Confused and excited newbie

[truelyfreespirit]

Hi guys. If someone in the know would enlighten me I would be mega grateful I promise..

I have just started a coopers home brew and I mixed the sugar, or to be more accurate coopers brew enhancer which looks like very fine sugar in at the wrong time. I say the wrong time because I believe I was supposed to mix it in at the start with the hot water but I didn't mix it in until i had all the water in up to the 23 litre mark. Of course the temperature of it was then around 24 degrees and I am now worried that the sugar won't dissolve properly ?.. Is this something I should worry about this time ?.. Is there anything I can do about it ?

[Shaun21]

I wouldn't worry too much, those little yeasties will sniff out that sugar.

As you said the 'sugar' is very fine and will dissolve pretty easily but if you are worried and find yourself needing to do something, then sanitise your spoon thoroughly and give it a gentle stir trying not to introduce any air into the wort.

Personally I'd leave it be. I'd rather see if the yeast eat it all than risk getting an infection.

[truelyfreespirit]

Thanks Shaun.. I can already see a lot of residue on the bottom of the barrel and at the top and it's been there now for 16 hours. Is that normal ? Also when u refer to infection I don't really understand where that comes from ?... It's not as if the spoon would be dirty enough to cause infection surely ?.. I am just trying to get my head around the whole home brewing thing at the moment and sterilisation paranoia seams to be a little high ?

[Ditch]

TFS; I'm probably the Least 'Infection Paranoid' person on here. I barely give a sh!t. But, I still do.

Here it is, in a nut shell: It's a Real f**king pisser, tipping all that filth, that should have been beer, down the drain. Conversely? Taking measures to prevent that outcome really aren't the ball ache some people hype them up to be. Weigh up which would wreck your day more.

Choose what ever method floats your boat. Get used to using it. It's the FV's, mainly. The wort sits in them the longest. Has a lot of contact with that plastic. That plastic needs to be clean.

Anything else likely to go in the wort? I store it in a bucket of my chosen sanitiser. That keeps it clean and practically ready for instant use.

Oh, and as an aside? Ye used too much water. What ever happens now, just know that next time will be noticeably better, when ye cut back to four gallons.

[truelyfreespirit]

[quote="Ditch"]TFS; I'm probably the [i]Least[/i] 'Infection Paranoid' person on here. I barely give a sh!t. But, I still do.

Here it is, in a nut shell: It's a Real f**king pisser, tipping all that filth, that should have been beer, down the drain. Conversely? Taking measures to prevent that outcome really aren't the ball ache some people hype them up to be. Weigh up which would wreck your day more.

Choose what ever method floats your boat. Get used to using it. It's the FV's, mainly. The wort sits in them the longest. Has a lot of contact with that plastic. That plastic needs to be clean.

Anything else likely to go in the wort? I store it in a bucket of my chosen sanitiser. That keeps it clean and practically ready for instant use.

Oh, and as an aside? Ye used too much water. What ever happens now, just know that next time will be noticeably better, when ye cut back to four gallons.[/quote]

Thanks Ditch

So that's what all the sanitising is about. Just mostly the dirt and stuff multiplying and causing waste yea ?

So 15 litres is better than 23 litres ?.. Why is that ?.. On the guidelines it says 23 litres and on the you tube videos I watched it shows people using 23 litres per kit. Kit has 1.7 kilo hopped malt concentrate and 1 kilo of sugar/ brew enhancer.

[Geezah]

Most kit brewers with a few brews under their belt will reduce the volume from 23l to 20l, this adds a little more abv% and gives the brew more body and flavour.

Likewise, using a liquid malt extract (LME) or dried malt extract (yup, you got it DME) will add more body to a brew.

As for sanitizing, you really should ensure that anything that comes in to contact with the brew has been sanitized.
Its not specifically about dirt, but more about germs or wild yeasts - both have the potential for making your brew taste anything from funky to vinegar. This is the reason people always say 2once you have made your brew up and added the yeast JUST LEAVE IT ALONE FOR 2 WEEKS"

Why 2 weeks when the kit instructions say 5-7 days?
Well, if your brewing at the correct temperature (21c for most ales) the yeast will need at least 2 weeks to turn all that sugar in to alcohol and do the 'cleaning up bit' where the yeast removes any strange flavours left over from the fermentation process.

I personaly leave my brews for 3 weeks before I consider keging etc.

[Ditch]

My own rule is simple: " Dirt and stuff " needs to be scrubbed off the plastic. I won't allow a speck of visible stuff. I must be peering at clean, white plastic.

Then I sanitise.

See what I'm driving at here? We can't expect to sanitise sh!t. Sanitisation is about killing germs. Can we See germs? Of course not. So, if we Can see it? It's likely a f**king site more than just germs. Yeah?

I'm pretty sure I actually put up a clip of me sanitising. I'll try to dig it out for ye. It shows how little fuss and bother really needs be involved.


If 15 Litres is four gallons? Yes. It is better. It makes the beer that tad more concentrated. Less watered down. So, we get an overall better experience. Put simply; Grab a pint of what ever ye normally drink in a pub. What ever suits ye tastes in that situation.

Then, pour out an equal measure, comparatively, to what we're discussing here. Replace it with tap water.

See? Don't even need to waste a pint trying that, do ye? It's obvious that watering down ye pint won't do it any favours.

Doing it the way probably most of us do though, that enhances the kit. It simply makes a better beer.

Like I say; Enjoy this one you're making. Just know that, next time, it'll be that bit better

[Ditch]

There we are. I see Geezah posted, as I was. Now see how in line our answers are? We've done this before, see?

Now, here's a link to myself making light of sanitisation. Scroll down to the third photo and click it. It's actually a 24 second clip. That's how long it takes me to sanitise an FV. Then, I hose it out in my shower stall and I'm ready to rock.

I use thin bleach solution, by the way. Each to their own. Some prefer " Non Rinse Sanitisers ".

Now; Click This.

[DeadFall]

Don't be dis-heartened. Kits are very easy to brew once you have the process down right. You can be well on your way to a good 20L of beer with a low risk of things going wrong after an hours work when you have it worked out. This board is full of useful information and it's worth spending some time reading the stickies. But one thing I will say is "star-san".

[truelyfreespirit]

I understand now Ditch, thanks.. Cheers Deadfall.

[DeadFall]

The best thing I ever did was join this board. I lurked for a long time as I don't really like forums, but this one is a cracker. There's very little of the bitchiness you get elsewhere and everyone is friendly. Get a few brews under your belt, get some good beers in of different styles so you know what you like and then you can build a beer of your choice by selecting the right kit and then adding extras to it. Kits are a lot more fun when you don't follow the destructions.

[truelyfreespirit]

Thanks deadfall

[WalesAles]

Thanks deadfall

TFS,
You are doomed! No going back now!
You are in the vicious circle of `What shall I Brew next`, Will it be any good? What if it Tastes off, What if nobody likes it?
WA

[DeadFall]

Thanks deadfall

TFS,
You are doomed! No going back now!
You are in the vicious circle of `What shall I Brew next`, Will it be any good? What if it Tastes off, What if nobody likes it?
WA

And then comes the lure of the shiny AG kit...

[truelyfreespirit]

Lol.. What's an AG kit ?