Confused By Tooheys Kit

[Aus_Rider_22]

Hey guys.

This is my first post after reading the forums for about 3 weeks. Finally decided to take the dip and bought a Tooheys kit from Big W with a Wish card from my 21st birthday. I had thought about going to the local home brew shop and buying from there but decided I would use the card and get a kit from Big W and learn from my own mistakes and then once I have some experience move onto the higher quality ingredients. I am just looking forward to seeing the process and learning from it with better ingredients and varying methods.

The Tooheys kit is just this one http://brewlion.lionshop.com.au/default.asp?dept_ID=44 . It has provided written instructions and an instructional CD. I will be setting the fermenter up inside the house and I have set up a thermometer in the wall where the brewing will happen and temps are hovering around 16-25 so I should be right as far as temps. I can use the air-conditioner to keep the room at about 18-20 which I plan to do.

My question is what should I use to put into the bottles when I transfer the beer from the fermenter. The video and instructions say to use "normal sugar" but I am pretty sure this is poor form from what I've read on here. What do you recommend? The brewing sugar in the kit is liquid and it recommends to use it all in the fermenter.

What do you guys reckon? I am all ears as far as advice and opinions go. I realise this kit is just a starter and I don't expect the brew to turn out to be anything special, just after some advice. Also, I've read up the article on sanitisers on here. Who uses bleach and peroxide and what is recommended for a plastic wort.

The help is very much appreciated!
Cheers!

 

[poppa joe]

Everybody has their own way of priming..
There is nothing wrong with Sugar....
Read and look a bit more then find your way.....
Cheers
PJ

 

[thylacine]

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...o&showcat=2

 

[AussieJosh]

As far as priming goes sugar is fine, or you can use carbonation drobs. coopers drops are at big W. and if your looking for good kit cans.....after your done with your tooheys kit, from what i have made read and heard coopers and morgans do the best kits. happy brewing! also Big W should have a few diffrent sanitisers. the one near me has a coopers one and a bud one, k mart also has home brew products.

 

[loikar]

Hey guys.

This is my first post after reading the forums for about 3 weeks. Finally decided to take the dip and bought a Tooheys kit from Big W with a Wish card from my 21st birthday. I had thought about going to the local home brew shop and buying from there but decided I would use the card and get a kit from Big W and learn from my own mistakes and then once I have some experience move onto the higher quality ingredients. I am just looking forward to seeing the process and learning from it with better ingredients and varying methods.

The Tooheys kit is just this one http://brewlion.lionshop.com.au/default.asp?dept_ID=44 . It has provided written instructions and an instructional CD. I will be setting the fermenter up inside the house and I have set up a thermometer in the wall where the brewing will happen and temps are hovering around 16-25 so I should be right as far as temps. I can use the air-conditioner to keep the room at about 18-20 which I plan to do.

My question is what should I use to put into the bottles when I transfer the beer from the fermenter. The video and instructions say to use "normal sugar" but I am pretty sure this is poor form from what I've read on here. What do you recommend? The brewing sugar in the kit is liquid and it recommends to use it all in the fermenter.

What do you guys reckon? I am all ears as far as advice and opinions go. I realise this kit is just a starter and I don't expect the brew to turn out to be anything special, just after some advice. Also, I've read up the article on sanitisers on here. Who uses bleach and peroxide and what is recommended for a plastic wort.

The help is very much appreciated!
Cheers!

Hey and welcome to AHB.

First one eh?, ahhhh.....you're stuffed now.....tell your friends that their still ya mates and make sure you tell the Mrs that you still love her.

ok, first of all, since you're a virgin i suggest you use the Coopers drops that you can get from the supermarket (look like boiled lollies) and not worry to much about the bottling site of things for now, you can read up on bulk priming while your brew is cooking and factor it in for your next brew.
The truth is, you can use pretty much anything that's fermentable to fizz your bottles, sugar, dex, honey, golden syrup, even malt extract.
they mostly dont impact the final taste, their just used to make bubbles.

Work out your plan before hand so you have a recipe and method to follow, write it down and on brew day follow it.

I also recommend using a kit brew until you get more confident in your process, something like you get from brewcraft that has a tin, some LME (liquid malt extract) or some LDME (light dry malt extract) and probably a teabag of hops. Follow their instructions, it'll give you a better understanding of how the ingredients work together and the process of adjusting flavour to your liking.

TASTE!, taste that sucker every 2-3 days, write down the changes in taste you get along the way, so you can get a better understanding of the changes that happen.

Since it's your first, try to focus on what your actually doing and why you're doing it more than hoping you're going to make a beer that everyone will love, the truth is, you'll probably be the only one who will enjoy it until you get a few under your belt so don't just following the bouncing ball.

ASK questions!
There is search feature here, and we all suggest you use it, but if you cant find the answers you need, ASK!, we are ALL here to help each other make better beer.

A couple of golden rules:
CLEAN everything, and then clean it again to be sure.
SANITISE everything and then double check it again!

