Hello

[clarky9999]

Hi everyone, am relatively new to brewing, have just started a cooper's lager from the kit I purchased over the weekend, early days yet but am keen to see how it performs.

Cheers

 

[philrob]

Hello clarky, welcome to AHB.
Any questions at all, just ask.

 

[Paddy Melon]

Hi Clarky, welcome to the slippery slope of home brewing. It starts with the basic kit and the sky then becomes the limit. However in saying that I brew from kits and have found what I like and I stick to it. I have simple tastes and enjoy a good lawnmower beer. With good temperature control, preferred yeast strain and appropriate yeast pitch rate with good handling practices it's a breeze. With a little tweaking the quality of beer from a kit can be very good. You will find this forum a very useful tool and someone will have the answer you are looking for when the question arises. Good luck.

 

[AHB_Admin]

Welcome to the forum, Clarky. Is that your first kit?

 

[clarky9999]

Gday, yep first attempt am keen to see how it goes. Been good looking at the various threads

 

[AHB_Admin]

Can you update us on how it goes? Good luck.

 

[clarky9999]

Gday everyone, thanks for the welcome, i have had 2 attempts at coopers kits, first a lager and it goes alright for the first attempt, just bottled a pale ale form coopers today

The glasses are the lager and the test tube is the pale ale before bottling.

Next on the list is a ginger beer

Cheers

 

[Paddy Melon]

Well done Clarky, I use kits and am finding that with minor changes they are all I want. the two beers you have made are what I started with and I have found that I am a lager man. I'm not into the pale ale but I do like the odd Hop hog. I have really enjoyed finding that a good yeast and controlled temperature fermentation was the big light bulb discovery which has brought the beer to a level which has surpassed the commercial beers. However in saying that I do like some of the commercial lawn mower lagers. On this forum I was given sage advice and that was that if I like what I'm brewing, stick to it. We all have different tastes and what someone else likes doesn't mean it is better.

 

[clarky9999]

Gday everyone, just cracked open the Pale Ale and seems to be very flat, taste is ok just tastes like flat beer. added 2 carbonation drops at bottling for a coopers 740 ml bottle. Going to crack open another later this week and try another bottle

 

[Shotgun07]

How long has it been bottle conditioning??

 

[clarky9999]

Its been in bottles for 2 weeks under the house cool and dark.

 

[Monster]

You could take a couple of bottles put them at fermentation temp or a bit warmer and see what happens….

 

[yankinoz]

Its been in bottles for 2 weeks under the house cool and dark.

2 weeks is plenty, unless cool is too cool. What is the temp? Did you use a kit yeast? Another possibility is that you got a bad seal on that bottle. That happens, but rarely. Try another and check the caps to see the capper is making the teeth snug around the bottle..

 

[Beerbom]

I have only been home brewing for 12 months, but have been advised by some long time brewers, you need a minimum of 6 weeks for home brew in bottles, before they are ready...?
Cheers.

 

[philrob]

6 weeks minimum? Nah.
I start drinking mine about 2 weeks post bottling. They're fine by then, although some styles will still get a bit better over time, others don't.
My Pale Ales, Bitters, and Porters are very much OK after 2 weeks but do keep improving a little over a few more weeks.
Others like Belgian Wits and Hefeweizens etc are best consumed early, well within the 6 weeks.

 

[Beerbom]

That's great to know... I may start sampling some earlier.
Thanks for your reply.
Cheers.