first brew!

Discuss making up beer kits - the simplest way to brew.
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pinkeye
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first brew!

Post by pinkeye » Wed Dec 23, 2020 9:19 pm

Going to atempt a first homebrew in the next day or so, I've bought begginers Balliihoo beer making kit with plastic bottles, a Coopers Stout tin and a Coopers liquid malt extract(Dark) to make with my new kit.
Never having made beer before and having read reviews I see you can and want to mix up the fermentables(I think). So if I use the whole 1.5kg tin of liquid malt can I add a 450g tin of black treacle and 500g of molasses suger with the supplied sachet of yeast. or will they have to be mixed in pretence of adding up to 1.5kg of fermentables(I think)

WalesAles
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Re: first brew!

Post by WalesAles » Thu Dec 24, 2020 8:20 pm

Hello pinkeye,
This is a good read.........viewtopic.php?f=57&t=31569
Great fun to read right through! :D

As it is your first brew, I wouldn`t add the treacle or molasses. Get used to your gear and methods first.
Coopers Stout never fails to make good beer.
Make it to 20lts for more flavour.
It ferments violently so be prepared for the FV lid to open and froth over.
Put the FV (fermenting Vessel) in a garden trug to catch the spillover. Or lots of towels on the floor.
Don`t forget your sanitation and rinsing of your gear.

Good luck with your first brew! =D>

Merry Christmas.

WA

pinkeye
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Re: first brew!

Post by pinkeye » Fri Jan 08, 2021 8:01 pm

Finally got round to brewing stout last Sunday afternoon(now the next Friday evening), sterilized equipment used a kettle for boiling water to dilute can contents from Coopers stout and Coopers liquid malt(dark) whiped first and then stirred in the yeast sachet(at about 22c/23c). Took a gravity reading of about 1.050, couldent see clearly becaues of froth, placed lid put fv on heat pad(set to 21c) and filled air lock with water.
When filling the fv with water the fv gauge read 20l and my water bottle's count said 18l but went with it anyway(18l)? managed to miss the large krausen at work on Tuesday but lid told the tale.Air lock bubbled away untill Wed/Thu. Can lift air lock top on mine and have a couple of times to smell, quite unpleasent at first but chilled out some by now(is this normal). Havent taken any gravity readings yet(manly because of smell) might start taking them from tomorow if I should or just wait till next weekend and start then.
Bought a 5gl bottem tap king keg and dark belgian candy sugar for this brew but am unsure how much to add to the 18l of stout.
Any help welcome :?:

WalesAles
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Re: first brew!

Post by WalesAles » Fri Jan 08, 2021 8:55 pm

pink,
Congrats on your first brew! =D>
The extra 1.5lts in your FV has come from the can contents, so you are not far off the 20lts.
Don`t keep opening the lid because infections might get in, Covid is rife.! :D
Take a gravity reading on day 11. If it reads 1010 for the next 3 days, your brew is ready to bottle/keg.
When you fill your sample jar to the brim, the hydrometer will displace some beer, if any froth on hydro just blow it off.

WA

I made a Coopers Stout to 20lts on monday, fg1046.

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Bad 'Ed
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Re: first brew!

Post by Bad 'Ed » Sat Jan 09, 2021 12:07 pm

pinkeye wrote:
Fri Jan 08, 2021 8:01 pm
Bought a 5gl bottem tap king keg and dark belgian candy sugar for this brew but am unsure how much to add to the 18l of stout.
Any help welcome :?:
I would probably prime with 2-3g of sugar per litre. That's about the same sort of fizz you get in cask ale. You can go higher if you want it fizzy like you get in a can, but putting that through the keg tap will give you 50% foam the first time you pour each day.
Never enough time...

pinkeye
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Re: first brew!

Post by pinkeye » Sun Jan 24, 2021 3:44 pm

Waited till last weekend to take gravity reading of stout(so two weeks in the fv), friday and saterday both read at
1012.5 so keged with 47g of dark belgan candy suger but only managed to get 15/16l of stout into the keg syphoning from the fv tap(airlock I found later), placed keg on heat mat at same temp as fv last weekend. Tasting the sample jar was very simular to a can of mackeson stout then sampled in shot glass from wedensday, fist shot had definate dusty undertones from the dark candy suger, thursday not any kind of show brew, tried a pint on friday with a small shagy short lived head and was thick malty tasting and sat heavy an the guts, tried a pint on saterday and tasted very simular to a st Austells brewery black ale that was on tap at my local when I lived in cornwall along time ago, but not a session beer, now sunday and tried one pint an hour ago and another now to be sure, with the stouts nature coming through it tasts like one although with a noticibly malty tast and aroma and a very atractive short lived head.
An enjoyable first brewing but wont use a dark liquid malt extract on the next stout brew.
Got a Morgans Astralian old or a Coopers dark ale for next, 1kg light spary malt and and the unrefined mollases suger and black treacle to use up on wichever one suits them best?

pinkeye
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Re: first brew!

