opening the tap and taking a hydrometer reading now? tbh i'd be more interested in just having a taste of it at this stage just to satisfy my curiosity

BeerNut

keppler wrote: »

So should I remove the collar or will it do no harm to just leave it alone?

Doesn't really matter. I'd just leave it.

keppler wrote: »

does that sound low?

It does. Are you sure you mixed it thoroughly?

keppler wrote: »

Should I spray a bit of bleach & vinegar solution or milton up there before bottling.

Do it now. It's best not to take readings from the tap, or open it at all before bottling. Just dip a sanitised trial jar in at the top to take samples.

keppler

thanks for the swift reply beernut.

I'm certain it was mixed thoroughly I'd read enough posts on here about people that didnt to make that mistake. I poured in three litres of boiling water into the fv and made sure all the malt and dextrose was dissolved i then filled it up gradually to about 21 litres and topped up with hot and cold until the lcd thermo gave a green at the 22 degree mark. then stirred again. after that i took a hydrometer reading, I assume that the temperature of the fluid in the cylinder was at approx 22 as well.
I'm starting to wonder if I should have added more dextrose now because of the lack fermentable sugars in the 500g of dme I added as the instructions were for 1kg of dextrose?

Well, at least I'll know not to use the tap on the next brew. I think ill sterilize the sample tube now and take a hydro reading and taste test before it goes any further. The temp on the lcd thermo is reading bettween 16 - 18 should I compensate for temp difference or is it worth it over such a few degrees?

BeerNut

A kilo of fermentables should be fine and you're always better off with DME rather than sugar. But leave it for now, and the temperature is fine. Take a couple of gravity readings over the next week to see how it's getting on.

keppler

sound,
I read on some irish homebrew association/community website that you can make a dilute solution of thin bleach and vinegar, which can be applied from a spray bottle and sterilizes within 30seconds contact. I must find that site again. the solution would be handy for the next brew anyway.
ill take a hydro reading on wednesday and friday so. Friday will be the 14 day mark so hopefully it'll be done fermenting by then.

BeerNut

To 20L of water add 30ml of thin bleach and 30ml of vinegar. Scale as necessary.

cython

BeerNut wrote: »

To 20L of water add 30ml of thin bleach and 30ml of vinegar. Scale as necessary.

And don't directly mix the bleach and vinegar, ensure that one is mixed into the water, and then the other. You don't want the reaction and gas coming off a neat mix of bleach and vinegar!

keppler

well guys,
just removed the blanket from around the fv and had a sniff from close up to the lid. I got what seemed like a funny fruity smell coming off of it so I just decided to remove the collar sterilize the sample tube and take a reading and a taste test anyway, as if it is infected then id rather not waste any time and get on with another brew.
the current gravity is at 1005 which is ok i suppose, according to the calculator its giving me 4.33% plus say .5% for fermentation in bottling.
The only thing im worried about is the taste of it! I mean it tastes like beer but to be honest not that nice. id describe it as a smithwicks ale thats been lying in a glass from the day before. I really wish I had more experience at this, but from looking in the top of the fv when the lid was off there was no sign of any white bacterial colonies or any white webbing structure on the top (this is something I've heard described on this forum) there is still quite a bit of yeast particles all clumped up in the top of it and the sample was not very clear also, the fruity smell decreased soon enough after I removed the lid and the sample tube didnt smell anywhere near as funky as the fv.
I know the advice is going to be just leave it alone lol

edit: I describe the taste as a tiny little bit bitter too

BeerNut

Just leave it alone lol

It sounds like what you have there is a kit beer made using sugar. That's just how they tend to turn out, though it will improve on maturation. For better quality results you'll need to trade up to extract or all-grain brewing.

keppler

So thats it, thats what all this is about. feckin hell, I watched a guy on youtube called "craigtube" make a kit brew from coopers dark ale and he raved about it. Mine has no body, isnt that dark and just tastes like water with some kind of beer flavour added:rolleyes: ....he said he left it to bottle mature for about 1 month, but I cant see it getting to a stage where I could say that its worth brewing again.
Btw when I correct my hydrometer readings for temp im coming out with 4.5 abv does that sound about rite for a coopers dark ale? first reading was at 22c and todays was at 16c?
Am I going to get a better body & flavour next time If I use all dme? Btw, my next brew will be a coopers stout kit, so any tips are welcome. If I'm using all malt extract should I bump the quantity up a bit to compensate for the amount of unfermentable sugars in it as opposed to dextrose?

loyatemu

you can't judge it when it's warm, flat and only 10 days old. 2 weeks in the fermentor and 2 weeks in the bottle is the absolute minimum, usually only starts to get good after 6 weeks total and can continue improving for months afterwards.

I wouldn't obsess about the ABV either, it'll be beer, somewhere between 4 and 5%

BeerNut

keppler wrote: »

Am I going to get a better body & flavour next time If I use all dme?

Yes, I'd expect so. I've done the Coopers white label stout a few times and it's always been fine, though not up to commercial quality.

keppler wrote: »

If I'm using all malt extract should I bump the quantity up a bit to compensate for the amount of unfermentable sugars in it as opposed to dextrose?

It's up to yourself. A kilo is fine, a kilo and a half will give you a stouter stout.

keppler

cheers for the replies lads,
yeah I know worrying about the abv is pointless but, I was just wondering in case ive done anything wrong that could be avoided next time. At any rate im more than happy with 4.5 abv.

yeah think I'LL up the dme on the stout. im also tempted to go for one of the kit hacks talked about on the forum to turn it into a chocolate stout.

Anyhow its nearly time for bottling so whats the best conditions to store them in? I have large light proof boxes on the way so thats the light issue sorted. Im just wondering about the temp? I have the hot press which seems to be around 30c most of the time but fluctuates alot! the other option I have is the spare bedroom which would be around 10-16c but fluctuates a lot less than the hot press. I also have the kitchen which in the current weather stays fairly cool most of the time due to crap windows. if I had to take a guess I'd say the avg temp is around 10c in there rising maybe to around 18-20c in the evenings when the heating comes on but cooling really quickly when its switched off.
Unfortunately i dont have access to a garage or shed.

BeerNut

Conditioning is just fermentation. Leave the bottles where you left the fermenter.