chromesphere
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 24/11/14
- Messages
- 103
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Hi guys,
First post new brewer.
I ordered the coopers beer kit and the abbey blonde kit as well for my first 2 brews, I have been researching a bit and by the sound of it the standard coopers lager that comes with the kit could use a little flavour boost. As excited as I am about making my first brew, drinking 23 litres of ho-hum beer might get a little laborsome lol
I plan to follow the instructions closely but wanted to check a few 'upgrades' with you guys before I go ahead.
The first question: I have bought some yeast (safale S-04) to replace the stock coopers lager yeast as I have heard this can help with the flavour. The coopers lager apparently uses ale yeast, which I believe is what the safale s-04 is also. So I assume this is fine but wanted to check with you guys this yeast is ok to use with the coopers lager LME?
The second question is regarding the hops. I have bought 50g cascade hops which I was thinking of using half of to pep the brew up a bit. I'm not sure which meathod would be the better option, dry hop or boil. The kit requires 1 litre of boiled water added to the liquid malt into the fermenter. The modification I was thinking of was to boil the 1 litre of water in a pot, take off the heat and add the hops for X mins (?), then add the hop tea to the liquid malt in the fermenter as the instructions suggest. So basically I would be replacing the "1 litre of boiled water" from the kettle with "1 litre of hop tea" from the pot, if that makes sense. Do I leave the hops in the pot while it boils or take it off the heat? How long would you suggest? (not a fan of bitter beer, so thinking less time here).
The other alternative would be to dry hop, add the hops in a muslin bag after the fermenting is finished. The cooper instructions suggest bottle as soon as the fermenting has finished (2 days of same hydrometer reading) but I've read if you are dry hopping you should wait until fermenting is finished and then add the hops and extend the time in the fermenter for 7-10 days (for the hops to take effect) and that there is no harm doing this?
Am I on the right track with these two methods and would one be preferable over the other or is it just personal preference? Any advice appreciated.
Might be wishful thinking but really hoping for a successful first brew![Big Grin :D :D](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Cheers
CS
First post new brewer.
I ordered the coopers beer kit and the abbey blonde kit as well for my first 2 brews, I have been researching a bit and by the sound of it the standard coopers lager that comes with the kit could use a little flavour boost. As excited as I am about making my first brew, drinking 23 litres of ho-hum beer might get a little laborsome lol
I plan to follow the instructions closely but wanted to check a few 'upgrades' with you guys before I go ahead.
The first question: I have bought some yeast (safale S-04) to replace the stock coopers lager yeast as I have heard this can help with the flavour. The coopers lager apparently uses ale yeast, which I believe is what the safale s-04 is also. So I assume this is fine but wanted to check with you guys this yeast is ok to use with the coopers lager LME?
The second question is regarding the hops. I have bought 50g cascade hops which I was thinking of using half of to pep the brew up a bit. I'm not sure which meathod would be the better option, dry hop or boil. The kit requires 1 litre of boiled water added to the liquid malt into the fermenter. The modification I was thinking of was to boil the 1 litre of water in a pot, take off the heat and add the hops for X mins (?), then add the hop tea to the liquid malt in the fermenter as the instructions suggest. So basically I would be replacing the "1 litre of boiled water" from the kettle with "1 litre of hop tea" from the pot, if that makes sense. Do I leave the hops in the pot while it boils or take it off the heat? How long would you suggest? (not a fan of bitter beer, so thinking less time here).
The other alternative would be to dry hop, add the hops in a muslin bag after the fermenting is finished. The cooper instructions suggest bottle as soon as the fermenting has finished (2 days of same hydrometer reading) but I've read if you are dry hopping you should wait until fermenting is finished and then add the hops and extend the time in the fermenter for 7-10 days (for the hops to take effect) and that there is no harm doing this?
Am I on the right track with these two methods and would one be preferable over the other or is it just personal preference? Any advice appreciated.
Might be wishful thinking but really hoping for a successful first brew
Cheers
CS