My 3rd Brew

[WHYPSI]

Put down my 3 rd brew on. Sunday a coopers Australian pale ale goo with a 1kg brew enhancer 2. Og 1.044
with this insane hot weather I'm having trouble getting down to 18-20 deg. Lowest I can seem to get it is about 24 deg. Should still be ok I'm thinking as Long as temp stays consistant instead of going up an down. Well leave it to ferment for 2 weeks I think to let the yeast clean up after themselves. I'm on the right track yeah??

 

[raven19]

Have you tried the wet towel wrapped around the fermentor?
Sit this in a shallow tray of water, worked well for me prior to getting an old fridge.

Get it as low and as close to 18 - 20 as possible would be my suggestion.

 

[RobboMC]

Mate,
whip some ice out of the fridge, put it in the shower recess with some water andwrap a towel around it
to let the evaporating water cool it down. Get it cool any way you can.

I live only 5km away from you, so one weekend I could drop in and show you how, but not this one.

 

[mwd]

Using kit yeast you may get the fruity some call cidery twang which does not go away.

 

[WHYPSI]

I've got a wet towel around it with the ends sitting in a pot of water so the towel can wick the water up as it evaporates. Plus a fan on it too. Will sort it out when I get home this arvo

 

[mwd]

Get some frozen water bottles into your water bath and change them every 12 hours.

 

[barneyb]

Using kit yeast you may get the fruity some call cidery twang which does not go away.

Oh jeez that explains it. When I did my first brew with the Coopers kit "lager" I kept it at the recommended temp of 24-26C and when I started taking readings I noticed the cider taste.

5 weeks after bottling it is still there and quite strong, I was hoping it might clean itself up but I guess not? It made the batch undrinkable expect for 2 of the bottles I tried which were drinkable (odd?).

 

[manticle]

Coopers kit yeast in and of itself is not bad nor necessarily directly responsible for that taste. Some people blame the use of simple sugar but yeast stress is also suggested. My vote goes with yeast stress as I use simple sugars in some Belgian styles and have never noticed cider or apple. Yeast stress can come from underpicthing or poor yeast health. Kit yeasts are usually quite light on (coopers is only 7 g) and also are stored under the tin (who knows how long for) rather than in the fridge. 24-26 won't help with clean flavoured home brew either.

 

[perce84]

I have mine currently in the bath with some frozen pet bottles temp is consistantly sitting between 18 and 20

 

[barneyb]

So I guess if the cider taste is still there 5 weeks after bottling there is no hope for it?

 

[brenjak]

barneyb, use a different yeast. Buy a Fermentis yeast and make a starter. Keep the coopers yeast in the fridge and when you get two, or even better 3, pitch them all. Re-hydrate this yeast and this will give you 21gm of yeast to pitch.

 

[Cube]

I have mine currently in the bath with some frozen pet bottles temp is consistantly sitting between 18 and 20

Me too and I ferment at 16 deg with US05 and coopers re-cultured. Both yeasts go off at 14 and I get 14~16 deg constant with frozen bottles in washing tub. No excuses for 24+ with the right methods.

Brew on and make better and better beer :chug:

 

[WHYPSI]

ok ive got it in a tub of water to about 1/3 the height of the fermenter and have a towell around it half in the water, got some freezer packs in too.

 

[jkirky]

ok ive got it in a tub of water to about 1/3 the height of the fermenter and have a towell around it half in the water, got some freezer packs in too.

Mate I have once brewed that aussie pale ale kit with standard yeast where the temps went out of control. The ferment temp average was about 26-28c...

The beer DID have some banana overtones, but still very nice and drinkable. Actually, many liked the "fruity" flavour from the higher brewing temp. Many brews actually rely on the warmer temps for the flavour.

Whilst it is ideal for 18c with most ale yeasts, if you cant achieve it, it definitely does NOT mean you will end up with undrinkable beer... Especially if its only your third brew, I wouldnt worry.. (more experienced brewers may have more grounding to critique the flavours which dont match the style).

Dont worry about it but keep the temps down if you can.

 

[murrayr]

barney mate,
the first batch i ever made was a coopers "lager" kit.
it was terrible, even after one or two months.
however, i found a few bottles of it about six or seven months after bottling and it was delicious.
give it more time, it could still get good.

 

[barneyb]

barneyb, use a different yeast. Buy a Fermentis yeast and make a starter. Keep the coopers yeast in the fridge and when you get two, or even better 3, pitch them all. Re-hydrate this yeast and this will give you 21gm of yeast to pitch.

Now I'm moving onto all extract brews but will keen this in mind if I decide to do an easy brew with the Coopers APA can again. Does yeast last long in the fridge?

barney mate,
the first batch i ever made was a coopers "lager" kit.
it was terrible, even after one or two months.
however, i found a few bottles of it about six or seven months after bottling and it was delicious.
give it more time, it could still get good.

This is good to know as I was ready to chuck the whole lot down the sink. Instead I'll store it ("lager" it if you will ) in the garage and forget about it for a while.