First Coopers Pale Ale Brew Help

[Trickymac]

us o5 yeast
hops amarillo or cascade would be nice

 

[mattyg8]

Ok I've got the ingredients for the Following Recipe:

Coopers Pale Ale Kit
US05 Yeast
Amarillo Hops 25g
Light Dry Malt 1.25kg
Dextrose 500g
Maltodextrin 250g

at 21L its bout 6%

So with the hops I want to place the light dry malt in a saucepan will 2 litres of boiling water? then add the hops for 20 mins on a rolling boil? Then add to the fermenter with other ingredients?

 

[gsouth82]

When you boil hops, you want to have the boil liquid at a gravity of around 1.040. This is the optimal gravity for extracting all the goodness from the hops.
1.040 roughly equals 100g of dry malt extract per litre. If your doing a 2L boil then run with around 200g.
If you look at the below chart, you'll see a general hop utilisation guide. A 20 minute boil is pretty much all flavour, no aroma.
I'd be more inclined to do a 10 or 15 minute boil to get some flavour and aroma in there.

 

[mattyg8]

thanks for that so much to learn lol

 

[Bellfield Brewer]

just make it up to 19litres, add extra 500gr malt

 

[mattyg8]

just make it up to 19litres, add extra 500gr malt

Making it to 19L and filling a 19L keg would mean filling most of the junk at the bottom yeh?

 

[gsouth82]

I usually do a 20L batch to fill a keg. By the time I've taken a couple of samples I only leave around a pot worth in the fermenter. I have to tip the fermenter up to get the last bit out but I cold crash everything so the yeast cake/trub/hops are nice a compacted and don't move.

 

[mattyg8]

thats the plan

 

[mattyg8]

I got the yeast and it's in 15g bag do I use the lot? Last time I used the coopers yeast and it was only 7g

 

[gsouth82]

yeah definitely use the lot.
The more malt and sugars you have the more yeast you need.
If you were to do a pitch rate calculation (the amount of yeast you need to chuck in) you'll find that the 7g that comes with the tins isn't enough. In saying that, 7g will work but not pitching enough yeast means less than ideal conditions for the yeast which can result in off flavours or stuck fermentations.

 

[mattyg8]

cheers mate hopefully I can put down this brew on saty

 

[gsouth82]

Good luck!
Let us know how you go with it.

 

[mattyg8]

Just Finished putting this beer down following the video on the first page...I got an OG of 1.064 so leaving it for 2 weeks should get me a nice strong beer

Is 18degs a good temp to ferment at

 

[gsouth82]

Yep 18 is a good temperature. That's what I ferment at.

 

[mattyg8]

took a reading on monday and it was at 1.028 so it had been a week since the brew was done, so I plan on checking it on sunday...usually I keg my beer and end up with a few litres left over, this time I plan on bottling some of the left over and adding carbonation drops.

When storing the beer after its bottled do you store it in the fridge at cold temp or put it in a cupboard or something

 

[gsouth82]

When you bottle, the yeast wakes back up and eats the sugars in the carbonation drop. Instead of the CO2 that's produced bubbling out through an airlock, its trapped in there and absorbs into the beer which carbonates it. So, based on that, you'll need to store your bottles at room temperature. If its too cold, the yeast wont work, much like normal fermentation.
The other thing that's important when you bottle is making sure the beer has reached its FG. If not, and you bottle early, the yeast will continue fermenting the original sugars plus the carbonation drop and produce over carbonated beer and possibly 'bottle bombs'.
Make sure you have steady gravity readings over 3 days before bottling. According to IanH's spreadsheet you'll be aiming for around 1.017.

 

[mattyg8]

Hey thanks for that I wasnt to sure, Yeah I was going to wait and see what the reading was first, Usually I cold crash before I transfer to a keg, is this a good idea if I plan on bottling or once it gets back to room temp in the bottle the yeast will wake back up and eats the sugars in the carbonation drop

 

[gsouth82]

Cold crashing is fine, the only trouble you'll have is that a lot of the yeast will drop out of suspension when you cold crash.
It will wake back up when it gets to room temperature but it means it might take a little longer for the bottles to carb up because of the smaller amount of yeast in there. The difference is probably only 2-3 weeks compared to 1-2 when not cold crashing. I'd be leaving your brew in the bottle for at least 4 weeks anyway. Your keg will be a distant memory by then!

 

[mattyg8]

Thanks for that....yeh the bottles are just for the leftover, ill just leave them there till im desperate lol

 

[MrTwalky]

There's some good advice in this thread Matty. It is a steep learning curve when you first start but it gets easier. Soon you'll be asked 'how do you make beer?' and you'll realise that you can't answer that question without explaining a thousand other things on the way.

Immerse yourself in the hobby and find people that brew to hang out with, its a great way to learn and share skills. BREW BREW BREW like a maniac!!!

P.S: I so glad you weren't put off home brewing after your first attempt, there are so many people who are and then bad mouth home brew for the rest of their lives having never tasted good quality brews.

Happy Brewing!