Mexican Cerveza

[archie82]

Im a newbie to home brewing and this is my first attempt at a home brew that im also going to keg in a 45 litre keg so im interested in some advice feedback so please go easy on me!

My ingredients that i'm going to use are as follows:

Coopers Mexican Cerveza x 2 tins

Coopers Dextrose x 1kg

Coopers Brew Enhancer 2 x 1kg

Would i be better off using 2 x the brew enhancers instead of 1 x brew enhancer and 1 x Dextrose?
I was planning to use the yeast included with the cerveza cans or could someone recommended a better yeast. This is my first attempt so im not expecting anything fantastic but looking at this as more of a trial run to learn from.

Any thoughts advice?

I also wanted to ask regarding the first fermentation process what would be the ideal temperature to set this at and does it have to be kept at that temperature all the time

Wat are better the heat pads or heat bands?

Also i have quite a few spare fridges at home would placing my barrel in a fridge turned off with my heat pad or band be a good idea to try to keep it at a certain constant temperature and would this work better?

Or are you able to get a heat pad that you can set the temp or something similar to be able to more accurately monitor the temperature.

Thanks in advance

 

[Renegade]

Buy more malt. 1kg of dex + the 300 grams or so in the BE2, plus the 300 or so grams of maltodextrine will make for a shitty beer. For a 45 litre brew, you should consider three cans of coopers cerveza, and buy some hops for flavouring. Hops really are a must with those kits.

Unless youre in the top end of Oz, I reckon that temps will be OK. Fermentation period may be a bit longer, but be patient. No need for heating devices.

Oh, and ignore EVERYTHING that the instruction book tells you in that can... Your brew (if it's a likely Ale yeast) should not get to 27 degrees. Under 20 is a good rule of thumb.

There's a shitload of info here though, and plenty of people to answer your questions.

All the best for your first.

 

[discoloop]

Hi Archie

Welcome to the forum. I'd definitely look towards increasing the amount of malt in your brew. Replace the dex with Light dry malt extract or a tin of liquid extract. As you suggested, using the 2 x BE2 packs would also help. The three-can option above would make a nice beer, but I'm guessing you're trying to approximate a mexican lager. The three-can beer will be more bitter and dark.

If you want to go for the mexican lager, I'd stick with two cans, maybe 1kg light dry malt and 1kg BE2. You might like to try making a hop 'tea' and adding this to the fermenter to impart a fresher hop flavour. (Do a search for "hop tea"...you should find the instructions.)

As far as yeast and temp control goes, if you can hold the brew about 10-11 degrees, I'd recommend ditching the kit yeast for a true lager yeast. Saflager W34/70 is a good option (get two packs for your batch).

If you can't do that, I'd try out the kit yeasts but try to keep the temp as low as possible - 18 degrees would be ideal.

 

[scott_penno]

Not sure if you already have the cans yet or not, but if you don't, consider using the Morgans Corte's Cerveza kit - a far better kit IMHO. As for additional fermentables, if you like your beer with a thin/light body the dextrose will be fine. If you want more body/substance then substitute some of the dextrose for malt extract. And others have mentioned, investigate hop 'teabags' - you should probably be looking at European hop varieties rather than UK or US varieties.

sap.

 

[flattop]

I agree with Discoloop, i did about 4-5 Cerveza's last year for the missus and her folks..

Ditch the kit yeast. If you are brewing around 18*c then US-05 is the go, will give a much cleaner taste.
I would consider around 1/3 DME and the rest Dex. If you want a thinner brew (less flavour) go 100% DEX.
If you want to use a hop tea or dry hop just remember that the Cerveza style is very light in taste so keep it mild for the first brew and increase for the next one.
45 liters is a lot to stuff up after all.

PS. Coopers Cerveza really needs a couple of months on the shelf to mature otherwise you may get a "green" taste or yeast back flavor.
I found that through trial and error (although every one here told me so)...

 

[Bribie G]

As this is your first brew and you don't want to get too technical, a good idea for a bit more hop flavour is to get a hop 'teabag' - any of the 'lager' varieties - from your local home brew shop and follow instructions. It will give a hint of hoppiness, but as posted above a Cerveza should be a light flavoured beer.

Good advice above on the yeasts. Depending on the local temperatures there at the moment, if you can keep the brew at above 17 then definitely go the US-05 which I have used in an all grain Cerveza lookalike. If cooler then use a lager yeast such as W 34/70 because US-05 tends to conk out and go to sleep at lower temperatures. Warning if you do use a lager yeast and it starts smelling like your Uncle Reg after he's eaten two cans of baked beans don't worry, lager yeasts do that.

If you decide you enjoy home brewing you can branch out a bit and if you decide to make Cerveza again you can actually buy the same hop that they use in Corona, called 'Galena' which comes as a 90g pack of hop pellets that would do you for three or four brews of the size you are making. Welcome to the obsession. :icon_cheers:

 

[discoloop]

Wat are better the heat pads or heat bands?

Things might be different in your neck of the woods, but in most populated parts of Oz your problem will probably be keeping the temperature down, not up. Heat pads and belts are a bit redundant. I could be just talking out of my arse here, but I think they're for spirit brewers who are trying to ferment a brew out as quickly as possible....

 

[manticle]

No. I live in Melbourne and the current ambient temp is great if I want to brew a lager but ales need some love.

I bought a heat belt many moons ago when I knew nothing about temps (assumed higher = quicker = better) and shelved it for some time as my knowledge improved. However with ferment temps likely to hit 14 average at the moment, I'm finding a new use for my heat belt. I attach it to the top area of the fermenter (ie above the line of the brew itself) and find I can keep a constant 18 deg.

 

[buttersd70]

Obviously never been in Adelaide at this time of year, either....I just went outside for a smoke - I now have a lump in my throat and my pants fit more loosely.