I Obviously Havent Learnt A Dam Thing Here

[fergi]

well ive been on this site now for about 4 months and although only doing kits i have picked up a lot of good procedures and hints"SO I THOUGHT"
my last kit was a german lager from grumpys in adelaide and i tossed the yeast and got some saflager 34/70 yeast,i bought an adda pack consisting of malt,dextrose,whole grains .etc.also got some hops to boil in the last 3 minutes of my cookup.,bought a fridge for the shed ,anyway i made up that brew and fermented it around 10/12 deg for a couple of weeks then gave it a rest for 2 days at 18/20 then put in secondry for 2 weeks at about 2/4 deg,bottled it 10 days ago and drank a couple of long necks last nite,this is one really nice beer although hops have to tone down just a touch ,but the best beer i have made by far in fact i think i will keep a couple of bottles for the gawler show in august,anyway why the hell did i come home today with a can of coopers pale ale,1gk of lme and a packet of cluster hops and no decent yeast either. it was a spur of the moment thing as i thought i will put down a brew over easter but honestly what the hell was going through my head at the time.ive got no idea why i bought this combo except at the time i thought ,this will be somthing different,WTF am i thinking.anyway im stuck with it now,anyone got some ideas how to save this brew into somthing good or do i just make it up and give it to my mates that come over and just drink my stuff and then piss off home again.would a different dried ale yeast make it worthile
cheers
fergi :wub:

 

[pint of lager]

Okay, how about you buy two longnecks of coopers and use the yeast dregs to make your own starter up with.

Hops, cluster, if that is all you have use them.

1 kg LME is a good addition to the brew.

 

[Dunkel_Boy]

I was reading the post and thinking, "Everything sounds spot on so far..."
The Coopers yeast from a few bottles is a good idea, you don't have to add the hops if you don't like them.

 

[jayse]

Hi fergi,
I don't see any probs with the brew you have planned, i think the yeast that comes with that can will give you reasonbly good results, i actually think that the coopers dry yeast is quite reasonble. The hop choice is maybe not the greatest but still it will be a top drop iam sure.
So relax and don't worry, make up your beer and you will be happy.

Jayse

 

[GMK]

Fergi

that is almost the same as we put down a while ago - could add 150gms of Dark Brown Sugar and could do a little dry hoppin.
The coopers pale ale yeast is the closest they can get to the original yeast they use - authority from Paul Berger teh Coopers Home Brew Manager- but i think it will come out good.

next Barossa Brewers Club meet is Thurs 7 Apr 2005 at BrewInn Barossa.

 

[joecast]

so whats the problem exactly???

you say you are "stuck" with a kit? you havent even started yet. there are so many variables with brewing (even if you use a kit) its not even funny. try a different yeast, hops, abv%, ferment temp, specialty grain, etc. the list goes on.

think of your favorite beer, or style, and try to replicate that. or make something completely new. the pale ale style would be pretty easy to manipulate into something else; amber ale, ipa, double ipa, etc.

anyway, good luck with it and let us know how it turns out.
joe

 

[johnno]

Okay, how about you buy two longnecks of coopers and use the yeast dregs to make your own starter up with.

[post="50373"][/post]​

I was reading the post and thinking, "Everything sounds spot on so far..."
The Coopers yeast from a few bottles is a good idea.

[post="50374"][/post]​

Hi fergi,
I don't see any probs with the brew you have planned, i think the yeast that comes with that can will give you reasonbly good results, i actually think that the coopers dry yeast is quite reasonble. The hop choice is maybe not the greatest but still it will be a top drop iam sure.
So relax and don't worry, make up your beer and you will be happy.

Jayse

[post="50380"][/post]​

Fergi


The coopers pale ale yeast is the closest they can get to the original yeast they use - authority from Paul Berger teh Coopers Home Brew Manager- but i think it will come out good.

[post="50387"][/post]​

think of your favorite beer, or style, and try to replicate that. or make something completely new. the pale ale style would be pretty easy to manipulate into something else; amber ale, ipa, double ipa, etc.

anyway, good luck with it and let us know how it turns out.
joe

[post="50390"][/post]​

mmmmmmmmm.......ale

 

[fergi]

ok guys thanks for the response,well i think then i will use the coopers yeast,ill add 150 grms brown sugar as per GMK ferment at 18 deg and the hops,cluster hop pellets 6-8 %aa,so would a 3 minute boil with 15 grms sound reasonable
cheers
fergi

ps gmk i wont make the next meeting but after that ill be right ,we are in the finals and we play balaklava in the 2nd semi on 2 march then hopefull grand final after that
then finnished until november

 

[sluggerdog]

I was pretty impressed with the coopers pale ale kit, I'd have to say the best kit I have done without any effort.

I just used the kit, an addy pack and dry hopped with cascade, no CC or anything, standard yeast. Come out very well.

 

[fergi]

slugger how much hops did you use for dry hopping and when did you add it in .,ive got cluster 6/8%AA
cheeers
fergi

 

[Asher]

Good temp control, Rock solid techniques.... You should be able to make a cracker of a beer with that stuff.

