Hops For A Few Styles Of Beer, N Stuff

[krisisdog]

Alrighty, decided to get into brewing after lurking on here for quite some time. Bought a coopers kit, $50 for a little electric wine cooler that I can juuust fit a fermenter in (keeps temps from 15 to 20 very well) and just the other day I scored a 340l fridge for $50 which will fit 2 fermenters easy.
So for now I'm just trying to get the basics right before I move onto grains, kegs, and eventually a brewing rig.

Some styles id like to brew are James Boags premium (dad loves it), Corona, and something like a Asahi/Sapporo. I've read that for the Boags either Pride of Ringwood hops or Saaz (difference?) and for the 'rona Saaz.
Do I use the Coopers Lager tin for the Boags? I'll add the BE2 and malt they offer. I'm unsure of how to get a Japanese style dry beer happening tho, so any tips would be appreciated!

 

[Nick JD]

These beers you mention are lagers. To make great lagers you need great yeasts - check out the Wyeast european yeasts (the Czech ones are great) and temps below 15C.

The most important ingredient in beer is yeast, especially in lagers.

 

[krisisdog]

Yep yep, forgot to mention I have Saflager something and Safale US05 yeasts on hand ready to go.

 

[glenwal]

Do I use the Coopers Lager tin for the Boags?

Boags use POR (Pride of Ringwood) as a late addition aswell as for bittering, so adding some POR in a "teabag" to the Coopers Lager kit will help get you close.

 

[krisisdog]

Just found a recipe that mentions tettnanger hops and por, but standard and dry method? Is there a run down on how to ad hops?

 

[stef]

Probably some of the harder beers to brew there...

I've never tried to brew anything close to it, but i believe corona uses Galena, not Saaz.

For a Japanese style beer- its really hard to get it close without having control over mash temps etc, but when using a kit i would recommend:

Substitute a bit of your fermentables with a bit of maltose- clear gloop available from asian shops for a couple of dollars per 500g
Use a good lager yeast and ferment at the colder side of its tolerance
Long slow ferment and a long conditioning time

Good luck!

 

[krisisdog]

I'm up for a challenge haha.
I haven't got a secondary to rack to and after some browsing I don't think I want one, so am I able to leave it in the FV and cc it? Bottle then cc? Or not worry about it unless there's a secondary involved.
Im happy to let it ferment for as long as necessary, I've had a Euro lager going for 2 weeks now.

 

[glenwal]

Just found a recipe that mentions tettnanger hops and por, but standard and dry method? Is there a run down on how to ad hops?

"Standard" is generally when you steep the hops in some boiling water
"Dry" is just chuck them in the fermenter

 

[b_thomas]

Lagers aren't exactly the recommended starting point for homebrewing but that aside if you're wanting to get a "clean" lager taste without the equipment and methodology I'd recommend using Safale US-05 and brewing it at 15c. It's a naturally very clean yeast and is often used to make pseudo-lagers.

For your set up, I would do an initial ferment in your wine cooler for 7-14 days, next bottle and put back in to the wine cooler for 7-14 days, then put your bottles in to the fridge for another 14-21 days before consuming.

 

[krisisdog]

Just a matter of winging the steeping times? I've seen the chart of aroma v bitter v taste but still not 100% on times in general.

 

[b_thomas]

Just a matter of winging the steeping times? I've seen the chart of aroma v bitter v taste but still not 100% on times in general.

3-5 minutes if you're trying to get aroma, same as you would steep a teabag.

You can really only steep hops for aroma as they really need to be boiled to get bitterness and flavour (60-30 for bitterness, 30-10 for flavour,10-0 for aroma)

 

[krisisdog]

B_thomas, I'm on my 3rd ATM (still epic noob I know lol). I'll try your method on cc'ing. I found with my first brew on Blonde they lost a bit of carbonation if I left them in the fridge.

 

[bum]

I would do an initial ferment in your wine cooler for 7-14 days, next bottle and put back in to the wine cooler for 7-14 days, then put your bottles in to the fridge for another 14-21 days before consuming.

Am I reading this right? Are you suggesting a maximum of 2 weeks to carb? Then 3 weeks at serving temp?

 

[RobboMC]

Hey krisisdog, welcome to brewing.

Years ago I was on the beach with a little sailing boat trying to teach my mate in words how we would go about sailing. He was a rank beginner, I wasn't much better. An old guy from the yacht club came up and said " You don't learn sailing on the beach lads, get your boat in the f*^%*ing water and learn out there.

Same applies to brewing. Don't try and be a 'textbook learner', your experince will teach you and the only way
to get experience is to have a go. You already have enough information from here to brew a lager. If it's not a perfect Asahi or Boags or Corona first time up don't sweat. With the ingredients you are proposing it will be very drinkable and enjoyable and pretty soon you'll be attempting to brew things BETTER than those comercial offerings and they will be your own creations.

I still remember that first glass of my own personal brew, in hindsight it was absolute crap home brew but at the time it was the sweetest drop I'd ever tasted, just becasue it was mine.

 

[stef]

You said you have a fridge- i'd get a tempmate (or similar) for $30, and use that + fridge to ferment and condition.

Ferment for a few weeks, condition from a few weeks to months, bottle, carb for a few weeks then drink.

 

[b_thomas]

Am I reading this right? Are you suggesting a maximum of 2 weeks to carb? Then 3 weeks at serving temp?

2 weeks to carb assuming it was on the higher end of the wine cooler's temperature capacity *should* be enough - but it wasn't suggested as a maximum, obviously there's different factors at play. I'm sure the OP would have the good sense to check a bottle to make sure they had carbed up.

Another 2-3 weeks after that for the beer to mellow out - once again not a maximum and again I'm sure the OP would have cracked a couple during that time to see how they're tasting.

Without dredging up long excerpts from various texts on lagering the 1,2,3 (week) method should suffice for a pseudo-lager.

 

[bum]

in hindsight it was absolute crap

Might have been better had you given it some thought beforehand.

It is terrible advice to tell a new brewer to not do any research. He's no-where near the analysis paralysis stage and there are definitely simple things brewers here will be able to help him with so he doesn't make some "absolute crap". I'm not one of them though because I don't even drink those beers let alone try to make them. Having said that, my personal opinion from having used it before is that the bog-standard Coopers Lager tin is extremely ordinary. The Mexican Cervesa or Canadian Blonde tins would make a better base for most pale brews.

Good luck with it, krisisdog.

 

[Wal05]

I still remember that first glass of my own personal brew, in hindsight it was absolute crap home brew but at the time it was the sweetest drop I'd ever tasted, just becasue it was mine.

Ahh, those were the days. Life was so much simpler then!!!

 

[krisisdog]

I've got a controller for the fridge coming so I can use that to ferment/condition no worries.
I've made up a brew of Coopers mex cerv with their BE2 and their malt which I bottled a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to do another shortly with some hops to give it some more flavour which I'm assuming it's going to lack.

I haven't used the tin of lager that came with the kit and Boags looks like a good candidate.

 

[Helles]

Listen to Bum Mezican Cervesa would be best ( ive actually tasted this kit and it was good h34r: )
At least 6 weeks carbonating in bottle before lagering (CC)