First batch about to go down, advice needed on my recipe?

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ChefKing

Well-Known Member
Joined
25/7/13
Messages
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Location
Port Douglas
[SIZE=10pt]Hi All,[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]I used to brew a long time ago when I was a lot younger in the 90’s, though after a terrible accident with an exploding bottle and my best mate nearly losing his eye (they saved the eye, but he lost partial vision for ever) after that tragic accident we stopped brewing! That night still haunts me to no end, as it should have been me to get the beer from the freezer, not my mate![/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]After lots of thought, I am about to give brewing a try again, this time using the PET bottles provided in the DYI Coopers kit. I am about to order the following and would like some of you experienced brewers to offer some advice on my order if possible.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=10pt]I live in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia and I am sick of paying high prices for average tasting beer. As Malaysia is a muslim country alcohol has a high tax with the price.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=10pt]I am a Chef and I am always tweaking my recipes to get better flavours and textures, So I feel with some practice I will be able to do this with my beer.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]I thinking about out purchasing a basic DYI coopers kit and the following:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]1 x Basic DIY Coopers home brew kit (DYI kit with the collar, PET bottles & Pale Ale concentrate) [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]1 x Coopers malt extract (I am leaning towards amber malt, instead of using the brewing sugar) [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]1 x 14 gm bag of Cascade hops[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]1 x 11.5 gm Safale US-05 yeast [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]I have been reading a lot about DIY coopers home brewing online on this forum & my mates back in Aus have been brewing for donkeys & have been sharing a lot of knowledge with me too.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]So I hope I can produce an excellent first batch. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]I am now leaning to get the DYI Coopers home brew kit with the collar and PET plastic bottles, most of my home brew friends are getting very good results from this product with no breakages.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]As you would well know, most first timers always produce an average tasting 'homebrew' just with the basic kit.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Though with some more additions to my first batch I feel I can reduce this & produce an excellent beer.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]I have been reading that it is recommended to use a better quality yeast like a US-05.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Also with addition of hops, seeing I will be doing a Pale Ale I am thinking of adding some Cascade hops too.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Will 14 gm of hops enough to help the entire batch?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]I also want to use coopers liquid malt extract instead of sugar, perhaps an amber malt would go well with a Pale Ale? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]If I am using a un-hopped liquid malt would I still need to use a brew enhancer?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]I am sorry for so many rookie questions, but I am really aiming to produce an excellent first batch with plenty of WOW factor![/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Thanks in advance for all your help and look forward to getting all of this finalized so I can put down my first brew and hopefully many more![/SIZE]
 
Hey Chef !

That sounds a lot like my first brew. I was pretty happy with it !
US05 is a great choice to substitute for the kit yeast. Use that to make some pretzels to eat while you enjoy your brew !

Personally I would add a little more cascade, maybe 20/25g all up, the pale ale kit is already hopped, bittering hops if I am correct so add the cascade close to the end of the boil, say in the last 10 mins.
The use of brew enhancer is up to you, will add more fermentables to the brew, hence a higher alcohol content.
Take a look around the forums for bulk priming, it is more consistent than priming each bottle, in my opinion of course. May help you avoid future explosions.
Also, maybe get a brew designer, like the kits and extracts spreadsheet that is pinned on this forum. It is very helpful.

I am not as seasoned as some of the dudes here, I am sure you will get heaps of good advice !

Happy brewing mate.
 
Welcome king chef.

My advice is to understand what each of the ingredients can and will do for you and then use them accordingly.

Being in k.l. I'd firstly be thinking that you are in a very warm climate. You may need some temperature control. Do a search on what effect temp will have on the yeast and the flavours it produces.

When using kits and bits, you need some understanding of the bitterness your kit will give you and what effect the extra malts and sugars will have on original gravity and final gravity. Search for ianh's spreadsheet - it's invaluable for this.

Finally understand how to use the hops to bring about your desired result. There is a bundle of info on hops. The basic are the longer you boil results in more bitterness and less flavour. The less boiling will be vice versa. Finally understand what dry hopping will do. Different hops are better for different purposes..

Enjoy the journey
 
Thanks Unclebarrel,

Yes agreed on my recent reading of some of the forums here 20/25 gm seems to be the magic number! So I will up the order of hops...

I might even add the brew enhancer too, to give it a little kick!

Will now look into brew designer spreadsheet, so I can keep a track of things.

Thanks for all ur very helpful advice mate!
 
No stress man !
Have fun with it !
Enjoying the process is what it is all about.
Mate, being a chef I'm sure you will be tweaking your brews to perfection before long !!
Keep us all in the loop !

Good luck again !
 
I just realised how many freakin exclamation marks I use.

Sorry.


Just a happy bloke I guess.
 
i'm a chef by trade as well, the hardest thing attacking beer the same way as food is that it takes a month or two to learn how each ingredient tastes/reacts. much different to food! fun nonetheless.
 
Thanks timmi9191 I have downloaded the Kit & extract spreadsheet, but it is quite hard to under stand for a newbie/rookie like myself.

