First Brew Taste Test - The Results Are In !

[Strange Dog]

So...last night I couldnt wait any longer and had to crack open my first bottle from my first brew, which was made entirely with the ingredients provided in my Coopers home brew kit (Coopers Lager).

Well.....it was, how you say, "adequate"?

It was a little like a bottle of VB that has had the cap removed for an hour before drinking it, i.e. flat. It is certainly drinkable, but then my standards were quite low to begin with and I am quite sure most of you guys would pour it onto your lawn (I wont however). I think I will just leave it in the bottle for longer and hope that it magically improves, though I suspect the flatness is there to stay. I always kinda figured my very first brew was going to be a bit of a loss anyway.

So my question - why is it flat? I think I know the answer, the brew was in the fermenter for 3 weeks before bottling (I had a dodgy hydrometer). I bottled in 750mL PET bottles with 2 carb drops each. The bottles were stored in the dark at about 13 degrees for 2 weeks.

So what is the fundamental cause of lack of carbonation?

Did the yeast all die before bottling and hence no secondary fermentation?

Did I not use enough yeast to begin with?

Wrong yeast?

How can I avoid this problem in future?

My brew tomorrow will be the same Coopers Lager but I will be using SAF 23 yeast. In another thread someone suggested using two sachets, will this help speed up fermentation and also make proper carbonation more likely? What are the reasons for increasing the amount of yeast you use ?

 

[malt_shovel]

So...last night I couldnt wait any longer and had to crack open my first bottle from my first brew, which was made entirely with the ingredients provided in my Coopers home brew kit (Coopers Lager).

Well.....it was, how you say, "adequate"?

It was a little like a bottle of VB that has had the cap removed for an hour before drinking it, i.e. flat. It is certainly drinkable, but then my standards were quite low to begin with and I am quite sure most of you guys would pour it onto your lawn (I wont however). I think I will just leave it in the bottle for longer and hope that it magically improves, though I suspect the flatness is there to stay. I always kinda figured my very first brew was going to be a bit of a loss anyway.

So my question - why is it flat? I think I know the answer, the brew was in the fermenter for 3 weeks before bottling (I had a dodgy hydrometer). I bottled in 750mL PET bottles with 2 carb drops each. The bottles were stored in the dark at about 13 degrees for 2 weeks.

So what is the fundamental cause of lack of carbonation?

Did the yeast all die before bottling and hence no secondary fermentation?

Did I not use enough yeast to begin with?

Wrong yeast?

How can I avoid this problem in future?

My brew tomorrow will be the same Coopers Lager but I will be using SAF 23 yeast. In another thread someone suggested using two sachets, will this help speed up fermentation and also make proper carbonation more likely? What are the reasons for increasing the amount of yeast you use ?

Hey mate, well done on the first brew and don't be discouraged. I suspect the beer is lacking carbonation because the temperature is a bit low where the bottels are stored. Move them somewhere warm (around 20 - 25 deg if possible) and things will improve. Also might be a dodgey seal on the bottle, but even if you noticed a little hiss on opening, it will most likely be the temperature of the bottles while carbonating. Mouthfeel makes a big difference to the overall impression of the beer, at least to me, so once they are carbonated there is a good chance you will enjoy it a lot more. It will help with enhancing perception of bitterness as well. 3 weeks in primary is no problem at all.

Haven't used SAF 23 yeast before, so will leave someone else to chime in there.

ENjoy the new obsession!

:icon_chickcheers:

 

[PhantomEasey]

MaltShovel beat me to the punch.

I'm only a few brews ahead of you StrangeDog, but my understanding is that even though you've put together a Coopers Lager kit, the kit yeast in actually an ale yeast, which ideally needs to be a temperature higher than the 13 degrees you stored them at (the 20-25 that MaltShovel proposed). The S-23, on the other hand, is a Lager yeast and should carb up nicely at 13 degrees.

Great work on the first brew - it might not be a world beater, but it will probably get you as hooked as everyone else around here!

Karl

 

[mrkitewhitey]

Hey mate,


Definitely do NOT be discouraged at the results... Carbing up takes a lot longer in cooler weather... ideally they should sit at around 16-18deg... Just leave them be mate and keep em in a dark cupboard or a box or something and they'll come good... make sure they're refrigerated for a few days at least before cracking them as well, this gives the yeast in suspension more time to settle and helps to smooth out the carbonation so it doesn't feel like champagne.

