# Morgan's Stockmans Draught



## BEERBOY (17/1/04)

Hi there, i am just about to put my 2nd brew down and i got the above mentioned kit. I am going to use about 1.2kg's OF dextrose and the Lager yeast that came with the morgans kit. Is there anything i should know before i get this puppy going, like-
1- i was told that adding less water, no less than 18 litres, would improve the final brew.
2- The instructions say to brew at 25 deg. I thought the best temp was about 18 to 20.
3- how will adding less water affect my final hydrometer reading?

Anyway if there is anything i should know speak now, as i want to get this going.


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## Jovial_Monk (17/1/04)

throw out 600g of the dextrose and replace with 600g light malt extract, preferably a Muntons extract

steep some crystal & chocolate malt in warm water for 30 mins, strain the liquid into the fermenter discarding the grains

boil 15g Hallertau pellets in 2L water with the 600g extract for 15 mins for a nice hop flavor & aroma

less water in fermenter, higher original and final gravity readings


Jovial Monk


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## Trev (17/1/04)

Beerboy,

The ideas that JM have given are well worth trying, although it may be a bit daunting getting it organised if this is only your second batch - Relax, Don't Worry, Have A Home Brew. (RDWHAHB)  

As for your questions,

1/ Yes, a lot of people only make these kits up to say 18 or 19 litres. This will normally produce a slightly better, fuller beer. There will be a bit higher concentration of the unfermentables. Don't however try the old trick (that we all have) of just adding more and more sugar/dextrose. You end up with rocket fuel and a bad hangover.

2/ You're right about the temp, around 20/22 (or even a bit lower) is fine. Most of the kits push you at the higher end so that the fermentation is over quicker and you'll have less chance of something going wrong and infecting the beer. If it is a lager yeast then it should work down to 12 or 14 degrees. The higher the temp, particularly up around 25 and higher, the more fuesal alcohols and estery byproducts. You end up with beer tasting wine. Keep it cool, keep everything that touches the beer very clean and you'll be OK.

3/ I did a quick calc re the lower volume. If you made it up to 23 litres and used 1.2kg of dextrose, you'll end up with an OG of around 1042 - FG of about 1008/1010 and an ABV of 4.1%. If you only made it up to 18 litres then OG= 1052, FG about the same and ABV of 5.2%.

Best of luck and let us all know how you get along.

Trev


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## johnno (17/1/04)

Trev,
While i agree that over 25 is getting on to the higher scale it doesnt necessarily mean you will brew beer thats tastes winey/??
A lot of my kits have fermented out at similar temps even up to 30 for a day or so once.
None of my beers have gone off and none have tasted anything like wine after bottle conditioning.
Oh there was the Coops dark ale that i didnt give a good stir to after bulk priming. 
A few of the bottles did have a sherry like flavour. I learnt to stir it up good then but never aerate.
Everyone thats tried them has commented on how real the beer flavour is. They all get a suprise. 
I have mainly done Coopers kits so far and used only their yeast. Both propagated and from the kit.
anyway thats my experience with high brew temps

cheers


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## nathan (20/1/04)

Racking to a secondary fermenter for 2 weeks & bulk priming has improved my brews by a fair margin. I bought my secondary fermenter, complete with rubber stopper & airlock, for under $10 from my local home brew shop. It's actually meant for wine making, and has a very narrow top which helps avoid oxidation by minimising headspace (not relevant to primary fermentation, since the rapid rate of fermentation produces a CO2 blanket which protects the wort from oxygen).

Here's some info on bulk priming:
http://www.grumpys.com.au/m1.php3?manualid=13

Bulk priming allows greater accuracy in measuring your priming sugar, and it's a lot less painful if you're racking to a secondary anyway. It may be coincidence, but I've noticed that my beers which have been primed with dextrose have had smaller bubbles than those using cane sugar.

Also, consider shelling out $2.50 for a Safale yeast. I heard a rumour that the quality of Cooper's yeast deteriorated somewhat about 12 months ago - can anyone verify?

As to whether it's worth the effort, it's up to you. At the end of the day, you're the one who will enjoy it or not.

Happy drinking!


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## Jovial_Monk (20/1/04)

hmm you don't HAVE to prime, esp if beer had a high OG and so a high FG, just bottle and set them aside for a bit longer than normal, this is what you should do with a big beer anyway!

If I prime I generally just boil a half cup or even less of wheat DME. The grumpy table looks to give way too high a quantity of priming sugar. If your beer is nice, why hide the taste with lots of fizz?

if you decide not to prime a big beer (good decison) ensure you use 250 wheat malt or 150 wheat DME int he fermentables for the beer


Jovial Monk


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## Gout (20/1/04)

Ok if i was starting out .... (thinks bad about 6-8 yrs ago)

I would 
a) brew as cold as i can
B) use a "brew bag" you get these in the supermarket
c) brew to 19 Lt (there about)

The above is very simple, th ebrew bag adds gluecose and small amount of malt (yeast can cope) easy for you being new.
The 19Lt gives it a more flavour asspect. Not so watery.

brew cool, even if its 18 deg (nice) it will tast smoother , so what if it takes a day or 2 longer, it will be a lot nicer to drink.

age these bottles, then take the next step.

if you jump before you crawl you will end up hurt

i might be wrong but thats why way of thinking

any further help just ask. 

All the guys have heaps of "know how"


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## Jovial_Monk (20/1/04)

Hmm i sell lots of starter kits and in 99.99% of the cases I convince them to spend another 5 bucks and replace the kilo dextrose with a simple Pack of extracts and some sugar, and to simmer the contents of the Pack for 5 mins.

They seem to manage that OK and they are then set to try soemthing more ambitious with grains, hops etc.

Start your brewing by boiling some wort and you have a running start at the hobby.

Jovial Monk


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## Jovial_Monk (23/1/04)

nathan said:


> Racking to a secondary fermenter for 2 weeks & bulk priming has improved my brews by a fair margin. I bought my secondary fermenter, complete with rubber stopper & airlock, for under $10 from my local home brew shop. It's actually meant for wine making, and has a very narrow top which helps avoid oxidation by minimising headspace (not relevant to primary fermentation, since the rapid rate of fermentation produces a CO2 blanket which protects the wort from oxygen).
> 
> Here's some info on bulk priming:
> http://www.grumpys.com.au/m1.php3?manualid=13
> ...


 Safale is better than a 7g packet of kit yeast, but make sure the HBS keeps it in the fridge!

There are better dried yeasts though, and I for one am not a fan of Safale

Jovial Monk


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## BEERBOY (23/1/04)

OK You guys, Settle Down,
My next brew is going to be an all malt, Tooheys Old style beer. If i only make say 19 or 20 litres could i just use half the normal priming sugar or even none?


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## Jovial_Monk (24/1/04)

All malt beers should selfprime, just takes a bit longer

mebbe lightly prime a few bottles for drinking earlier?

Jovial Monk


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