New To The Homebrew Scene

[Wortgames]

Oddball, you done good. The thing to do now is to get the next brew on!

The bottles need a couple of weeks at room temperature to develop some gas. However, it'll still taste a bit green at that stage so try not to drink it all in a hurry - if you can give it a month at room temp and then a week or two in the fridge before opening you'll be quite amazed at what you've made.

Bozza - any cupboard or garage is fine. Ideally you want to keep the temperature constant and not too warm, no direct sunlight (dark is better) and if you're using glass it's worth separating them a bit so that if you have created bottle bombs they won't start a chain reaction and send your whole batch down the drain. Milk crates are good.

 

[kitchenbitch]

hi guys

have been following this thread for a week now. I started my first brew about the same time as oddball but have not bottled yet. My problem is that the beer is very cloudy can't do the taste test as I have no idea what it should taste like. (I'm not much of a beer drinker I'm making this for my husband and because I need a new hobby). I have taken a hydrometer reading and it is at 1012. In all the literature that I have read it states it must be between 1006 and 1010. I'm hoping that it will be ok as I'm aiming to bottle on anzac day. I'd like to know if all is well.
hope you guys can help


kitchenbitch

 

[sluggerdog]

kitchenbitch - 1012 is fine, it basically depends on if they gravity is stable not where it finishes (most of mine finish between 1010 and 1014 ish)

I would just skip the taste test if your not a beer lover, just check to see if the gravity is stable (same reading 2 days in a row) then you are ready to bottle

 

[Gulf Brewery]

Most supermarkets carry that pink powder

[post="55500"][/post]​

Not in my neck of the woods, sadly.
Never seen it at a coles, the very odd woolies might stock it though.

[post="55533"][/post]​

Wee_stu
Big W stock it as Neo Pink and there has to be one of them near you.

Cheers
Pedro

 

[ODDBALL]

Most supermarkets carry that pink powder

[post="55500"][/post]​

Not in my neck of the woods, sadly.
Never seen it at a coles, the very odd woolies might stock it though.

[post="55533"][/post]​

Wee_stu
Big W stock it as Neo Pink and there has to be one of them near you.

Cheers
Pedro

[post="55912"][/post]​

I an very happy with mt first effort. I had a wee taste last night while bottling and it was better than I expected it would be, this hobby is going to get addictive.

Now I am ready to purchase the doings for my next brew which I am going to put down on ANZAC day. I am considering using a second kit just to give myself more practical experience with temp control and sanitisation before I move into partials.

I am probably going to do a stout, maybe the coopers stout kit for sale locally at under $10. Would you guys reckon it would be best to use sugar, dextrose, malt or one of the brew enhancers available with the coopers kits? Bearing in mind it is a stout.

BTW I have had my fermenter soaking in a weak bleach solution for 24 hours, I just rinsed it with cold tap water and now it is standing full of cold tap water in the bath. Will this be sufficient or will it need further cleansing before the next brew?

Thanks guys and dolls.

 

[jgriffin]

My first brew is now in bottles all lined up in the kitchen cupboards.

When I checked the brew with the hydrometer tonight after work it was 1012, the same as it was yesterday - and it had stopped bubbling through the airlock - so I rinsed the bottles out with household bleach and rinsed 3 times with tap water before bottling.

I primed half the bottles with the Coopers Carbonation Drops that came with my kit and the other half with plain old household white sugar and filled with the brew. I then tightened the plastic screw on tops as tight as I could (I have a blister on my palm to prove it) and give the bottles a bit of a shake then labelled which was sugar and which was the drops and stored them in my kitchen cupboard.

Have I done good? The learning curve is steep and I have learnt loads already, both from the practical skills involved in actually doing it and the theory I have picked up on this forum.

What should I be doing with the bottled beer now? What temp should it be stored at? anyhting else I need to know?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

[post="55747"][/post]​

I wouldn't shake the bottles. You risk oxidation.

 

[Gulf Brewery]

I am probably going to do a stout, maybe the coopers stout kit for sale locally at under $10. Would you guys reckon it would be best to use sugar, dextrose, malt or one of the brew enhancers available with the coopers kits? Bearing in mind it is a stout.

[post="55933"][/post]​

ODDBALL

I would go the malt route (personal preference) and if you can't get that, the go for a brew enhancer.

Cheers
Pedro

 

[ODDBALL]

I wouldn't shake the bottles. You risk oxidation.

[post="55935"][/post]​

At the moment I am totally new to the homebrewing scene so I thought I would just follow the kit instructions to the letter, maybe on the next brew I will do things a little differently.

Whatever it tastes like I will drink the lot because it is mine, I made it and that makes it a special brew. :super:

 

[Tim]

OddBall,
If you are looking at doing the coopers stout, add a savings lager can instead of suger or malt.
I did a coopers stout, savings lager, 2 can with a cup of dextrose. I boiled the lot in a few litres of water and pitched cultured coopers pale ale yeast. Its been in the bottle now for 9 months and i still have six longnecks left. Side by side, I and another mate of mine cant tell the difference between my can brew and Coopers yellow.

 

[Jovial_Monk]

Try the new Coopers Irish Stout, much superior to their original Stout kit. you would need to buy it at a HBS (other than a Brewcraft one)

Try adding a tin of Coopers liquid Dark Malt Extract

Jovial Monk

 

[vlbaby]

The coopers stout is not a bad beer. I remember doing is ages ago when i was into kits. I never tried it with anything else but brewers sugar, but i reckon it would go alright with brew enhancer 2. But if you really keen, go buy a tin of liquid malt extract (probably amber would be my choice ) from hbs. Thats the best way to get some body into your beer.

You fermenter should be ok for cleanliness, but make sure you sanitise just priar to filling it with your precious beer. The less time lag there is between sanitisation and using the fermenter, the less the chance of infection.

vlbaby.