READ!, start here: http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

And something that Buttersd70 learned me good:
Relax and enjoy it "It's not f*cking rocket science"


Welcome to AHB
It's a great place to make your good beer a great beer!

HTH

BeerFingers.

 

[HoppingMad]

Numerous options open to you Aus, as Poppa has said.

Table sugar for kit priming is fine - particularly with a Tooheys kit. Tooheys beers actually use a fair bit of cane sugar in their composition so it won't ruin the flavour at all.

If you're still not sure about this - you can use carbonation drops, or add dextrose.

Some people believe that table sugar in priming, particularly ales - adds to the taste, whereas dextrose and carbonation drops are mellower. Others reckon a tiny cider taste gets imparted with table sugar. Having tried brews in the same batch side by side I reckon the difference is pretty subtle. So subtle that I use table sugar for priming my All-grain beers as do most I've spoken to in my Home Brew Club.

If you really want to complicate things you can bulk prime - you'll find some calculators on quantities here: Bulk Prime Thread but do a little research first before leaping into this one.
Primer on Priming

The benefits of bulk priming is that you get even carbonation through your whole batch. Sometimes spooning out the sugar can mean a variation in the fizz as different sugar amounts get added.

Cheers,

Hopper

 

[manticle]

Hey guys.

While it's often claimed that vast amounts of table sugar are best avoided in a brew, the amount of sugar you use for priming won't make much difference. Some people claim they can taste it but those people have probably been brewing all grain for years and have tested with side by side brews (or they're full of it). It's unlikely to make a major difference to your brew. It's chucking in a kilo and a half of homebrand white sugar at the beginning that you want to avoid, unless you have a specific reason to do so (besides 'omg how can i makes it 10% an' gets maggoted easy pissy?').

This early in the game, I'd be more concerned about sanitation, ferment temps, being patient and priming with the right AMOUNT rather than the right sugar.

As far as sanitisers, check out this link: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...;showarticle=18

 

[caleb]

The Tooheys kit is just this one http://brewlion.lionshop.com.au/default.asp?dept_ID=44 . It has provided written instructions and an instructional CD. I will be setting the fermenter up inside the house and I have set up a thermometer in the wall where the brewing will happen and temps are hovering around 16-25 so I should be right as far as temps. I can use the air-conditioner to keep the room at about 18-20 which I plan to do.

Just one question - apart from the thermometer on the wall, you DO have one on the actual fermenter too, don't you? You want to make sure the actual wort itself is the right temperature, particularly when you pitch the yeast.

 

[bum]

I can use the air-conditioner to keep the room at about 18-20 which I plan to do.

Do you want the black balloon boogey-man to come get you? Open the window ffs - it is winter!

 

[Aus_Rider_22]

As far as priming goes sugar is fine, or you can use carbonation drobs. coopers drops are at big W. and if your looking for good kit cans.....after your done with your tooheys kit, from what i have made read and heard coopers and morgans do the best kits. happy brewing! also Big W should have a few diffrent sanitisers. the one near me has a coopers one and a bud one, k mart also has home brew products.

I will go along to Big W and the brew shop and check out the drops. I have typed up alot of stuff in Word and was going to experiment between bottles. I was going to try normal sugar, honey and the drops and just mark the bottle caps. I will also check out the sanitisers. Cheers!

Hey and welcome to AHB.

First one eh?, ahhhh.....you're stuffed now.....tell your friends that their still ya mates and make sure you tell the Mrs that you still love her.

ok, first of all, since you're a virgin i suggest you use the Coopers drops that you can get from the supermarket (look like boiled lollies) and not worry to much about the bottling site of things for now, you can read up on bulk priming while your brew is cooking and factor it in for your next brew.
The truth is, you can use pretty much anything that's fermentable to fizz your bottles, sugar, dex, honey, golden syrup, even malt extract.
they mostly dont impact the final taste, their just used to make bubbles.

Work out your plan before hand so you have a recipe and method to follow, write it down and on brew day follow it.

I also recommend using a kit brew until you get more confident in your process, something like you get from brewcraft that has a tin, some LME (liquid malt extract) or some LDME (light dry malt extract) and probably a teabag of hops. Follow their instructions, it'll give you a better understanding of how the ingredients work together and the process of adjusting flavour to your liking.

TASTE!, taste that sucker every 2-3 days, write down the changes in taste you get along the way, so you can get a better understanding of the changes that happen.

Since it's your first, try to focus on what your actually doing and why you're doing it more than hoping you're going to make a beer that everyone will love, the truth is, you'll probably be the only one who will enjoy it until you get a few under your belt so don't just following the bouncing ball.

ASK questions!
There is search feature here, and we all suggest you use it, but if you cant find the answers you need, ASK!, we are ALL here to help each other make better beer.
A couple of golden rules:
CLEAN everything, and then clean it again to be sure.
SANITISE everything and then double check it again!
READ!, start here: http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html
And something that Buttersd70 learned me good:
Relax and enjoy it "It's not f*cking rocket science"
Welcome to AHB
It's a great place to make your good beer a great beer!
HTH
BeerFingers.