Perfect time to practice your yeast thievery from coopers too

Asher for now

 

[sluggerdog]

fergi, I just added 10 grams as I haven't used cascade before, however next time I would use 20 grams (maybe more.. Yum Yum)


I added it into secondary which by the way sat at 32C for 5 days (haha) still came out a ripper for a kit!

 

[fergi]

asher can you give me a quick run down on getting a yeast going from a bottle please.i tried to culture some w34/70 yeast when i used it in my german lager but i thought i followed the principals on the two locked posts on yeast farming etc here but it didnt work.possibly because i threw out the yeast and only kept the colored water ,not sure really but at least it was an attempt at it
cheers
fergi

 

[kitkat]

I concur regarding the coopers pale ale, did it with a brewcraft pale ale convertor (dried stuff plus hops (no idea which), boil for 10 minutes), after 10 days only it's already pretty good.

 

[Asher]

OK

How do I get a yeast starter going. My method is the same whether taking yeast from a commercial beer like coopers or one of my stubbies I've set aside from a previous starter. My initial starter volume is about 500mls and I then ramp this up to around 1.2 litres for ales or 2 litres for lagers 24-48hours before pitching into my fermentor.

- Firstly - make some wort. I use DME to the ratio of 10g for every 100mls of water. Bring water in pot to boil on stove with lid on (steam will help sterilise the lid). Add DME and simmer for 10 mins with lid slightly off. Replace lid just before you flame off. Cool the wort (still in the pot) to pitching temp in a water bath or wherever you can.

While doing this either remove starter stubbie from fridge and bring to room temp. or If taking yeast from a commercial beer decant the beer into a jug without stirring up the yeast in the bottle. Don't be to worried if you leave a little bit of beer behind and let this warm to room temp also.

- Sterilise a 1.25litre PET bottle and funnel. Then pour the cooled wort from the pot to the PET bottle. I then empty the PET back into the pot a few time to Aerate the wort. I then pour some of this wort into the stubbie containing the yeast dregs and then pour this into the PET too. Finally I cover the top of the PET with some aluminium foil and let sit somewhere at around 20deg.

Be patient. It can take a few days before you see any signs of fermentation in the initial starter. but things happen pretty quickly when ramping up to larger volumes....

- Upon pitching time. I pour the whole starter in. If I want to keep a sample I decant about 100mls into a sterilised stubbie. Cover this stubbie with foil in the same way you did the other starters and let it ferment out before capping.

...I've actually stopped using stubies to store yeasts and started using Specimen Sample Jars (The ones you piss in at the Doc's). There sterile, labelled and stack a whole lot better than stubbies.... Available at you local pharmacy

Asher for now

 

[fergi]

thanks asher that seems pretty simple,when you have poured the yeasties back into the wert and put it all in the pet bottle does this then go back into the fridge with a cap on and how long will it keep before you have to use it,i notice you say to leave it out at room temp until it starts to ferment does this mean that you leave it until the ferment has stopped then cap it and store in fridge ,how long will it initially ferment for in the pet bottle before capping and storing in the fridge
cheers
fergi

 

[shmick]

Hi Fergi
How much $ are the adda packs you used?

I've done 1/2 dozen Coopers PA brews and just use 2 tins and pitch both supplied yeast pkts. Bitterness and hops turn out ok - quite close to the original if bottle conditioned - can't speak for kegging though.

My better half picks up the tins on sale occasionally for $8 or 9 from the supermarket but the real cost is the labour.

I know it takes all the fun out of it but when I'm in a hurry I can get a brew down in 20 mins. Primary for 4-5 days, secondary for 2-3 wks then rack and bottle. Store for 3wks then chill for 2 days prior to drinking.

If my mega-swilling mates can't tell the difference I'd spend my time doing better things (IPA's & Wits).

 

[Asher]

Fergi,

Think of the PET bottle as merely a mini fermenter, and treat it the same way. As your trying to grow the yeast (increase cell count) this should all be done at typical fermentation temperatures.

I don't store the PET bottles. I use them to make the starter in a few days before i want to use the yeast in a beer. I simple set aside a small sample ( approx. 100mls) from the starter so I can repeat the process in the future for another beer. I time my starters so my final ramp up to a pitchable quantity is done about the day before I'm going to use it (so the starter is at high krausen when pitching). The 100ml sample is left to ferment out in this stubbie for a few days uncapped. This is to stop the creation of a bottle bomb and purge the head space in the bottle with CO2 produced by the starter itself. Once your happy fermentation has ceased the sample stubbie can be capped and then placed in the fridge for storage....

Asher for now

 

[fergi]

ok thanks very much asher,cheers


schmick about 8 to 10 dollars for the adda packs depending on which blend they have in them
cheers
fergi

 

[macr]

Fergi

that is almost the same as we put down a while ago - could add 150gms of Dark Brown Sugar and could do a little dry hoppin.
The coopers pale ale yeast is the closest they can get to the original yeast they use - authority from Paul Berger the Coopers Home Brew Manager- but i think it will come out good.

Hey GMK, could you tell me the science behind the dark brown sugar? What does it do? I purchased a Coopers PA, because of this thread and was hoping that you could explain, what effect the sugar has. Does it darken it or just flavour the beer?
Also is dark brown sugar available from a supermarket or do you have to get it from the LHBS?

Macr