My First Brew..

[Dan A]

Well,

Finally tasted my first brew last night which was a Coopers Lager that came with the whole starter Kit.

I found it was not all that drinkanle and seemed to be very bitter, my wife said she could taste like a vegemite flavour.

Look like this first attempt will be tossed down the sink :blink: , although might give it a few more days and try another bottle first.

Will post a shot of the colour when I get home.

Dan

 

[DJR]

Kits should always be left at least 3-4 weeks before drinking, any earlier they're not brilliant. You're on the path to making good beer, just pay attention to the sanitation, yeast management, selection of fresh kits, use of hops and malt and you're set for a good time.

 

[Steve]

Well,

Finally tasted my first brew last night which was a Coopers Lager that came with the whole starter Kit.

I found it was not all that drinkanle and seemed to be very bitter, my wife said she could taste like a vegemite flavour.

Look like this first attempt will be tossed down the sink :blink: , although might give it a few more days and try another bottle first.

Will post a shot of the colour when I get home.

Dan

Congrats Dan on your first brew - dont be disheartened though and definately dont tip it. Leave it a couple of weeks. How long is it since you bottled? Get another in the fermenter ASAP. The more you do the better they become.
Cheers
Steve

 

[Dan A]

Pic of Beer

 

[discoloop]

I made the same kit up as my first brew at the end of November. Tasted like crap at first. Now, it's not too bad! Don't despair. It almost certainly will improve!

And it's easy to improve on the kits as well. For your next, I would suggest replacing some/all of the sugar with malt and start experimenting with adding some hops. I've been using hops bags, which are like tea bags. You just steep in boiled water for about 10 minutes then chuck it into the fermenter with your kit and sugar (bag and all!).

 

[Dan A]

Thanks for your advice people, will leave it sit there for a while.

Dan

 

[RobboMC]

Hi Dan,

I did the same thing when I started 2 years ago. The Lager with the Brewing Sugar that comes in the kit, makes a very, very ordinary beer when you just follow the instructions in the video.
And I assume you brewed in in summer as well.

Get your brew temperature under control at 18-21 deg C, use something better then Brewing Sugar like Brew Enhancer 2 and/or Light Dry Malt and you will find your beer improves dramatically.

I have been told by an experienced brewer that Coopers send out the lager kit because it's very easy to brew for your first go. I find the Thomas Coopers brand kits available in brew shops are also much better than the cheap lager kit.

 

[DrewCarey82]

Kits should always be left at least 3-4 weeks before drinking, any earlier they're not brilliant. You're on the path to making good beer, just pay attention to the sanitation, yeast management, selection of fresh kits, use of hops and malt and you're set for a good time.

I honestly think 2 months to be honest with you and personally thats for any beers!

But definately a month atleast.

 

[bonj]

I honestly think 2 months to be honest with you and personally thats for any beers!

But definately a month atleast.

6 weeks was always my minimum in bottles. That said, I've got a K&K all malt Amber Ale in a keg at the moment that was great after a couple of days. This is my first kegged brew. I chucked a cascade plug in the tea ball and dropped it straight into the keg. Bloody beautiful! :chug: :beerbang:

 

[davewalk]

Well,

Finally tasted my first brew last night which was a Coopers Lager that came with the whole starter Kit.

I found it was not all that drinkanle and seemed to be very bitter, my wife said she could taste like a vegemite flavour.

Look like this first attempt will be tossed down the sink :blink: , although might give it a few more days and try another bottle first.

Will post a shot of the colour when I get home.

Dan

Dan,

Stick with it, I started out with the Coopers kit and probably tried my first brew a bit too early out of impatience and wasn't overley impressed but after about 2 months it was great. Stick to the Coopers for a while as they're pretty easy and perhaps start experimenting with other ingredients once you've got the hang of it. Three rules to go by are: 1.Make sure everything is clean, 2. Make sure everything is clean and 3. Make sure everything is clean. The brew enhancers that Coopers have are are good to use and if you have a Home Brewing store (HBS) nearby, they generally have pre-mixed bags of sugar, malt & dried corn syrup which is excellent. Before long you'll probably get sick of washing and filling bottles and it will be time to convince the keper of the purse how much better life will be if you can upgrade to a kegging system. it will help if you make sure your always leaving a mess after washing or leaving bottles on the sink in the kitchen, bathroom & laundry as you will then be able to convince her that kegging is much less messy. The only problem you'll have is similar to having a swimming pool on a hot day- everyone will want to drop by.
Good luck and be persistent with it.

 

[Dan A]

Well, have to say its been a couple weeks and the beer is now drinkable lucky I didnt toss it down the sink

 

[Barramundi]

what they all said , stick with it Dan , start out simple and move up with ingredients as you feel comfortable ... welcome to home brewing and the AHB community, start simple and progress as you build confidence in what your doing ..

where bouts your from by the way ???