Thanks BF, I didn't think to taste it every couple days but I will definitely do that! Cheers. I spent about 30 mins reading up and following your link. Good info, thanks.

Numerous options open to you Aus, as Poppa has said.

Table sugar for kit priming is fine - particularly with a Tooheys kit. Tooheys beers actually use a fair bit of cane sugar in their composition so it won't ruin the flavour at all.
If you're stll not sure about this - you can use carbonation drops, or add dextrose.
Some people believe that table sugar in priming, particularly ales - adds to the taste, whereas dextrose and carbonation drops are mellower. Others reckon a tiny cider taste gets imparted with table sugar. Having tried brews in the same batch side by side I reckon the difference is pretty subtle. So subtle that I use table sugar for priming my All-grain beers as do most I've spoken to in my Home Brew Club.
If you really want to complicate things you can bulk prime - you'll find some calculators on quantities here: Bulk Prime Thread but do a little research first before leaping into this one.
Primer on Priming
The benefits of bulk priming is that you get even carbonation through your whole batch. Sometimes spooning out the sugar can mean a variation in the fizz as different sugar amounts get added.
Cheers,
Hopper

Thanks for the advice. I am going to experiment with a few primers. sugar/drops/honey and will document the tastes.

Just one question - apart from the thermometer on the wall, you DO have one on the actual fermenter too, don't you? You want to make sure the actual wort itself is the right temperature, particularly when you pitch the yeast.

Yeh. ;-) Got a temp strip up the side of the fermenter.

Do you want the black balloon boogey-man to come get you? Open the window ffs - it is winter!

The air-con idea is for during the night when my family isn't going to want the windows open FYI. <_<

Thanks to the others who have helped. Compared to some other forums I frequent the traffic and replies are very swift. Thanks again fellas! Will keep everyone up to date on the brewing and tasting! Cheers! B)

 

[Aus_Rider_22]

Put down my first batch into the fermenter about an hour ago.

Hope I was careful enough with sanitising everything. The thermometer was a bit weird. When I was adding the water just before I added the yeast, the little indicator on 26 was bright but now the 22 and 24 strips are a little bright so would that indicate 23? I am a bit nervous about the temp. I am aiming for 20ish.

Took a hydrometer reading and my original figure is 1050.

 

[loikar]

Put down my first batch into the fermenter about an hour ago.

Hope I was careful enough with sanitising everything. The thermometer was a bit weird. When I was adding the water just before I added the yeast, the little indicator on 26 was bright but now the 22 and 24 strips are a little bright so would that indicate 23? I am a bit nervous about the temp. I am aiming for 20ish.

Took a hydrometer reading and my original figure is 1050.

26 is a bit high for pitching your yeast, aim for fermenting temp or only slightly above, bit if your at 23 now it'll be fine.

1050.....what was your recipe?

but congratulations you're making beer :icon_cheers:

BF

 

[Aus_Rider_22]

Thanks for the reply.

I just rechecked the SG reading and now it's showing 1038. This is about 3.5 hrs after I took the original. Would this be wrong or would be original reading be wrong? The curvature of the flask is pretty annoying as far as getting a good reading without the hydrometer catching on the side.

Cheers. I don't think it was higher than 26. The 24 and 26 were bright so maybe 25? I know next time to lower it before pitching the yeast.

 

[manticle]

Probably malt in the tap. If it was regular kit and kilo or thereabouts with no deviations the OG was probably around 1040.

Usually best to discard or drink the first part of the sample as it can give a false reading.

 

[loikar]

Thanks for the reply.

I just rechecked the SG reading and now it's showing 1038. This is about 3.5 hrs after I took the original. Would this be wrong or would be original reading be wrong? The curvature of the flask is pretty annoying as far as getting a good reading without the hydrometer catching on the side.

Cheers. I don't think it was higher than 26. The 24 and 26 were bright so maybe 25? I know next time to lower it before pitching the yeast.

Spin your hydrometer in the flask, that should centralize it and throw any bubbles that might give you a false reading.
1038 sounds more like it, use that as your starting gravity point (SG). manticle is probably right with some of the goop being in the tap, most of us have experienced this in our brewing, so welcome to the club.

yeah, those stick on thermometers can be out by a couple of degrees, so a guess of 25 is fair.
yeast is a fairly resilient beast, but it doesn't like too much variation in temp, the cooler you brew the cleaner the finishing taste and you'll get less "twang" in your beer. the hotter it is, the more it'll shit twang and unwanted flavours for the style your brewing, So generally pitch it at fermenting temp and that keeps it happy.
Now that you've pitched it, and you get the temp down, try not to let your brew get over 20deg, and try and keep it between 18 and 20 for the duration.
by this time tomorrow, you should have condensation and a layer of krausen (foam) on top of your brew and your airlock should be bubbling. If your airlock isn't bubbling but you've still got condensation and foam, dont sweat it, it's all ok :icon_cheers:

BF