Finishing Hops From Brigalow

[Ade42]

Hi Guys,

Just spend a few hours visiting some of the LHBS around Brissie OK they were all shut, so I went down the coopers path again.

Bought that Mexican Coopers kit (got the Newest One) and plan to add the Brew Enhancer Mark 2 with 500 (or probally 1kg) or Dex to give it a bit of bite (like my beers strong) and I found (to me anyhow) a new product called:...

Brigalow Finishing Hops, Eh? can i use these with the Mexican coopers can? will it work?

Ok being rather skint I don't get a chance to go to many LHBS very often so Im now on the hunt for cheap and nasty things to pep up my kits.

Yeh I know Coopers, Flame me all you like, But believe it or not I Love beer!! Love it to death. But ya know what? I don't have a fav brand/Flavor! Being a cheapskate for the last few years Ive put up with VB cans and those "norwigian" type's that are pretty cheap. so yeahh I have No palate! not yet anyway.

So in the last brew (no 3 for me) I made up a Tooheys Special Lager with 1KG Brewing Sugar (Coopers) and 1khg of Brigalow Dex. but wait theres more to my partners horror I added 2 or 3 TB spoons of aldi Honey and a squirt or two of Goldern syrup, She thinks Im mad and the lot will taste like "warm camel piss" but hey why the hell not. Ill learn won't I! (It started at 1060 and is now 1010 and dropping whats the %?)

Now the first batch of coopers I made (lager) which came with the "box" came out okish. ok its only been down for 2 weeks, but its really nice and shits on the "Norwegian" stuff (the only bottles I can recap so i got 2 cartons of em) It has a "soda water" aftertaste but hey I can dig it. (and cant freaking wait 6 weeks) and its bloody clear too

The second batch I made I went to a LHBS in Brisbane (about 1 hr's drive from me on the "north side")
He said "what kind of beer do you drink" while I was Umming and Arring the GF said "VB" before i could Utter a scream of distaste the man filled my arms with bags of potions and a kit and told the GF how to make it. Sod it I though, Yeah Ill make sodding VB! she thought it was "cool" to make a "Name Brand"
well it cost 32$ for the "ingredinats" and its been down only a week now Ive tasted a bottle and you know what? It does taste like shity VB. Well bugger me. Its all vegimity and shit (one of his Magic ingrediants in a teaspoon of vegimate, IE i put in 3) and its fuching clear, ahahhh

So Ok if im "forced" to use "coles, woolworths,Big Wubleyou, CrayMart) shite in a tin (have you ever tried to get around brisbane without a License on Public Transport? Bring alll your dosh!)
what would be the better Tins to use, Or should I (as the GF recommends) Go to a LHBS and buy 3 odd tins with all his Potions and magic shit, and go back in 3 weeks (or more)

Here's a quick Question. Ive heard that Adding a lemon or lime in the bottom of the Fermenter will improve the watery coopery taste of thier "kit" (and mabey a chilli or two, Hey I eat em raw, hence my palate probs!)
Ive read that you can Add Lemon or Lime's (boiled) to the brew but should they be cut in quarters? Or squeezed for the juice? or could I use "lemon essence" It seams weird adding a lime or lemon and NOT cutting it up? what about Tobaco sauce? I love the stuff and go though 1-2 bottles a week. (losing weight by eating only canned soups with tobacco sause!)

Oh and the GF reports that i "should" be keeping my "kits" in the Salad part of the fridge (yeast an all) she recons that the Heat here in a regular Cupord in Brissie will "fry" the yeast and kill the "taste"

Oh is it normal to add another "brigalow" Yeast packet to the "mix". I thought It might be a good Idea


Blimey Nearly got a Coopers "euro Kit" and it stated for all the world to see
"drink after 12 weeks" Yeah right. mhaamhaaa (spongebob laugh)

Thanks guys for your wonderfull forum. I really really want to go AG (what the hell does that even stand for? My Inistals Adrian Gregg?) But wanna Kit it untill I can afford the stuff you need to grind up the hops etc.!

