Coopers Australian Pale Ale

[Dribble]

Hi Guys,

I'm a bit of a newbie to all this...it's is only my second brew (first is currently maturing in keg!) and was hoping for a bit of advice.

Yesterday morning, to my FV I added 300g sugar 1st then contents of my Coopers APA tin then 500g spraymalt light on top. Without mixing it I added my 2 lts boiling water (all the liquid volumes on the instructions were in lts, being Australian!). I then mixed it together and added my cold water up to the 20lt mark.

When adding the cold water, an awful lot of froth developed on the top of the liquid. I scraped as much as i could off the top before adding my yeast.

Was just wondering if that much froth is normal with this kit? Should i have mixed the sugar/spraymalt/tin contents before adding the boiling water? Have I not rinsed the FV enough after sanitising it?

Have checked on it this morning and it seems to be progressing with fermentation as usual, just a bit worried that it may not turn out very well if I've messed up this stage!

Any ideas/advice on this would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[boingy]

The froth was fine and did not need removing. If you were worried about the yeast sitting on top of the froth then you could have just stirred it in with a spoon. Obviously the spoon should be sanitised/sterilised/disinfected/deodorised/mesmerised (depending on your preferred word...).

Worry ye not, your beer will be fine.

[Dribble]

Hurrah for my beer being fine!

Guess I've just got Newbie's Nervousness...really looking forward to getting into the homebrewing lark in a big way but worried about doing stuff wrong and ruining a whole batch!

[Kev888]

Yes, completely agree with Boingy. The froth may have been due to the enthusiasm with which you added the cold water, but far from being a problem its actually seen as a good thing to splash the water in as it gets oxygen into the wort, which the yeasty beasties like. Its probably more important in brewing techniques where all the wort has been boiled, but it certainly won't hurt; just stir in the yeast or wait for the foam to settle a bit.

Cheers
Kev

[At. Ailbhe's Brewery]

Hurrah for my beer being fine!

Guess I've just got Newbie's Nervousness...!

Yeah, I was fairly paranoid with my first few aswell. But as someone on here said once, beer is a fairly resolute animal, it takes a special bit of foolishness to really muck it up, provided all the ingredients are ok and the equipment clean. Keep everything clean and the liquids not too hot, add some patience and you'll be spot on.

[Dribble]

Fantastic stuff, it's very reassuring to have a community of more experienced people to call upon! Looking forward to some good brew adventures!

[Andris]

Froth on the top is actually a good sign - means that your wort was oxygenated and thats important because yeasties need some O2 in the start to have a good chew on the brew.

You can easily sprinkle yeast evenly across the froth and close the lid. just keep in mind, that this way fermentation will start bit later because you are giving yeast time to rehydrate on froth. In my experience its usually takes about 5-6 hours more for fermentation to start up if you pitch it this way.

[Dribble]

You can easily sprinkle yeast evenly across the froth and close the lid. just keep in mind, that this way fermentation will start bit later because you are giving yeast time to rehydrate on froth. In my experience its usually takes about 5-6 hours more for fermentation to start up if you pitch it this way.

Is it best to sprinkle the yeast on top of the brew then? Guy in my LHBS had suggested mixing the yeast in some warm boiled water with a little sugar to help get it going and then add to the brew.

[Beer O'Clock]

I fluctuate between Yeast Starters and pitching 'dry'.
The starter will (oddly enough) start fermenting quicker reducing the risk of infection even further. A starter also reduces the chance of 'shock' from pitching into a liquid that is too warm, apparently.

But as I have only had one infection in 20 years (hot, windy day = wild yeast) I think they both have equal merit.

[Andris]

Is it best to sprinkle the yeast on top of the brew then? Guy in my LHBS had suggested mixing the yeast in some warm boiled water with a little sugar to help get it going and then add to the brew.

I think you really dont need to bother with this if you use dry yeasts provided by kit producers, just warm them up to room temp if you store them in fridge.

Theory behind mixing in vs leaving on top of the froth is that if you leave it on top of the froth, you allow dry yeast to rehydrate slowly and thus avoid shocking yeast (can someone explain shocked yeast please? ). In my personal experience (its not big, mebbe 6-7 brews) I have yet to notice difference in taste or fermentation except if I leave it on top, it takes longer to start.

Last batch I made (coopers stout) I left it on top of the froth just because froth was huge and I did not want to bother mixing it in and having some of yeast stick to the walls and the spoon thus reducing amount of the yeast to begin with.

You do need to mix in beers you make with lager or wheat yeasts.

[Kev888]

Many people would suggest rehydrating dry yeast before pitching as it gives it a small head start and lets it begin working sooner in the FV, but in practice I personally tend not to bother and just go with the manufacturers instructions which usually say just to sprinkle on, and I've never had any issues with it starting (the sachet contains enough viable yeast to work). It would also help in pouring it in through a foamy head though; if you try it make sure all equipment used is sanitised and the mix you add it to at the right temperature - it could actually make things worse if these things are forgotten.

Starters are something different; with these you're actually feeding the yeast and effectively activating & growing it before adding to the wort. I've done that with yeast from bottle conditioned beer and with reclaimed yeast from the previous batch. It gives a flying start, but I only really bother with starters if theres some reason to think that there isn't enough viable yeast to get going or avoid under-pitching.

Probably I'm being a bit lazy - am going to try liquid yeast soon and will have to buck my ideas up a bit before then

Cheers
kev

[boingy]

I'm also a dry sprinkler. I have rehydrated in the past but I was not able to see any real difference in the speed or performance of the yeast so, being a bit of a lazy ass, I went back to the simplest solution. I do always take the yeast out of the fridge in good time to allow it to come up to room temperature though.

[Dribble]

I do always take the yeast out of the fridge in good time to allow it to come up to room temperature though.

Should I be storing my yeast packets that come with the kit in the fridge then?

[Kev888]

ideally yes, but if its been sat in the home brew shop at room temperature for ages and you're going to use it reasonably soon then its unlikely to make a lot of difference really; dried yeast is fairly robust in that way. I personally tend to keep a small stock in though, and my house can get quite hot in summer too, so I do keep them in the fridge - its no real effort and they don't take much space up so I kind of feel why not.

Cheers
kev

[Dribble]

Ok, will bear that in mind for the future then...thanks!