Help! First Brew

[Cocko]

Ok, now that is clear - Pink text and all!

Relax bro [figure of speech ]

Superior sex :lol:

AND now ferment those brews!!


B)

 

[fancy]

Ok, now that is clear - Pink text and all!

Relax bro [figure of speech ]

Superior sex :lol:

AND now ferment those brews!!


B)

Ok, now I am going to get some of the Biltong and dried South African sausage I have made to go with my beer yum yum.

I currently have on tap Asahi (Which I have named Sumo Super Dry) and Moosehead Canadian Lager (which I have named Angry Moose Lager).

 

[Fourstar]

Fourstar is good with this kinda stuff!

*Lurch voice* You Rang!?! :lol:

I'd just add the honey when you add the tin of goo to make it soluble and top up with your water. Another option would be to thin it out with equal parts of water whilst being heated and rack to secondary or add 3/4 way through fermentation. That way, the yeast will munch up all the maltose, then go after the glucose/fructose on the second wave. Actually, that's how i'd probably do it Cleaner profile and the honey will probably stand up in the aroma as it hasn't been scrubbed out by excessive CO2 production.

 

[loikar]

1 can of Coopers mexi cerv...
Coopers yeast
1.25 Brewers boost
1 teabag of finishing hops
1 pack of Enzyme (for low carb)

Hey Fancy,

So one has seemed to mention this.

That Enzyme will change your beer, it'll drop any body out of it and give it a nasty twang.
I was told several times, but still went ahead and used it. The Elephant Ears and Monsteria absolutely loved it but it sure didn't taste like beer. I would have prefered VB. I suggest you dont use it in this brew and use it on a standard K&K later on to try it out. There's nothing worse than your first brew tasting like dishwater.

Just my 2c

Fingers

 

[fancy]

*Lurch voice* You Rang!?! :lol:

I'd just add the honey when you add the tin of goo to make it soluble and top up with your water. Another option would be to thin it out with equal parts of water whilst being heated and rack to secondary or add 3/4 way through fermentation. That way, the yeast will munch up all the maltose, then go after the glucose/fructose on the second wave. Actually, that's how i'd probably do it Cleaner profile and the honey will probably stand up in the aroma as it hasn't been scrubbed out by excessive CO2 production.

Thanks for your advice
I get everything you have said except for

rack to secondary

. What does this actually mean fourstar?

Also,
How do I know whether to stir the yeast in OR sprinkle evenly on the top and just put the lid on with NO stirring? Some instructions on different brands are a bit fuzzy.

I have stirred the yeast right in with the the Mexican Cerveza and I also went and made an alcoholic Ginger Beer as well. I did not stir in the yeast for the GB and just sprinkled it on top to sit. :wacko:

 

[crundle]

Thanks for your advice
I get everything you have said except for . What does this actually mean fourstar?

Also,
How do I know whether to stir the yeast in OR sprinkle evenly on the top and just put the lid on with NO stirring? Some instructions on different brands are a bit fuzzy.

I have stirred the yeast right in with the the Mexican Cerveza and I also went and made an alcoholic Ginger Beer as well. I did not stir in the yeast for the GB and just sprinkled it on top to sit. :wacko:

Racking to secondary is when you have had the wort (unfermented beer) in the first fermenter for around 4-5 days, and then using the tap on that fermenter, run the wort into another fermenter, leaving behind the sludge that has settled on the bottom of the first fermenter. We do this sometimes to help clear up a beer, and to get it away from the residue. The residue may sometimes (depends on the type of beer you are making) give your beer 'off' flavours, especially in lighter beers like the Mexican Cervaza's. Not absolutely necessary, but for my Mexican Cervaza's I do this also. PS - adding Lyle's Golden syrup to the mexican cervaza makes a very nice beer. One 500gm tin for a medium strength beer, and 2 for a full strength.

Sprinkling or stirring are both acceptable practices at this stage of your brewing career fancy. Both will work for now, but in time you will read about underpitching of yeast and making yeast starters, in which case stirring in is probably the go.

