First Lager

[dylan.temple]

G'day got all my equipment set up for making a lager and then kegging, gave homebrew away a couple of years back because the bottles were so much of a pain in the ass so I'm pretty rusty. Have decided to go all out on these two and purchase everything it advised, last time I'll be doing that, worked out to be about $35 each. Regardless just looking for any pointers for especially with the hops. Also any ideas how alchoholic these will be, especially the corona, wondering if I should up the dextrose a bit. Cheers for any tips

CROWN LAGER* (Ferment at 12-15C)
1.7Kg Morgans Blue Mountain Lager
1.0Kg Aussie Brewmakers "Head & Body"
250g Dextrose
1 x Morgans Tea Bag Hops - Pride of Ringwood
15g Brew Cellar Premium Lager Yeast

CORONA* (Ferment 12-15C)
1.7Kg Morgans Canadian Light
1.0Kg Aussie Brewmakers "Beer Improver"
400g Dextrose
1 x Morgans Tea Bag Hops – Supa Alpha
15g Brew Cellar Premium Lager Yeast

 

[yum beer]

aaghh magoo, youve done it again....



at a rough guess I'd say your corona will be about 5.4-5.6% alc.....
get your hands on Ian's spreadsheet, makes this easy to work out.

 

[bignath]

I wouldn't be adding any extra dextrose that's for sure, particularly the second recipe.

Most people have no idea what's in a "beer improver", "head and body", "brew enhancer" bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.....

They will be a mixture of maltodextrine, dextrose, light dry malt in varying ratio's, but the marketing teams behind them like to think that they weild magical and mystical powers over a brewers end product. It's all a load of shit....Yes this is my pet peeve about brewing...I have a very marketing minded brain so i can't help but be cynical of this stuff...sorry.

A lot of those products are already pretty highly loaded with dextrose or simple sugars. That second recipe, albeit not knowing exactly what ratios are in the "beer improver" may already contain a kilo of sugar (400g in recipe and anything up to 5-600g in the beer improver), so i wouldn't be adding to that. Use more malt extract (dry or liquid).

In my opinion, the single greatest "beer improvers" on the face of this earth are corrrect fermentation temps, sanitation, and enough time to ferment properly. Get this right and you'll kick goals for sure...

Those recipes will no doubt make a decent beer, but just be aware that those beer improver/enhancer/builder thingos are usually fairly highly made up of sugar already.

Not sure about the hops, how big are the bags....

Pride Of Ringwood is the perfect choice for anything aussie, not sure about the super alpha and it's place in the canadian light. I remember using super alpha a long time ago and liked it, but can't for the life of me remember about it's qualities.

Need to know the quantities of hops in those bags and how you intend to use them before we can make a judgement on them really.

 

[dylan.temple]

I wouldn't be adding any extra dextrose that's for sure, particularly the second recipe.

Most people have no idea what's in a "beer improver", "head and body", "brew enhancer" bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.....

They will be a mixture of maltodextrine, dextrose, light dry malt in varying ratio's, but the marketing teams behind them like to think that they weild magical and mystical powers over a brewers end product. It's all a load of shit....Yes this is my pet peeve about brewing...I have a very marketing minded brain so i can't help but be cynical of this stuff...sorry.

A lot of those products are already pretty highly loaded with dextrose or simple sugars. That second recipe, albeit not knowing exactly what ratios are in the "beer improver" may already contain a kilo of sugar (400g in recipe and anything up to 5-600g in the beer improver), so i wouldn't be adding to that. Use more malt extract (dry or liquid).

In my opinion, the single greatest "beer improvers" on the face of this earth are corrrect fermentation temps, sanitation, and enough time to ferment properly. Get this right and you'll kick goals for sure...

Those recipes will no doubt make a decent beer, but just be aware that those beer improver/enhancer/builder thingos are usually fairly highly made up of sugar already.

Not sure about the hops, how big are the bags....

Pride Of Ringwood is the perfect choice for anything aussie, not sure about the super alpha and it's place in the canadian light. I remember using super alpha a long time ago and liked it, but can't for the life of me remember about it's qualities.

Need to know the quantities of hops in those bags and how you intend to use them before we can make a judgement on them really.

Appreciate the feed back, don't need to tell me its all marketing and although it's overpriced and rest of it I just wanted to play it safe to be sure the first couple of beers were solid. After this I'm definitely moving forward with extracts and the like. In terms of quantities both hops bags are 12g, and here are the links (http://www.aussiebrewmakers.com.au/retail_catalogue_page/41400_item.html?ref_cat_id=Hops) and (http://www.aussiebrewmakers.com.au/retail_catalogue_page/41360_item.html?ref_cat_id=Hops). And the ingredient breakdown is nowhere to be seen for the "beer improver" and "head and body"

 

[Diesel80]

Appreciate the feed back, don't need to tell me its all marketing and although it's overpriced and rest of it I just wanted to play it safe to be sure the first couple of beers were solid. After this I'm definitely moving forward with extracts and the like. In terms of quantities both hops bags are 12g, and here are the links (http://www.aussiebrewmakers.com.au/retail_catalogue_page/41400_item.html?ref_cat_id=Hops) and (http://www.aussiebrewmakers.com.au/retail_catalogue_page/41360_item.html?ref_cat_id=Hops). And the ingredient breakdown is nowhere to be seen for the "beer improver" and "head and body"

Magoo,

I just brewed a lager myself (Carlsberg knockoff apparently) and used one of these 'beer enhancer kits'. It has produced a beer with very little 'body'. I don't believe it has really enhanced anything.

I do know that my fermentation was below average due to using bad condition yeast and this has also played a part in the poor taste of the beer at this early stage, but I am certain that the beer would have been superior if made with a KG of Light Dry Malt Extract instead of the "brew enhancer".

I also used some 12g hop bags in my lager, but the boil was so small I did it was hardly worth it, I believe a bigger volume boil is better for hop utilisation. Others more experienced with them may be able to help you extract the most out of them, but my effort was a fail.

My receipe was
A munich lager kit
Brew Enhancer
12g hallertau hops - 40 mins
12g hallertau hops - 10 mins
S-23 Yeast

I made the mistake of boiling the lager kit for the whole duration and believe i have completely altered its flavour. Have since read that addiing the can for the last 5-10mins only is the way to go..... Will do that next time.

Going to remake the above with the following changes.
Same munich larger kit
Light DME 1-1.5KG
Hallertau hop pellets (grams to be calculated based on boil size)
2x S-23 hydrated prior to pitching
Fermentation again at 10-12 degrees.

Notes: Kit in for last 10 mins of boil.

Good luck mate!

Cheers,
Diesel80

 

[dylan.temple]

In regard to it lacking body. What about the idea of reducing the amount of water that goes in. As I'll be kegging them in 19L cornys and to be honest the less bottling I need to do the better, would this be a viable option?

 

[yum beer]

plenty of people reduce a kit to 21-22 litres to gain a little more body and that will probably keg nicely. I wouldnt go much lower.