2nd Brew

[m3taL]

Hey All,

Well after i think a mix of New Brewersitis, Some dodgy yeast, way too much tinkering iv decided to start again.... I put the other brew into a jerry at SG1019 and have not decided what im going to do with it but id say its going down the sink......

Started Next brew a lot more organised, Spent time cleaning, sanitizing, laying everything out in place and having a beer while i do it..... and i enjoyed it more this time everything went well.

Coopers Cerveza Kit Can
Brew Enhancer 2
US-05 Yeast from LHBS - 11.5g

OG of 1042 Pitched yeast 24c Straight away

Leaving it alone... not going to tinker, touch or even look at it :huh: :huh:

 

[Juzdu]

Hey All,

Well after i think a mix of New Brewersitis, Some dodgy yeast, way too much tinkering iv decided to start again.... I put the other brew into a jerry at SG1019 and have not decided what im going to do with it but id say its going down the sink......

Started Next brew a lot more organised, Spent time cleaning, sanitizing, laying everything out in place and having a beer while i do it..... and i enjoyed it more this time everything went well.

Coopers Cerveza Kit Can
Brew Enhancer 2
US-05 Yeast from LHBS - 11.5g

OG of 1042 Pitched yeast 24c Straight away

Leaving it alone... not going to tinker, touch or even look at it :huh: :huh:

Should be a very easy to drink beer, and almost see through with an EBC of about 4.0. Post a photo when you pour your first one! How many litres did you top your fermenter up to, about 21?

 

[m3taL]

Should be a very easy to drink beer, and almost see through with an EBC of about 4.0. Post a photo when you pour your first one! How many litres did you top your fermenter up to, about 21?

23 on the dot, Its somthing the missus can drink also i want to get a few brews down and get the patients and process right before i try do something a bit more....

hope to see this one go well

 

[wbosher]

Be prepared for a really thick ugly looking krausen with us-05, not sure if you've already used it or not before. The first time I used it, it had me a little worried because it looked like nothing I'd seen before with kit yeasts. All good though.

 

[m3taL]

Be prepared for a really thick ugly looking krausen with us-05, not sure if you've already used it or not before. The first time I used it, it had me a little worried because it looked like nothing I'd seen before with kit yeasts. All good though.

I can still see in the top of my fermenter lid and theres a nice thick Krausen on the rise looks nice

My last brew went from Pitching yeast to POP spewing out the airlock to Nothing in 12 hours was with Windsor Yeast.... a mate has sent me some more us-05 its all he uses.

 

[wyane]

Be prepared for a really thick ugly looking krausen with us-05, not sure if you've already used it or not before. The first time I used it, it had me a little worried because it looked like nothing I'd seen before with kit yeasts. All good though.

yeah got this the first couple of times dry pitching the yeast, about 5 days in. Thought it was going bad but it turned out great. Use US05 nearly all the time now and since I started rehydrating before pitching it hasn't done that again

 

[m3taL]

Brew is fermenting along nicely SG Test 1029 Nice Krauzen and the taste is very light and nice hoping it should be a good summer brew and somthing that SWIMBO will like also cos if she starts likeing hombrew i'll be making lots of it.... i can see another fermenter on the way already

Now Last night i got a few sheets to the wind and watched about 4 hours of various brew videos some HBW vids and i suppose i worked out that Brewing beer is to make a beer that your proud of and that is what you want to drink, not about having a cheap supply of barely drinkable beer, I can see the first 3 months would be hard for any new brewer cos all u want yo do is fill your fermenter and hear bubbles out the airlock then bottle and drink it ASAP.....

after the 3 month stage i'll have a supply of aged up beer in supply which will then allow me to relax and spend more time fermenting, conditioning and hopfully making some nice brews Extracts/partials some clone syles and some new stuff to get a taste for hops and hopfully move into AG at the 12 month mark.......

Some advice from a Noob to other Noobs (this is just my own thought train after being a tinkering over active first timer

This brew has been in 36h and my airlock has not moved however its still dropped 12 points on the hydrometer i can see why having the new Coopers Fermenters without the Airlock and the Krauzen ring would be good it would make new brewers use their Hydrometer instead of thinking "Oh my brew isnt working"

Yeast - Use a deacent yeast to keep your mind at ease also another thing i would say is to maybe use the same yeast for your first few brews as you will know what to expect... this is the opinion of a mate and makes sence to me until your more relaxed with the whole idea

Taste it - Get in there and do an SG reading after 36h, taste your brew i admit it was a bit weird when i frist done it but now i take a few good swigs of it.

FORGET ABOUT YOUR AIRLOCK its a device to stop air coming in and let air out, Not a Guage or Meter on how your brew is going..... i wish i had gotten my head around this last week and i wouldnt have stuffed my first brew up.

