Aeren's Brew Diaries Volume 1

[aeren]

Hello again all, just thought i would keep a diary here of my first brewing experience, so i can get advice on what i may be doing (wrong or right) and so others may learn from my (Frequent) Mistakes. I am open to flames, suggestions, critique (harsh or otherwise) and anything else.

It is my very FIRST brewing so please forgive my 'noob-ness' and lack of knowledge of all the brewing acronyms and what not, so here goes.

-------------------------AEREN'S BREW DIARY VOLUME 1-------------------------

First i started off with a Coopers HomeBrewing Kit, it comes with a lager Mix tin and Brewing Sugar and all the gear to 'brew your first batch'... URL for this item; [post="0"]Coopers Kit[/post]

I also bought a Brew Enhancer 1 and 'Mexican Cerveza' mix tin, with views to making a 'custom brew' after this first test/practice brew

Everything has so far and will be followed to the 'T' as stated in the brochure given, my reasons for this, ive never brewed before and want to have a brew to compare to, so i know where i go wrong etc etc. which also contrary to what i have read so far, will include a 4-7 day time in the fermenter before being bottled. I like to have a basis for comparison, being 'sciencey' and all.

I started this brew 2 days ago, in 30+ degree heat days of Bendigo, firstly by sanitizing everything in bleach and giving it a big rinse in hot water. Then i prepared the Coopers Lager wort concentrate by leaving it in my kitchen sink in boiling hot water for 10-15 minutes. I put 2 litres of hot water in my fermenter and added the wort tin, Brew enhancer 1 and proceeded to mix it. After it was well mixed in, i filled it to 23 liters with tap water from the cold tap, which really isn't that cold in this weather. With the data gathered from previous tests (i filled my fermenter with a mix of 4 litres of hot water and 19 litres from the cold tap, in an effort to test how well or bad this weather was going to affect the cooling and/or temperature regulation) i carried the full (and very heavy) fermenter to the bath which contained cold water and some ice bottles. After about 40 minutes or so the temperature of the fermenter (via stick on temp guage) had dropped to 22-24 degrees. I then added the Coopers yeast packet and promptly sealed the lid. Within 2-3 hours the air-lock began to bubble and whatever space was left in the fermenter was now filled with lots of froth (which i am told is normal).

The following morning i took a reading with the hydrometer (for curious' sake) and recieved a reading of 1034. Nothing else of note happened this day.

This eventfull day, day 3, saw the loss of not 1 but 2 hydrometers. Nothing much has been happening, the brew has held a stable tepmerature between 22-26 degrees but i decided to take some hydrometer readings so i can have a bearing of where my brew is heading. After my wife and i finished taking the reading i decided to amuse her (more so me) with how cool it is that it always stands up in the bath water, after that i decided to see if it could stand up on the ledge of the bath, obvioiusly it did not and it fell onto the floor and smashed into little pieces, whilst my wife cast upon me the dirtiest of looks for breaking my new toy. We then drove to the local brew shop and bought a replacement which we promptly broke only after its first reading.

This is where we are at now, end of day 3, working with no hydrometer, and no replacement.....and no idea of how to know when to bottle!!! what a great 1st brew!!

super sorry for the really long post, but its day 3 and i had a lot to report, ill try to make daily reports on how the brew is going, feel free to advise, bag out, pay out, knock, critique or lambast my methods.

Happy Brewing

Aeren(Josh) and his most gracious typist wife Shona
​

 

[Adamt]

Welcome to the forums Aeren (and wife).

Unfortunately the hydrometer is the best piece of equipment for determining when to bottle. You can also use a refractometer, these make determining the starting SG very easy (you only use a few drops of wort too). However to determining the specific gravity whilst fermenting (or after fermentation) requires a bit of calculation. For the moment though you should probably buy another hydrometer and a padded cell to use it in. You can determine when your ferment is nearly finished when the krausen (foam on the top) drops back into the beer, and by lower airlock activity. Do not use these symptoms as a means to determine that fermentation has finished, supplement it with a hydrometer reading (it should read below 1.010).

A good idea to start off with is to read the stickied post (right up the top) in this forum (Kits and Extracts), called "Frequently asked questions for the new brewer". It covers all the basics you need to make a drinkable batch.

The first thing you may learn is that the instructions with the kit are not quite bollocks, but are quite a bit off the mark. In example... a fermentation temperature of 22-26 (whatever they put in the book) is way higher than anyone on here would recommend fermenting at (with the kit yeast). Most on here would recommend around 20C, too high a temperature may lead to a bad tasting final product - a solventy, hot alcohol flavour, intense fruitiness and sharpness. If your first batch doesn't turn out brilliant, don't be discouraged. Keep reading, learning and you'll make a high quality product.

Jeez, a Saturday morning coffee and look at my fingers go.

Cheers
Adam

 

[clean brewer]

Welcome aeren,

+1 for what Adamt said and remember a couple crucial points for making better beer..

• Use Malt(either dry or liquid) instead of Dextrose, Brewing Sugar etc. (1kg Dry Malt=1.2kg Liquid Malt)
• Use a better Yeast than the Kit yeast(available from LHBS or 1 of the above sponsors)
• Try to keep fermentation Temps around 18-20 degrees
• Try steeping some Crystal malt aswell (will enhance your brew even more)

After it was well mixed in, i filled it to 23 liters

Just be aware that the Coopers fermenters are actually 24ltrs when filled to 23ltrs..