Post by pinkeye » Tue Feb 02, 2021 2:37 pm

2 weeks in keg and keeps geting slowly beter. Totaly flat though which is ok for a stout, will adding a co2 bulb add any fizz to the stout or will it just put presure in the keg for dispensing?

pinkeye
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Re: first brew!

Post by pinkeye » Tue Feb 02, 2021 3:27 pm

Put a Coopers Mexican Cerveza in the fv yesterday, used coopers brew enancer 1, 450g tin of golden syrup, 200g of mollasses suger and the yeast sashet provided with kit, if sg stands for start gravity at 1049(if so what does og stand for) should this be taken before adding yeast and is this any thing like the first gravity reading should be?. What might the gravity looked for at the end of fermentation be. Knowing larger is a colder production are the instructions I collected right to ferment at about 21c. :aarh:

guypettigrew
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Re: first brew!

Post by guypettigrew » Tue Feb 02, 2021 6:27 pm

pinkeye wrote:
Tue Feb 02, 2021 2:37 pm
2 weeks in keg and keeps geting slowly beter. Totaly flat though which is ok for a stout, will adding a co2 bulb add any fizz to the stout [ no!] or will it just put presure in the keg for dispensing? [ Yes!]
Guy

guypettigrew
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Re: first brew!

Post by guypettigrew » Tue Feb 02, 2021 6:37 pm

pinkeye wrote:
Tue Feb 02, 2021 3:27 pm
Put a Coopers Mexican Cerveza in the fv yesterday, used coopers brew enancer 1, 450g tin of golden syrup, 200g of mollasses suger and the yeast sashet provided with kit, if sg stands for start gravity at 1049(if so what does og stand for) should this be taken before adding yeast and is this any thing like the first gravity reading should be?. What might the gravity looked for at the end of fermentation be. Knowing larger is a colder production are the instructions I collected right to ferment at about 21c. :aarh:
SG=specific gravity. Your beer will have a SG all the way through the fermentation.

OG=Original Gravity. The start point for your beer before fermentation begins.

FG=Finishing Gravity. The point where the SG stops dropping at any noticeable rate.

SG can be taken before or immediately after adding the dried yeast. Easiest before.

If it started (OG) at 1.049 you might expect it to slow down at around the 1.012 mark.

Not sure about the molasses. Will probably make it darker (in colour and taste) than a lager. Once the fermentation has got going at 21°C it might be a good idea to try to drop the temperature a few degrees for the remainder of the fermentation.

Guy

pinkeye
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Re: first brew!

Post by pinkeye » Tue Feb 02, 2021 8:06 pm

Thanks for info on gravity. Been triping on wot I think was a Brooklyn beer drank out of a bottle in the cold a while ago. Did'nt see in the bottle(brown glass at night)definatly a larger, but it's taste and fizz had some brown crack about it? Any logistical approch to how one might create a larger so? :beer:

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Bad 'Ed
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Re: first brew!

Post by Bad 'Ed » Wed Feb 03, 2021 7:45 pm

guypettigrew wrote:
Tue Feb 02, 2021 6:27 pm
pinkeye wrote:
Tue Feb 02, 2021 2:37 pm
2 weeks in keg and keeps geting slowly beter. Totaly flat though which is ok for a stout, will adding a co2 bulb add any fizz to the stout [ no!] or will it just put presure in the keg for dispensing? [ Yes!]
Guy
Adding pressure to the barrel will reduce the rate at which existing fizz is lost though. Which can be significant as anyone who's not sealed the lid properly will know.
Never enough time...

pinkeye
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Re: first brew!

Post by pinkeye » Sat Feb 06, 2021 9:59 pm

:pink: stuot makes a fark'in lovly stew, 2 dried Carolina Reaper! World's Hottest Chilli heap of fresh birds eye in a thick sausage and and wild boer chirozo stew done in a small slow cooker! :pink: BLM :wall

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