flat kit beer

[sticksy]

hi all, im a new brewer and have a couple of issues if anyone can help. my first two brews (coopers kit&kilo) were primed correctly but tasted sort of flat. I was thinking it may have been caused by high brew temperature but could I be missing something?

also would there be any benifit to using 1kg dextrose and 500g light dry malt rather than 1kg coopers brew enhancer 2 for my next Aust Pale Ale can?
thanks for the help!

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[Droughtmaster]

the only benifit of the extra dextrose and malt would be increase the alcohol .
try a 50/50 blend for better flavour.

get some sort of fermentation temp. control makes the biggest diference as dont forget summer is just around the corner .

 

[Droughtmaster]

reread that there are alot of pertential questions there what was your fermentation temp was it to hot, was it flat ,well how old was the bottles were they stored cold , as a high brew temp wont make em taste flat , just some answers maybe someone else has some other ideas

 

[sticksy]

i am after a fuller flavoured beer without this...um (drinking now) slightly cheap/sharp taste? im using a coopers DIY kit and bottles, new PET bottles and as I said kit and kilo.

I like pale ales/IPAs etc. and id lime to focus on getting a good Pale from my basic brew first before adventuring out. what would happen if I used a can of coopers APA and a can of liquid malt?

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[sticksy]

or brew enhancer2 and 500g LDM

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[rcsoccer]

If you want a fuller flavored beer, you could add some corn syrup (maltodextrin). You should be able to find it at any of the online shops. I would add 1 kg of light malt extract and 250 g of corn syrup for more malt flavor and more body. The alcohol would still be around 3.6 - 4.0% in 22 liters. Drop the volume to 20 liters and you get about 0.2% more alcohol.

As you mentioned, you could also use the Cooper's Pale Ale can and a can of liquid malt from Morgan's or Briess. Briess is better quality and only about $1 - $2 more in price. I shop at Homebrewers Warehouse in Townsville and they just started revamped their website and can ship to anywhere in Australia for pretty cheap. Check them out. homebrewerswarehouse.com.au

Good luck!

Cheers!

 

[DU99]

Bit of a free plug..Could try a can of black rock unhopped malt

 

[sticksy]

awesome thanks for all the help! ill go with APA can and amber malt can I reckon.

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[sticksy]

started the basic brew today. APA can and Muntons? caramalt amber malt can. start temps a bit high but ive brought it down with some wet towels and a fan.

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[Papa Lazarou]

Stick on thermometers are for decoration only

 

[bradsbrew]

How long have the "flat" beers been in the bottles. Also don't rely too much on those stick on thermometers, especially if you cleaned the fermenter with boiling water. If you don't have any temp control, try using a couple of 3L milk bottles filled with frozen water wrapped under the towel and replace each morning. Put the fermenter in a colder area in the house. No need for the fan then.

Cheers

 

[sticksy]

the beers are getting better as the days past. they've only been in the bottle a bit over two weeks, need to be more patient, after a long day it can be hard though!

what temperature monitoring can you suggest? something on the cheaper side though, my budgets pretty tight!

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[bradsbrew]

Have you got an old fridge? Your local in my area, I've got a spare temp controller you could borrow until you can make your own, can show you how to do that as well. Basically you plug your fridge into the temp controller set the ferment temp and the controller will act as the thermostat and keep the internal fridge temp close to what you have set it to.

Cheers Brad

 

[sticksy]

thwt sounds great, I dont have one at the moment, ill have a hunt on gumtree. id only need a little bar fridge for the fermenter right?

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[sticksy]

hey guys, my brew is Coca Cola dark and there is already a fair amount of sediment. is this normal from a Kit and malt can brew?

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[bradsbrew]

thwt sounds great, I dont have one at the moment, ill have a hunt on gumtree. id only need a little bar fridge for the fermenter right?Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

Probably best to grab one a bit bigger and an all fridge is better.

 

[yum beer]

hey guys, my brew is Coca Cola dark and there is already a fair amount of sediment. is this normal from a Kit and malt can brew?

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Sounds about right, it always looks darker in the fermenter, its a lot of liquid for light to get through.
Get that temp down, 18-20 if you can.

 

[sticksy]

hey guys, ive had the temp down. foams subsided 5th day in. SG reads 1.15, 1.08 is the usual sort of FG isnt it?

also, how long should I leave it in the fermenter before bottling? should I get it out of the primary as soon as possible or is it better to let it sit an extra day or two?

thanks again!!

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[sticksy]

hey bradsbrew, havent had any luck with a fridge, my car has shat itself so budgets blown. thanks for the offer though mate.

 

[edschache]

Hey Sticksy,

I'd leave it in the fermenter for a few more days. To be sure that the fermentation has finished and the yeast has cleaned up after itself a bit.

Back to your first post "my first two brews (coopers kit&kilo) were primed correctly but tasted sort of flat". When you say primed correctly you mean carbonation drops or sugar? If so how much per bottle? Using the PET bottles 2 drops or a decent scoop of sugar should do it. With the next batch you could always experiment with varying amounts of sugar to see what works for you. With PET bottles the threat of exploding bottles is minimised but maybe keep them somewhere where spills don't matter.

For them to carb up you want to leave them a good two weeks at around about your fermentation temp (i.e. not in the fridge ready to drink). Again maybe experiment with how long it needs by taking a bottle a day from your fermentation temp to the fridge and drink it the following night while moving the next bottle through the process. The more you play around with the brewing process the more you start to understand it (and the more expensive bling you want to buy...just a warning)

A fridge is the way to go, particularly if you can borrow a temp controller. Don't worry about paying for one - keep an eye on gumtree and the ebay thread on here, if you don't have a free fridge in a fortnight you're doing it wrong. In particular keep an eye out for older freezers that are up for grabs because they ice up, the temp controller will stop them from getting cold enough to ice up and a freezer will possibly have more grunt and better insulation.

NB: it's been ages since I opened a can or primed bottles so my advice could be wrong.

Ed