CB

 

[fergi]

Hello again all, just thought i would keep a diary here of my first brewing experience, so i can get advice on what i may be doing (wrong or right) and so others may learn from my (Frequent) Mistakes. I am open to flames, suggestions, critique (harsh or otherwise) and anything else.

It is my very FIRST brewing so please forgive my 'noob-ness' and lack of knowledge of all the brewing acronyms and what not, so here goes.

-------------------------AEREN'S BREW DIARY VOLUME 1-------------------------

First i started off with a Coopers HomeBrewing Kit, it comes with a lager Mix tin and Brewing Sugar and all the gear to 'brew your first batch'... URL for this item; [post="0"]Coopers Kit[/post]

I also bought a Brew Enhancer 1 and 'Mexican Cerveza' mix tin, with views to making a 'custom brew' after this first test/practice brew

Everything has so far and will be followed to the 'T' as stated in the brochure given, my reasons for this, ive never brewed before and want to have a brew to compare to, so i know where i go wrong etc etc. which also contrary to what i have read so far, will include a 4-7 day time in the fermenter before being bottled. I like to have a basis for comparison, being 'sciencey' and all.

I started this brew 2 days ago, in 30+ degree heat days of Bendigo, firstly by sanitizing everything in bleach and giving it a big rinse in hot water. Then i prepared the Coopers Lager wort concentrate by leaving it in my kitchen sink in boiling hot water for 10-15 minutes. I put 2 litres of hot water in my fermenter and added the wort tin, Brew enhancer 1 and proceeded to mix it. After it was well mixed in, i filled it to 23 liters with tap water from the cold tap, which really isn't that cold in this weather. With the data gathered from previous tests (i filled my fermenter with a mix of 4 litres of hot water and 19 litres from the cold tap, in an effort to test how well or bad this weather was going to affect the cooling and/or temperature regulation) i carried the full (and very heavy) fermenter to the bath which contained cold water and some ice bottles. After about 40 minutes or so the temperature of the fermenter (via stick on temp guage) had dropped to 22-24 degrees. I then added the Coopers yeast packet and promptly sealed the lid. Within 2-3 hours the air-lock began to bubble and whatever space was left in the fermenter was now filled with lots of froth (which i am told is normal).

The following morning i took a reading with the hydrometer (for curious' sake) and recieved a reading of 1034. Nothing else of note happened this day.

This eventfull day, day 3, saw the loss of not 1 but 2 hydrometers. Nothing much has been happening, the brew has held a stable tepmerature between 22-26 degrees but i decided to take some hydrometer readings so i can have a bearing of where my brew is heading. After my wife and i finished taking the reading i decided to amuse her (more so me) with how cool it is that it always stands up in the bath water, after that i decided to see if it could stand up on the ledge of the bath, obvioiusly it did not and it fell onto the floor and smashed into little pieces, whilst my wife cast upon me the dirtiest of looks for breaking my new toy. We then drove to the local brew shop and bought a replacement which we promptly broke only after its first reading.

This is where we are at now, end of day 3, working with no hydrometer, and no replacement.....and no idea of how to know when to bottle!!! what a great 1st brew!!

super sorry for the really long post, but its day 3 and i had a lot to report, ill try to make daily reports on how the brew is going, feel free to advise, bag out, pay out, knock, critique or lambast my methods.

Happy Brewing

Aeren(Josh) and his most gracious typist wife Shona
​

AND next time put the bloody hydrometer back in its container,its not a toy, been brewing 10 years ,never broke one yet. or better still let your wife take care of it,

 

[wambesi]

Just be aware that the Coopers fermenters are actually 24ltrs when filled to 23ltrs..

CB

For a bit more body and taste you can reduce the water from the "recommended" 23L to say 21 or 19 as well.

As for the hydrometers they can be a pain, I went through a couple but it's mostly been the other half breaking them accidental when I leave them near the sink - so I guess it's really me to blame!
I now take better care of them and always have a spare just in case, bloody valuable piece of kit - at least until I get a refractometer.

 

[Gavo]

After my wife and i finished taking the reading i decided to amuse her (more so me) with how cool it is that it always stands up in the bath water, after that i decided to see if it could stand up on the ledge of the bath, obvioiusly it did not and it fell onto the floor and smashed into little pieces, whilst my wife cast upon me the dirtiest of looks for breaking my new toy. We then drove to the local brew shop and bought a replacement which we promptly broke only after its first reading.


Happy Brewing

Aeren(Josh) and his most gracious typist wife Shona
​

Your wife types your posts for you? Wow.

Now with that new hydrometer, if you are using the tube it came in for the sample then tape the cap on the bottom end on. I once watched the cap, sample and hyrometer hit the ground in that order one day. :angry: I have now bought one of these.

AND next time put the bloody hydrometer back in its container,its not a toy, been brewing 10 years ,never broke one yet. or better still let your wife take care of it,

Never thought of letting the wife take care of it. She would probably never let me use it. :lol:

Cheers
Gavo.

 

[aeren]

Your wife types your posts for you? Wow.

after breaking 2 hydrometers in one day she didnt want me to break the keyboard too....

 

[Gavo]

after breaking 2 hydrometers in one day she didnt want me to break the keyboard too....

Gold :lol: , My computer has just spat the dummy And I was getting the s@#$s with it and my wife let me use hers. Still not typing my posts for me though.

Cheers
Gavo.