 

[BRAD T]

Hi Oddball,
I have just started brewing as well, bought a Coopers Kit from Big W at the end of March thinking " Great !! Cheap Beer". Since then I am on to my third Brew, fortunately I have a very good LHBS, they helped me out heaps with the first brew, kit came with a can of Coopers Lager Conc. , the guy at the LHBS (Colin I think) advised me to replace about a 1/4 of the sugar with a pale malt and also gave me a different yeast ( Lager W-34/70), you see I have the oppsite problem to you with regard to temp. Here in the land of the politicians it is too effing cold at night at this time of year and the lager yeast has a temp. range of 9 to 15 deg. Takes longer for primary ferment but who cares, these guys have been in the bottle for a week now, cant wait to try one next weekend. I then tried an English Bitter using a 3kg can of ESB Traditional Bitter, a bit of Coopers No.1 Enhancer and Safale S-04 Yeast. I rigged up a "hot box" with some ply wood, a lamp and a timer to combat the temperature problems, bottled this last week - looking good! Now I have a brew of Cider on for "she who must be obeyed", this should keep her of my back when I disappear to the garage evey hour or so. I guess the point of all this is find a good LHBS, and they should be happy to give you as much help as they can, after all it is in their best interest thst you continue to brew. Cheers Brad

 

[BRAD T]

Pint of Lager asks if there is a HBS in Ipswich. I found a link to one on the Brewcraft website,

Homebrew Den
50 Mt. Crosby Road
Tivoli, Ipswich

Ph. 07 3281 5567
E-mail [email protected]

Is this any help

Cheers :chug:

 

[pint of lager]

Thanks for hunting that up, I was hoping there would be a HBS for Oddball to go to. Buying your stuff from a good supplier who looks after their stock, knows their stuff and can advise you is one important part of brewing.

You get absolutely no help from the checkout chic. The extra dollar or two you pay at the HBS is well worth it.

Working out you want to brew quality beer rather than the cheapest nastiest booze is another step for the homebrewer.

Even if your brew costs you $20-25 per batch, this still works out very very very cheap compared to the stuff from the bottleshop.

 

[ODDBALL]

Pint of Lager asks if there is a HBS in Ipswich. I found a link to one on the Brewcraft website,

Homebrew Den
50 Mt. Crosby Road
Tivoli, Ipswich

Ph. 07 3281 5567
E-mail [email protected]

Is this any help

Cheers :chug:

[post="56011"][/post]​

Thanks for sniffing that out mate. I am new to the Ipswich area myself so I did not know there was a HBS in the area, I will check it out when I can.

This morning I went to the superstore and bought a can of coopers stout and a 1Kilo bag of Brewiser ultra brew sugar. The ingredients are light malt 500g and 250g each of maltodextrin (corn syrup) and dextrose. What do you reckon to theat combination?

thanks for all the tips. :super:

 

[kitkat]

to help improve the clarity of your beer, get a second fermenter. When the fermentation has finished, instead of bottling, transfer to second container (get some tubing from the HBS), of course leaving the trub behind, and let it sit for a week. You'll see how much sediment is left at the bottom of the secondary after a week and understand why the beer is cloudy when bottled from primary.

 

[ODDBALL]

to help improve the clarity of your beer, get a second fermenter. When the fermentation has finished, instead of bottling, transfer to second container (get some tubing from the HBS), of course leaving the trub behind, and let it sit for a week. You'll see how much sediment is left at the bottom of the secondary after a week and understand why the beer is cloudy when bottled from primary.

[post="56071"][/post]​

When you say second fermenter would it be a good option to buy a 25 litre camping water container, you know, the type available from Bunnings or K mart and drill a hole for a grommit and airlock. Please forgive my newbiness but I have seen this mentioned here and am just double checking.

Thinking about it would it be better to get a 20 litre and fill it to the brim and bottle the odd bit left over? :huh:

 

[ODDBALL]

Anyone got anyone advice for me on this second stage fermentation. I am trying to get my head around all this information and I think I am missing something.

Should I buy a 20 or 35 litre container if my original brew is 23 litres?

Obviously I will lose a bit if I go for the 20 litre container but I have read that headspace should be kept to a minimum.

Finally I just wanted to let you guys know I started a second brew today. A coopers kit again but this time the stout mixed with Brewiser ultra brew sugar and the yeast that came with the can.

:super: :unsure:

 

[Jovial_Monk]

What is called a 20L cube can hold more like 22.5L

it won't ferment in the cube, but keep it cool and it will drop yeast etc as stated

Jovial Monk

 

[kaitai]

Oddball, for secondry I use a 20l plastic jerry can and it can hold up to about 23-24l, so don't lose anything. I get mine from bunnings for about 15 bucks and I believe the brand is bmw plastics No need to put another airlock on this at all, you can just release the pressure now and again by cracking the seal on the lid.

If you get one, make sure than it has a number 2 in a triangle thingy stamped on the jerry somewhere. These are considered to be foodgrade.

I just recently racked and CC'd for the first time, and was amazed at how much sediment dropped out of suspension by doing it. Well worth the extra steps.

If you do get into cold conditioning, watch the seal on the bung hole if you put a tap in. They can tend to leak when put in the fridge to CC. I left the original bung in and syphoned from the top when I bulk primed. Once the jerry was 3/4 empty I then removed the bung and put a tap in and drained the rest of the jerry through the tap.

It's also worth marking marks on the jerry to indicate different volumes. I have markings starting at 18l and then 1l thereafter. This helps when calculating how much dextrose to use when you bulk prime.

Before racking and bulk priming for the first time, try bottling just one after primary fermentation for you to comapare the clarity of it compared to the same brew being racked and cc'd.

Cheers