Rant Over. More Beer and 80's Emulated Arcade games......................................

(sorry for the spelling)

 

[manticle]

I have limited experience. Up until recently I made kit brews. Now I've stepped up, mainly due to reading posts here.

It's a long rant and there's many questions and partial questions in there but basically I think:

There's nothing wrong with starting your home brew experience using kits. It gives you an understanding of the basics of fermentation and if you like the results but want to improve there's many places you can go. I reckon starting AG would be a bit freaky. Coopers make better kits than many (homebrand homebrew??? For ****'s sake) and seeing as how they're easily available there's worse you could do.

The brigalow finishing hops will make a diference to head retention and mouth feel (in my experience) but **** all to flavour or any of the other things hop pellets or fresh hops will. They will help your kit be less kit like but they are far from an amazing addition.

As seems to be recommended to many kit brewers, you can use the LHBS to improve your kits and not actually spend much. The two things that get mentioned most are temperature control (the kit instructions about brewing over 22 degrees are generally bad advice) and by using better yeast. If you use good yeast there should be no need to add extra.

There's a good wiki link somewhere on improving your beer. If you take it step by step you should notice the difference. Basically you're aiming to make a product you like to drink, not to impress forumites but as you learn more about beer and what you like and how to make it, it becomes enoyable as you see the fruits of your labour.

As for adding citrus - as an ex chef I would recommend avoiding using the thick pith (the white part of the skin). Use the zest (coloured part of the skin - first layer) and the flesh or juice if you want. Avoid pips too. As for tobasco - why not just try fresh, deseeded chili?

 

[Fermented]

Hey Ade

You're off to a good start.

Looks like you need to hang out here a bit, read more and brew more. And read more. And then read more.

There's lots of good information which will take you from where you are now, experimenting and learning, to making a rather good kit beer or growing into all malt and maybe even heading the the All Grain dark side a little further down the road. There are some truly great guys and gals here who will guide you along the path to good hand made beer.

Lotsa luck.

Cheers - Fermented.

 

[manticle]

This link is good: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...p;showarticle=9

 

[seemax]

There are many things I could suggest to improve your brew.

To keep things simple and quick, two things that will make a huge difference..

1. Yeast, ditch the kit stuff and buy some decent yeast, SafAle US-05 would be a good start (from LHBS or online, try the sponsors above)
2. Temp control, with the US-05 yeast 18C is good for a nice clean crisp flavour (fridge, ice bath, wet towels, whatever works!)

I could ramble on about malt, hops, etc etc.. but it sounds like you want quick, good kit beers.

Try Coopers Lager, brew enhancer #2, US-05 yeast, topped up to 20L. Ferment close to 18C for 10days, bottle, wait 2 weeks and go nuts.

 

[Ade42]

Thanks , Wow what Quick help!!

Yeah, Im gonna convince the GF to drive me halfway around Brisbane to get some "real" yeast for the next brew

and oh yeah Im reading this forum most days. and yep all the posts. The guy at my LHBS said to "avoid" this forum like the plague and no one here would know anything. and gave me an old (1994) website with some US of A Tips. What a Tool. He was very helpful though

and yeah I know the "right of passage" of soaking in as much info as poss.

I Restore Old (or new!) Discs, Tapes, anything. And It took me 5 years of reading EVERY back issue of "Radio and hobbies" "Electronics Australia" BEFORE i even started on building a Pre_amp to handle old discs, Time WELL spent.. now im Australia's Foremost Audio Engineer. (Umm Without a Job!!) See my blog!

Same Goes here., I want to make kits for a few months till i "Absorb" enough and with practice with Stuffing up my own kits brews to get me a grip. same with the restoration tools i invented for old audio.. I had to try and practice for 10 years before I even thought it was up to "scratch"

 

[manticle]

BTW - AG = All grain.

Beer made traditionally from grain as opposed to malt extracts or kits.

