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Corellion

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Hi all,

I'm literally as new as they come, both to ahb.com and just brewing in general. I've trawled through the forums for hours over the last week, and can only say I'm stupidly excited about the amount I've yet to learn (not to mention the fun I'll have getting there).

Anyway, I've a question I haven't really seen explained elsewhere...

I set up my Coopers Kit with the included Lager tin and yeast, etc, threw in the kg of "brewing sugar" and topped it up with spring water all as shown on the (delightful) instructional video. I'm now concerned about what's going on with the fermentation:
-Day one, sealed fermentor at 24degC (forgot to take og reading :excl: )
-Day three bubbling (slowly) at 18degC
-Day four bubbling stopped (can see sediment, condensation and froth(?) fermentor's water-level), at 16DegC, sg 1014
-Day six, 16DegC, sg 1012

Pack instructions say I want an fg 1008~1010, and 1012 isn't far off (could this be an effect of the spring water 'vs tap water?), but I'm just worried that this 16DegC situation has actually halted the fermentation prematurely. Is there any way for me to tell? Is there any harm/benefit in me just leaving the fermenter to sit still for another week (ie to be sure), or should I just bottle/prime and risk some exploding bottles?

If I take a sip of the hydrometer sample (never realised you could do this! yay!), the beer's got a decent flavour to it, but seems to be lacking any real body - is this just how pre-primed(?) beer tastes?

Cheers,
Phil.
 
The lack of body is due to:
- only sugar used
- making th ekit upto 23ltrs.

If u have a spare fermenter - rack into secondary and dry hop with some cascade real hop pellets/plugs - buy from a reputable HBS that stores them in th efridge/freezer.

Suggested improvements for next time:
- make kit to 20ltrs
- use LME: Liquid Malt Extract instead of sugar
- buy a brewgoliaths/grumpys kit to add instead of sugar.

Welcome to the slippery slope of Obsession known as Homebrewing
 
- 16 degrees is right at the cool end for coopers packet yeast. Maybe try wrapping a towel around it to try and keep it warmer.
- Spring water will make no difference to the final gravity, but time will.
- Bottling after 4 days will give you a very 'green', unfinished beer. Once main fermentation is done, the yeast start eating all sorts of by-products of the fermentation process. I leave all my Ales in primary for 2 weeks, to let the yeast finish its job, and to let the crud settle out of the brew, which will also help clean up the flavour.
- You are right, carbonation plays a bit part in 'mouthfeel' and general taste of the beer.

Welcome to the forum. Congratulations on finding the search button and doing some research :) I hope you enjoy your time here.
 
Hi Corellion,
Partial mash is the way to go!
Try a search on this site or Google. If you want quality homebrew though, full mash is the way to go.
cheers
Darren
 
As you probably don't have a second fermenter just leave it there for an extra week. It will be fine. You are safe to bottle when the reading on your hydrometer doesn't change for a couple of days in row.

One of the biggest things I have learnt with brewing is that patience solves many problems.

Ohhh and don't get stressed about bubbling or apparent lack there of in the airlock.

{Edit}

Agreed partials are a very easy and wothwhile step. Then AG when you get the experience and the kit.
 
deadly said:
Get out while you still can! :p
[post="76386"][/post]​

I'll second that. Perhaps all the effort, wasted time & big $$$$$ outlay is really worth it? :blink: But you've got to be a bit fanatical & masochistic like the rest of us to get your kicks this way. :ph34r:
Don't muck around like I did. Get into partials ASAP .

:beer:
 
I second that Tidal!
Partials are great!
 
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