I'm about 6 months in and my 9th and 10th batches are fermenting at the moment (i HAD to buy a second coopers kit) and all I can say is that it will be an obsession before too long...
Troll these pages, ask 'stupid' questions and just lap it up...

Welcome to your new life as a brewer!!

Cheers

Tony

 

[Fodder]

Welcome Strange Dog!

All advice given above is sound. Carb them up in a warmer room (eg: 20+ degrees) for at least a couple of weeks, then you can move them to somewhere cooler (your 15 degree area sounds perfect, but only after 2-3 weeks somewhere warmer to start with).

I would not be tipping out any of your brews on to the lawn just yet either. Get them somewhere warm for a few weeks, then try another. Move them back to the cooler storage area and leave again for a coupla weeks and try again. You will find they 'should' improve with time (in both carbonation and flavour). Personally, I dont bother cracking any till at least a month and find 3 months or more to be optimum.

Although, as I'm sure you will appreciate more than most as a new starter that waiting that long is probably the hardest part...

Good luck with the obsession! Its very addictive...after 6 months off I'm prepping for a brew day tomorrow and cant wait...yippie

 

[Pennywise]

So...last night I couldnt wait any longer and had to crack open my first bottle from my first brew, which was made entirely with the ingredients provided in my Coopers home brew kit (Coopers Lager).

Well.....it was, how you say, "adequate"?

It was a little like a bottle of VB that has had the cap removed for an hour before drinking it, i.e. flat. It is certainly drinkable, but then my standards were quite low to begin with and I am quite sure most of you guys would pour it onto your lawn (I wont however). I think I will just leave it in the bottle for longer and hope that it magically improves, though I suspect the flatness is there to stay. I always kinda figured my very first brew was going to be a bit of a loss anyway.

So my question - why is it flat? I think I know the answer, the brew was in the fermenter for 3 weeks before bottling (I had a dodgy hydrometer). I bottled in 750mL PET bottles with 2 carb drops each. The bottles were stored in the dark at about 13 degrees for 2 weeks.

So what is the fundamental cause of lack of carbonation?

Did the yeast all die before bottling and hence no secondary fermentation?

Did I not use enough yeast to begin with?

Wrong yeast?

How can I avoid this problem in future?

My brew tomorrow will be the same Coopers Lager but I will be using SAF 23 yeast. In another thread someone suggested using two sachets, will this help speed up fermentation and also make proper carbonation more likely? What are the reasons for increasing the amount of yeast you use ?

As others have said, 13 is to low for carbonation with the Coopers Lager kit yeast, as it's actually an Ale yeast and needs to be above 16 at least. Pitching two packs of the S-23 will help if you plan to a ) not hydrate the yeast, and b ) if you plan on fermenting in the low range of the yeasts preferred fermenting temps which will help it get started a little quicker.

 

[DU99]

don't be dishearted by your first brew,what did you use with the can,sugar,dextrose,or a cooper's BE kit..

 

[Strange Dog]

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to reply.

I don't know what to do about keeping my bottles warmer than 10-12 degrees as that is the temperature of my house in winter. Do people actually use heat pads or something ? I bought 2 packets of SAF 23 (11g each) for my next brew (or two). Does the fermenting temperature range of the yeast determine the temperature the bottles need to be kept at? In other words, given that SAF 23 is happy to ferment at 10 degrees, will than mean I can leave my bottles in the same temperature range ?

And while I've got your attention, when I mentioned using two yeast sachets in one brew to my local home brew guy he pointed out that the sachets I bought off them were 11g each, which is a lot more than the yeast provided in your typical kit and that it would therefore be enough to use a single sachet per brew. Any thoughts about that ?

Who would have thought there was so much to know about making beer !

 

[Strange Dog]

don't be dishearted by your first brew,what did you use with the can,sugar,dextrose,or a cooper's BE kit..

I used the Coopers BE kit, the one that came with all the rest of the gear.

 

[Pennywise]

I've had no issues in the past using a heat pad with a timer so it's on for an hour and off for two. I do this sometimes because those heat pads generally heat up near the 30's when heating bottles (and not much lower when heating a full fermeter), and I'd prefer the yeast in the bottles not to be that hot, especially directly on a heat pad