Also I would say to not use the dry enzyme, my own brews with it have tasted 'funny', and the mexican cervaza is light enough anyway that it will ferment right out on its own.

You might find some good info in the articles section at the top of the page on lots of brewing practices, and the search function at the top of the page is good on this site if you use the google box to search with.

hope this helps,

Crundle

 

[Fourstar]

Thanks for your advice
I get everything you have said except for . What does this actually mean fourstar?

Stir or dump it doesn't matter. it will eventually rehydrate and get active in the wort either way.

Its recommended to rehydrate dry yeast in boiled cool water to strengthen the cell walls of the yeast. But you don't have to.

As for 'secondary' that is secondary fermentation/conditioning, usually done by transferring the beer off the yeast cake to another fermenter/vessel. Then you either let it cold condition, dry hop or add other fermentables etc.

 

[RobboMC]

Hi fancy and welcome.

Most people start this hobby thinking they will brew copies of their favourite beers.
When I started my holy grail was Coopers Sparkling Ale, and yes I've made it few times now.

But you soon will discover a whole world of beer that is BETTER than the commercial offerings.

We had a family bbq last weekend, and the commercial Coopers and Crown lager that we have
available for those that don't wish to taste the 'brew' got left in the esky. Kit brews easily equal
those for taste; get into extract brewing and you easily outdo anything in the bottle shop,
and brewing with some grain is another world again.

Even my father, a 60 year commercial beer drinker, chooses the home brew now.

 

[manticle]

Hi fancy and welcome.

Most people start this hobby thinking they will brew copies of their favourite beers.
When I started my holy grail was Coopers Sparkling Ale, and yes I've made it few times now.

But you soon will discover a whole world of beer that is BETTER than the commercial offerings.

I'm looking for a commercial beer that's a clone of one of my recipes. I've developed a distinct preference for my own product and I have a very long way to go before any of my recipes are perfected.

 

[fancy]

Now have 2 fermenters slowly bubbling away
I have taken pics and will upload in a jiffy.

 

[Cocko]

Now have 2 fermenters slowly bubbling away
I have taken pics and will upload in a jiffy.

Well done bro!

 

[fancy]

Well done bro!

Funny aren't ya

 

[Cocko]

Funny aren't ya

My Mum says I am special.. is that the same! :lol:


BTW: Whats with the kegs and stuff in your gallery and this is your first brew... are you chumping us here?!? :unsure:

 

[fancy]

My Mum says I am special.. is that the same! :lol:


BTW: Whats with the kegs and stuff in your gallery and this is your first brew... are you chumping us here?!? :unsure:

I did 2 brews at "U brew It" before easter.
It's one of those brew places you can go and "do your own" so to speak
before I was confidant enough to give it a go myself.
I made
Asahi Super Dry ( Sumo Super Dry)
Moosehead Lager (Angry Moose)

I think it is still expensive and not as much fun doing that way.

 

[cdbrown]

Good old U-brew-it - lots of liquid malt extract, some hops and other additions boiled for 60 mins. It's fun to do it there with a few mates and it's a good intro to something better than just k+k but like you said it's expensive. I don't like the fact they filter the beers prior to them being kegged. My friends have done some hoegaarden clones there and they always lack the cloudiness, they also have no smell whatsoever which is strange.

So what's the ginger beer recipe as I'm considering one soon. And which shop are you using to get your gear from? When you want to add some specialty grain make sure to see Nev from Gryphon Brewing - top bloke and always helpful. He deals with AG brewers so you can't get any extract from him.

One tip I have is to try and purchase bulk extract if you can. 20kg bag of LDME is around $120 and it won't take too many brews to chew threw it. I'm trying to find some bulk wheat DME for around the same price - big bubble in midland tried to sell me a 25kg box of muntons stuff for $250!