 

[manticle]

You should totally avoid this forum like the plague because there's people here who brew and stuff. **** them for advice.

 

[rclemmett]

Brigalow Finishing Hops, Eh? can i use these with the Mexican coopers can? will it work?

I didn't read the whole post or all the responses due to my short attention span.

Brigalow finishing hops (I assume these are the unique dissolving tablet) do bugger all. I used them once in a brew and could discern no hop aroma. IMO there is more chance that they will ruin a brew than enhance it.

 

[tcraig20]

and oh yeah Im reading this forum most days. and yep all the posts. The guy at my LHBS said to "avoid" this forum like the plague and no one here would know anything. and gave me an old (1994) website with some US of A Tips. What a Tool. He was very helpful though

I can understand a HBS owner not knowing shit about shit and giving bad advice. They are just running a disinterested business and selling a product. But to deliberately mislead customers so that they can sell their crap? Jesus.

Dont get hung up on the quality of coopers kits. Ive made a lot of kits over the years, and the Coopers kits are among the best on the market - just because they are sold by KMart and lack the flash marketing doesnt mean that they are inferior. Experiment with different brands by all means, but if you are like me you'll end up coming back to the much cheaper Coopers kits time and time again.

 

[katana]

... now im Australia's Foremost Audio Engineer...

* citation needed

 

[Ade42]

Citation, Well I have praise from loads of people who work in archives around the world who've heard my work.
Most of them can't believe what I can pull from the stuff I work with, I get bombarded with Emails from archive Audio/Video people wanting to know how it's done!!
Example
An Old 40's Swing/Big Band piece.
RCA's New (2008) Transfer from metal master disc.
and My worn junk shop 78rpm pressing, unbelievably mine sounds a LOT better than using the master disc by audio "experts" One case in point. there are 1000's of others.

Im currently working on a collection of various ultra rare films from Monty Python some the full team and some pre and post stuff never realeased anywhere. Im working on them for a fan who's spent 20 years collecting the stuff. and I cleaned the video up too! bloody funny stuff, shame it'll never get released

 

[katana]

:icon_offtopic:

I`m not doubting your ability or methods, just the self-imposed title.

You might have some followers for your niche, but Audio Engineering is a vast field with some very well established Awards and Accolades.

I`m a huge fan of the Goons, Python, English Comedy in general......I`m just not their No 1 fan.....

 

[Ade42]

Yeah I know, But from what Ive heard back from people who do this for a liveing Ive kinda stumbled on something that's unique, (BTW I developed hardware and software) and Im into Everything not just Brit humor! (Oh and I found some Missing goons for the BBC yonks ago!)
It's these people (mainly from overseas) who "give" me this title. Plus the head's of ABC archives who think my work is "gobsmakingly new", But I cant find any work, as its about the hardest job to "break into".

But anyhow.

So If i wanted to add some lemons or limes to my "fert" how would I go about it?

I bought some but should i cut em up and boil some or one or what?
Im thinking the inside of a lime might be "contaminated" or somthing?
Same Goes for the humble chilli, should i cut some up and do a boil.
or will all that extra stuff ruin it !

Im just starting to experiment a bit. so forgive me!

 

[3G]

Keep the lemons and limes to go on fish or chicken.
Ferment at a cool constant temp for ales 18 degrees
Use a good yeast
Ensure everything is clean
Read up on kits and bits and partials
God luck

 

[Ade42]

Yep thanks for that. Yeh got loads of filtered water in the fridge and freezer (how i got it to 17-20 last time) and will keep it in box with water plus Ice.

Funny thing when I was living in NSW Limes were like 1-2$ each (sometimes more) now I got a kilo for under 3$. Yep I think Ill save em for food!

 

[loikar]

The guy at my LHBS said to "avoid" this forum like the plague and no one here would know anything. and gave me an old (1994) website with some US of A Tips. What a Tool.

He will be assimilated as you will, in due time.