Brew Enhancer

[hsv_069]

I just bought myself a Coopers kit and am currently brewing my first batch. Cant wait to see how it turns out. Anyway i already have plans for my next brew which will be a Coopers Australian pale ale. It says on the can that they recommend using the brew enhancer #2 which I have already bought. The question I have is do i use this instead of the brewing sugar or add it to the brew with the normal brewing sugar?

Cheers

Ben

 

[frogman]

Add the BE2 instead of the brewing sugar and try to brew it at 18 deg until finished.
Will taste all the better.

FROGMAN.

 

[hsv_069]

Frogman,
Thanks for the reply. You say to try and keep it around 18 deg when the Coopers book says 21-27 deg. Any reason for this? Is this just what you have found works best? Just curious, Im keen to learn as much as I can.
:beer:

 

[MSR]

Frogman,
Thanks for the reply. You say to try and keep it around 18 deg when the Coopers book says 21-27 deg. Any reason for this? Is this just what you have found works best? Just curious, Im keen to learn as much as I can.
:beer:

Best thing you can do is throw your Coopers book away and read some of the threads on this forum. I find brewing ales at around 18 -20 works a treat, much better tasting beer. Seriously, I have learnt so much from this forum and the wealth of knowledge from everyone, I am brewing much better beer for it. With regards to the Pale Ale, I brewed one a few months ago using brew enhancer 2 and dry malt with a few hops, after 2 or 3 weeks it was ok, but after 5 - 6 weeks it was bloody good. I wish I still had some of that batch left, so if you can try leaving some of your beers to mature in the bottle for a few months (i know its hard) it will taste so much better. Happy brewing!!

MSR

 

[brettprevans]

HSV_069

BE2 is a substitute for other fermentables (or in addition to). here is a breakdown of what is roughly in them (link)

BE10 (BE1) as 600g Dextrose 400g Maltodextrin
BE15 (BE2) as 500g Dextrose 250g Maltodextrin 250g Malt extract
BE20 (BE3?) as 500g Malt extract 250g Maltodextrin 250g Dextrose

best advice is to buy the ingredients seperate and mix yourself. that way your assured of whats in them, how fresh it is and amounts.

 

[0M39A]

hsv_069

as has already been said, throw out that waste of paper that is the coopers instructions and go with what we say.

some helpful tips for a new brewer:

*ferment your beers nice and cool. 18-20 will give you great results.
*dont use table sugar. go with malt and you'll get a far nicer taste.
*buy a better yeast. for a new brewer, safale s-04 and us-05 are both fantastic dried yeasts you can use in place of the coopers crap and will taste heaps better. only costs a couple extra bucks per batch
*if you have any questions, do a forum search first and see if they have been answered, if not, then feel free to ask away here.
*work your way through this: http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html a lot of it will probably be out of your league, but the principals it teaches are spot on.

 

[wildschwein]

Frogman,
Thanks for the reply. You say to try and keep it around 18 deg when the Coopers book says 21-27 deg. Any reason for this? Is this just what you have found works best? Just curious, Im keen to learn as much as I can.
:beer:

Hey hsv_069,
The reason to keep the temp lower than what Coopers recommends is to produce a better tasting better quality beer. Brewing at the higher end of the temp scale produces esters and higher alcohols that leads to overly friuty flavours and the nasty things that give you hangovers. In addition brewing at the higher temp range leads to a greater chance of bacterial infection. Why does Coopers recommend doing it? Because they are pitching their products at beginners in a way that allows the consumer to think they can produce beer relatively quickly. Coopers is under pressure to produce an affordable competitive product that can be produced easily by the novice. Brewing at the lower range of 16C-20C will make the primary fermentation (=time in the plastic fermenter) take longer: like about 10-14 days as opposed to 4-5 days at 22C and above. It will usually work okay at higher temps but the product will not be anywhere near as good, nor will it keep as well as a properly fermented and conditioned beer.

 

[phil48m]

Frogman,
Thanks for the reply. You say to try and keep it around 18 deg when the Coopers book says 21-27 deg. Any reason for this? Is this just what you have found works best? Just curious, Im keen to learn as much as I can.
:beer:

hey hsv_069,

welcome to the club old son, I, like you am a new HB'er. Also like you I started with the Coopers Lager and then did a Coopers Sparkling Ale, Pale Ales big brother. Listen to our peers hsv they know. I started my Lager i mid 20's ended up around 20. It has turned out ok. I have downed about 6 of the batch. Will leave the rest for another month or so. With the Sparkling Ale I took note of what the instructions said and pitched at at least 25 degrees and then kept the temp at 24-25 with Heat Belt (went Pavlova after a day) and then it went a bad eggish on he nose. Workmate (experienced brewer and member of the forum) said toss the belt down the crapper and drop temp to 18 -20. Bad odour went and it bottled alright. Will taste in another month. Happy brewing :super:

 

[RobboMC]

hey hsv_069,

welcome to the club old son, I, like you am a new HB'er. Also like you I started with the Coopers Lager and then did a Coopers Sparkling Ale, Pale Ales big brother. Listen to our peers hsv they know. I started my Lager i mid 20's ended up around 20. It has turned out ok. I have downed about 6 of the batch. Will leave the rest for another month or so. With the Sparkling Ale I took note of what the instructions said and pitched at at least 25 degrees and then kept the temp at 24-25 with Heat Belt (went Pavlova after a day) and then it went a bad eggish on he nose. Workmate (experienced brewer and member of the forum) said toss the belt down the crapper and drop temp to 18 -20. Bad odour went and it bottled alright. Will taste in another month. Happy brewing :super:

About the only use I can see for a heating belt is to make an Ale in June or July in Melbourne or Canberra
where the ambient liquid temp would get below 15 deg C. But of course you just make lager for those months.

Or perhaps for providing a dycetal rest by heating up to 18 deg C for a few days AFTER your lager has fermented. I tried this last month and had trouble getting my lager above 17 deg even in the sun. A belt would have done the trick.

And of course to warm your bad back after lifting a full fermenter in and out of the fridge!