First time I am going to keep it a DYI beginner/intermediate level.

I will just use the following:

[SIZE=10pt]1 x Basic DIY Coopers home brew kit (Pale Ale concentrate)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]1 x Coopers malt extract [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]1 x Coopers beer improver 2[/SIZE]

1 x 25 gm bag of Cascade hops (still deciding whether to boil or dry hop, what would be the easiest first time?)

[SIZE=10pt]1 x 11.5 gm Safale US-05 yeast[/SIZE]

@Unclebarrel,

Is it advisable to use the complete amount of brewing enhancer and malt extract together?

Once again sorry for the questions, it is only the beginning of my journey to beer valhalla!

No probs with the exclamation marks, u should be a happy bloke! You brew ur own beer!

Thanks for all the great advice...
 
Hahaha... I suppose I am really asking for a easy concentrate recipe (with extras) to get above average results! though isn't every newbie?
 
Chef, use the spreadsheet select your kit and the malt. Check the strength of that brew. I've just done it and it will 4.4% with a finishing gravity of 1.012. Not bad for a usa pale ale. If you want a little more kick-add 250 g of dextrose. That will give you 4.9%

If you only have 25g of cascade, I would bring 5l water to the boil. Add the hops and boil for 10mins. Dump the lot into your wort. That will give you 23 ibu. A bit low but using a 10 min boil will give you some cascade flavour and aroma. If you have more I'd go with 50 grams.

Good luck
 
Hey man, don't stress about the questions !
How many grams of the brew enhancer ?
Use both the extracts.
Pitch the yeast as close to 18 degrees as possible.
Also try to keep the brew around 18 degrees to give the US05 the best chance of fermenting out nicely.
Cascade as a dry hop is a good idea.
The way Iearned to use the spreadsheet was just to plug in ingredients without a planned brew. Kind of like a dry run.
 
Thanks guys for the tips...

On the spread sheet I put in the following:

Ferment volume: 23 ltrs

Kit: 1.7 kg (coopers pale ale)

LME: ? (no idea)

DME: 1.5 kg (Amber dry malt extract (Though I am using a liquid malt extract, hope thats the right place to input it)

ADJ: Not using grains

Which give me a FG of 1.013

Alcohol (bottle): 4.9

I think I have gone wrong somewhere for my figures are different than yours.

Perhaps because I couldn't find where to input the amount of hops?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm......... tricky, but interesting as!
 
After reading many topics on this forum, watching you tube, an advice from friends I am going to go this way:

1 x can coopers pale ale goo

1 x can liquid amber malt extract

1 x brew enhancer 2

1 x 50 gm Cascade hops (dry hopped for around 3 days once FG settles)

1 x 250 dextrose (cheers timmi9191)

1 x 11.5 gm Safale US-05 yeast

All to be done to the T in the Cooper DYI with collar as per basic recipe states (except for additions)... Bit worried about complete boiling at my first brew, so will do with hot water like the instructions.

I will be sanitizing like a boss with rinse-less.

Fingers crossed, here we go! Rookie ahoy!

Will post results after the order arrives from the shop and I put it down.
 
As you are already using another can of malt extract, adding hops, and adding dex, I would drop the brew enhancer. Just looks unnecessary to me.
 
Brew enhancer 2 has 250gm dextrose in it, you dont want anymore than that.
In the spreadsheet liquid malt goes under LME not DME which it appears from your description you may have done. The full coopers range is there and most other readily available extracts.
 
In regard to the advice above to drop the dex or the BE2, you've already got two tins of extract - I don't think you're going to have any issues with body. Don't even consider using the BE2 unless you absolutely must have the extra alc (which is looking like it'll be off the charts as is).
 
I concur with Bum in that the kit can plus the can of liquid extract alone will make a more than decent beer, no need for the brew enhancer or dextrose. If you're after a stronger alcohol content then drop the total volume by a litre or two - the spreadsheet will help you work this out.

No need to boil the cans (doing so may drive of what little flavour the kit has), but being in KL you definitely want to be using drinking quality water for anything and everything that goes near your brew.

I'd also suggest erring on the side of moderation when dry hopping. Given you have only the bitterness from the can I'd probably use half of what you propose. You're a chef so you know that more of one tasty ingredient does not necessarily result in a better dish. That said, there's nothing wrong with lots of hops but it all comes down to balance.

And yes, the can of un-hopped Liquid Malt Extract should be entered under LME in the spreadsheet.
 
Hey chef,
Sometimes reaching for a higher ABV can really unbalance your brew. So dropping the dex or brew enhancer makes sense.
All good advice above, two cans and added hops will give a good result.
A wee bit less complicated also.

Looks like you have a handle on the spreadsheet anyway !

Good luck.
 
Guys, thanks so much.... legends!

I am so friggn excited about putting down my first batch of extract!

Defo using bought spring water!

Already teaching myself about boiling a partial grain wort next batch....

Will post results!
 
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