 

[muckey]

My Mum says I am special.. is that the same! :lol:

I hope you've been brewing you medication though :icon_cheers:

@fancy - try as many styles as you can find time for. visit different pubs / brewhouses / breweries and try their offerings

have a read up on steeping grains if you really want to boost your brews - note this does not mean starting all grain but it will provide a flavour boost to most beers

 

[fancy]

cdbrown
Good old U-brew-it - lots of liquid malt extract, some hops and other additions boiled for 60 mins. It's fun to do it there with a few mates and it's a good intro to something better than just k+k but like you said it's expensive. I don't like the fact they filter the beers prior to them being kegged. My friends have done some hoegaarden clones there and they always lack the cloudiness, they also have no smell whatsoever which is strange.


So what's the ginger beer recipe as I'm considering one soon. And which shop are you using to get your gear from? When you want to add some specialty grain make sure to see Nev from Gryphon Brewing - top bloke and always helpful. He deals with AG brewers so you can't get any extract from him.

One tip I have is to try and purchase bulk extract if you can. 20kg bag of LDME is around $120 and it won't take too many brews to chew threw it. I'm trying to find some bulk wheat DME for around the same price - big bubble in midland tried to sell me a 25kg box of muntons stuff for $250!

I have tried a couple of glasses of Hoegaarden a few weeks back at U-brew-it and it was cloudy. Maybe they just didn't filter this particular type, I'm not quite sure about that. I was thinking about doing the Hoegaarden because I like it

The Ginger beer is just a cheapy tin that I have had in the cupboard for 2 years. It was out of date by a couple of weeks but I am using it anyway. I go to Beertech in Balcatta.
Sorry, that last highlighted passage, I don't have a clue what you are saying :wacko: but I am sure I will learn.

I hope you've been brewing you medication though :icon_cheers:

@fancy - try as many styles as you can find time for. visit different pubs / brewhouses / breweries and try their offerings

have a read up on steeping grains if you really want to boost your brews - note this does not mean starting all grain but it will provide a flavour boost to most beers

Trust me I am trying hard to try as many brews as I can lol.
Thanks for the tip too


I have put up some pics in the Gallery of my bar and fermenters etc: Remember I am just a learner so any tips would be appreciated.

Can anyone tell me how to put all my pics into one album? When I was uploading, I clicked on bulk upload but it would only let me do a max of 10 at a time and then I had to start a new album. I hope this makes sense.

 

[manticle]

LDME is light dried malt extract. You can buy it from home brew shops or online from Grain and Grape or craftbrewer. There are some types that are sold in the kmart homebrewing section but I'd steer clear of that one.

Instead of your pre-flavoured tin you can buy liquid malt extracts (LME) or dried malt extracts (DME) of different types and make beer by boiling water with hops at different pints and adding in your malt extracts towards the end then fermenting as usual. You have more control over the final product. If you go this route you will save money buying 25 kg bags rather than 1 kg bags (something I need to start doing).

Using different yeasts and controlling your temperatures will give you better results.

You can also steep or soak cracked specialty malts (only certain malts like crystal or munich) in water to give your extract brews an extra boost.

There are various online recipe calculators and software that help you develop recipes. Beerrecipator.org is online and free, beersmith and promash (which seem to be the most used) are purchasable software.

Read John palmer's 'how to brew' which is available free online - everything from basic extract brewing to more technical AG stuff about water profiles and mashing techniques.

There are loads of tips on this forum, in all sections (reading through all grain threads is useful even if you're not an all grain brewer). Mostly people are willing to part with knowledge and help you along if you make an effort to educate yourself as well (eg read something, get confused, ask advice). There was a guy recently who introduced himself by saying "I can't be bothered reading any of the other posts on here" so his question was not answered in the most polite way. I'm not suggesting you're even remotely similar.

I don't know anything about picture attachment, sorry.

 

[Katherine]

fancy were you located in Perth... ?

 

[fancy]

fancy were you located in Perth... ?

Just outside of Perth, Guilderton (Moore River)