user 25599
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- 2/6/12
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Hi all, I'm Tom.
I first brewed about 4 years ago using a starter kit. I think my first beer was a Morgan's lager kit. It didn't turn out too bad, but was flat.
I then followed up with another of the same - it was horrible!
Fast forward to now. I've just decided to get back into it. I made up the batch yesterday afternoon and have just looked over the notes I made and have a few questions.
I used instructions from http://www.howtobrew.com and inserted temperatures etc. from the instructions on the can.
I've attempted a Coopers Sparkling Ale - recipe suggests the can of extract, 1.5kg Coopers Light LME, 500g Light DME and 300g Dextrose (bought the DME and Dextrose in a prepackaged set from the local home brew shop).
Following the instructions from the website above, I boiled my water, added the extracts (simultaneously) while it was off the heat, and then boiled it all together for 20mins (to get through the hot break). Cooled it, then put it into the fermenter where I had a previous batch of boiled then cooled water waiting. I had to add some cold water (straight out of the tap) to bring the volume up to 23l and the temperature down. The wort wasn't as cool as I thought!
Yeast went in at 32 degrees, that was the lowest I could get the temperature without waiting for ages to put the yeast in. The instructions with the kit said that 18-32 degrees was ok for adding yeast.
Onto the questions.
1. I later found out that the Coopers kits are pre-boiled - did boiling it kill it?
2. Did the yeast go in at too high a temperature?
3. Our tap water here is pretty good, very little or no taste generally. Is the 4 litres of tap water I had to add likely to have a significant impact?
The airlock is bubbling away (releases a bubble about every 5 seconds) now so I guess that's a good sign that the temperature was ok for the yeast.
It's now down to 26 degrees. Hoping it will keep dropping to 21!
I first brewed about 4 years ago using a starter kit. I think my first beer was a Morgan's lager kit. It didn't turn out too bad, but was flat.
I then followed up with another of the same - it was horrible!
Fast forward to now. I've just decided to get back into it. I made up the batch yesterday afternoon and have just looked over the notes I made and have a few questions.
I used instructions from http://www.howtobrew.com and inserted temperatures etc. from the instructions on the can.
I've attempted a Coopers Sparkling Ale - recipe suggests the can of extract, 1.5kg Coopers Light LME, 500g Light DME and 300g Dextrose (bought the DME and Dextrose in a prepackaged set from the local home brew shop).
Following the instructions from the website above, I boiled my water, added the extracts (simultaneously) while it was off the heat, and then boiled it all together for 20mins (to get through the hot break). Cooled it, then put it into the fermenter where I had a previous batch of boiled then cooled water waiting. I had to add some cold water (straight out of the tap) to bring the volume up to 23l and the temperature down. The wort wasn't as cool as I thought!
Yeast went in at 32 degrees, that was the lowest I could get the temperature without waiting for ages to put the yeast in. The instructions with the kit said that 18-32 degrees was ok for adding yeast.
Onto the questions.
1. I later found out that the Coopers kits are pre-boiled - did boiling it kill it?
2. Did the yeast go in at too high a temperature?
3. Our tap water here is pretty good, very little or no taste generally. Is the 4 litres of tap water I had to add likely to have a significant impact?
The airlock is bubbling away (releases a bubble about every 5 seconds) now so I guess that's a good sign that the temperature was ok for the yeast.
It's now down to 26 degrees. Hoping it will keep dropping to 21!