I'm Hoping that now iv gotten my head around this whole thing i can now preceed to drink some more coopers pales to build up my supply of bottles and around xmas/new year try my first brew and have another few brews in the pipes.....

Listen to the guys on here..... you might think you know somthing about brewing but these guys know lots more... everyone seems to have their own opinion on brewing and theres a million ways to skin the cat but read lots, find some threads that seem to suit your ideas on brewing...

Watch youtube - Theres tonnes of brewers out there who like to get pissed in front of a camera and get all Philosophical, they love to talk about there brews, watch the videos on making beer all differnt styles you will pick up all bits n pieces of information just from watching how others brew... even just watching someone make a simple K&K can just give you some more ideas on Laying things out that you need on hand, making sure you have all the right tools at hand.... some ideas on how to get a good final tempreture to pitch yeast all those kinds of ideas can make your 2nd brew or 3rd go so much easier....

Well thats my head spent

Cheers and Enjoy!

 

[wbosher]

FORGET ABOUT YOUR AIRLOCK its a device to stop air coming in and let air out, Not a Guage or Meter on how your brew is going..... i wish i had gotten my head around this last week and i wouldnt have stuffed my first brew up.

Very good advice for noobs User your hydrometer

 

[jaypes]

Good on you man. I think we have all been a little panicked with brew number 1

Theres a whole heap to learn and it seems you are having fun, that is the whole point of brewing IMHO

 

[m3taL]

Well Brew update....

SG is 1012 Tonight temp stable 22c Tastes good getting much less sweet (suprise suprise)

Ticking along nicely 6 days in Hoping it will be down too 1005ish by sunday to bottle up.

The only Concern iv got is some chunky looking bits on the krauzen hoping its just drying off bits of krauzen foam have read that others have noticed the same kind of thing with US-05 yeast.

Planning a Pale Ale next....

 

[Juzdu]

+1 on the airlock comment, my 3rd brew, the Irish Red Ale from Coopers website did not emit one single bloop through my airlock in the 10 days it was in the fermenter. It was my first time fermenting in this particular FV, it's exactly the same FV as my original one but the airlock is made of a different plastic...feels thicker and more rigid. My first two brews in the original FV were wheat beers, they were blooping away regularly after 10-12 hours.

Anyway the krausen did what it was meant to, and it went from 1046 to 1014 in about 6 days, then stayed there for a few days. The water in the airlock would move when i pressed down on the lid, so I dunno where all the CO2 went during fermentation, it was kit yeast from a Coopers Draught kit.

Just goes to show it means little.

 

[iralosavic]

I'd be surprised it it wasn't finished at 1.012. Kits tend to finish high for some reason.

 

[m3taL]

The water in the airlock would move when i pressed down on the lid

Yeah i done this test too which shows that the FV is air tight... Im guessing if its a low emiting brew or somthing that the airlock activity is low...... but its good to put it out there to new brewers that ITS NORMAL for the airlock to stay dorment and its still fermenting......

 

[m3taL]

I'd be surprised it it wasn't finished at 1.012. Kits tend to finish high for some reason.

It could be finished..... iv been told US-05 might get it down too 1005... not sure time will tell

 

[Juzdu]

It could be finished..... iv been told US-05 might get it down too 1005... not sure time will tell

Nah no way is it getting down to 1005 with Brew Enhancer 2 in there, iirc that's 1kg of dry malt, dextrose and maltodextrin. The kit s/sheet suggests a 23 litre brew with your ingredients should finish about 1011. So you should right for bottling by Sunday.

 

[m3taL]

Nah no way is it getting down to 1005 with Brew Enhancer 2 in there, iirc that's 1kg of dry malt, dextrose and maltodextrin. The kit s/sheet suggests a 23 litre brew with your ingredients should finish about 1011. So you should right for bottling by Sunday.

in the words of Trent from punchy "Farrrrrrrrrrrkinnnn Sickkkkkkkkkkkkkk"

I did noticed in the taste of it it was no where near as fizzy as it has been before so id say she is getting close

 

[m3taL]

All bottled up sg 1.012 tonight

Big job washing, rinsing and sainitizeing bottles but was fun all the same feels like I have achieved something tonight

Carbed most with 2 drops and a few with 1 also done 5 stubbies.

How it all works out well...

Got pale ale kit and be2 tonight, was gunna get dme but just sticking too simple and cheap again to get a bit more used too the process. Then experiment with flavour...

 

[m3taL]

]It got the better of me and I decided to crack a stubby, in the name of science n all....

So it's been bottled sine fri night, kept at 20c steady in my fermenter fridge, see through clear and a few bubbles floating round...

So pssssssttttt off comes the cap and a nice rise of bubbles to the top, into the glass.... Bugger all head but nice n carby...



Tastes very light in flavour, not sweet but quite pleasant. It's a lot better than I thought it would be, so ill try another fri night and see if there's much difference and take notes on it all....

Impressed with my work