Noobie Here

[Bribie G]

The lager is pretty bulletproof - and when I got onto doing partial mashes the lager was always my base kit of choice - also Cerveza and Canadian for lighter coloured beers. When you get a bit more confident a good one to try is two cans of lager. Nothing else, just two cans (called a Toucan on the forums for some strange reason) :lol: - a very tasty brew indeed.

 

[Bridges]

Bribie do you use kit yeast with that toucan? Sounds like something I could keep on hand for dad to drink when he visits, Does it give a nice pale lager or does the two kits make it a bit darker, I've been working hard for the last couple of years to convince dad to broaden his horizons a bit. To quote him "crown lager is the worlds greatest beer, Why would I bother with anything else?"

 

[Bribie G]

I just used to use one kit yeast as it froths alarmingly unless you keep it well below 20 - colour is a wee bit darker, a bit like Fat Yak in colour. Not too bitter either.

 

[cavey]

Yeah fermenting at 18-20 degrees. I also used an American ale yeast kit instead of the one that came with it.

 

[cavey]

At 7 days it was at 1014, now day 11 and sitting at 1015?? So over last 4 days no movement? Thoughts?

 

[carniebrew]

Put it in the bottle and you're one step closer to drinking it!!

 

[wbosher]

Put it in the bottle and you're one step closer to drinking it!!

Hate to say it but you need to be patient here too. You can pop open a bottle and have a taste after about two weeks, but I'd recommend leaving it 3 or 4 weeks. After a couple of weeks it will probably be drinkable...just. After 4, it will be delicious.

Everyone seems to have different opinions here, but I generally leave mine out of the fridge, but somewhere dark, for at least three weeks. Then put in the fridge. I never used to leave it out of the fridge for that long but that seems to give me a much nicer tasting beer. You'll no doubt get some differing opions on this, but each to their own.

 

[cavey]

Ok....cool. Thanks guys I will bottle up tonight and go from there.

Cheers

 

[carniebrew]

Hate to say it but you need to be patient here too. You can pop open a bottle and have a taste after about two weeks, but I'd recommend leaving it 3 or 4 weeks. After a couple of weeks it will probably be drinkable...just. After 4, it will be delicious.

Everyone seems to have different opinions here, but I generally leave mine out of the fridge, but somewhere dark, for at least three weeks. Then put in the fridge. I never used to leave it out of the fridge for that long but that seems to give me a much nicer tasting beer. You'll no doubt get some differing opions on this, but each to their own.

He's right...but you're new....go on...open a stubby after 5 days and try it. You know you want toooooooooo

I just opened my latest Pale Ale after 5 days in the bottle...lots of Nelson Sauvin and Cascade.....mmmm.....I'm ummm errr just testing.....

 

[wbosher]

He's right...but you're new....go on...open a stubby after 5 days and try it. You know you want toooooooooo

I just opened my latest Pale Ale after 5 days in the bottle...lots of Nelson Sauvin and Cascade.....mmmm.....I'm ummm errr just testing.....

The only problem I have with opening up too early is you end up drinking it all before it reaches it's best. Did that a couple of brews ago, beer was ok so kept drinking it. The last two bottles had been sitting for about a month were absolutely delicious...then they were gone.

 

[cavey]

Lol....that's guys. Bottled them up tonight, ABV is a little low, have learnt a few things for the next brew.

Will have a try in a couple of weeks.......now to start thinking about my second brew!

 

[Blitzer]

yeah put in 2kg of dextrose for some abv

 

[poppa joe]

Don't take any notice of Blitzer
PJ

 

[wbosher]

As someone else mentioned earlier in this thread, get Ian's spreadsheet and have a play around with adding dme, hops etc. If you're really adventurous, maybe even steep some crystal. You'll be amazed how much better it will taste than just using dextrose or brew enhancer.

Obvoiusly concentrate on the basics like temp control and sanitation, but if you got those figured out then go for it.

 

[carniebrew]

Don't take any notice of Blitzer
PJ

Unless of course you wanna get Blitzer'd....

 

[kahlerisms]

I'll disagree with the others and encourage you to drink your brew as often as you like. Especially within your first few brews, the more you taste your beer the more you'll understand about each process and how your beer ages. Go nuts.

 

[cavey]

Well three weeks later and I have had one of these beers.....not too bad at all! Pretty exciting to be drinking beer that I made and it doesn't taste like crap! Bottling my second in a week or so, a Canadian blonde and am looking to do an IPA next. One of the best things I have done and will save me a fortune ! Thanks for all thr help guys!

 

[wbosher]

If you're looking at a kit IPA, I recommend the Coopers one. On their website it's called "Authentic IPA", scaled down to 20L.

Don't know about authentic, but still a very nice drop.

 

[carniebrew]

World's easiest IPA....Toucan!

e.g. 2 cans of Coopers Sparkling Ale, 300gm dextrose into 23 litres = 53 IBU, 5.5% alc, FG 1011.

If you want more mouthfeel (less dry), and would prefer more IBU/less abv...drop the dex, top up to only 20 litres = 61 IBU, 5.2% alc...FG of 1013.

 

[NuggetSA]

World's easiest IPA....Toucan!

e.g. 2 cans of Coopers Sparkling Ale, 300gm dextrose into 23 litres = 53 IBU, 5.5% alc, FG 1011.

If you want more mouthfeel (less dry), and would prefer more IBU/less abv...drop the dex, top up to only 20 litres = 61 IBU, 5.2% alc...FG of 1013.

What yeast would you use for that Carniebrew? Going to get my second fermenter cracking away this week... I'd forgotten how addictive brewing gets when it starts tasting good

 

[carniebrew]

US-05 for me, although recultured yeast from a Coopers bottle would be sweet too....

 

[cremmerson]

Carniebrew, can I confirm that your IPA toucan is just the two cans and yeast, with dex as a thinner? Nothing more (aside from water)? Seems a little too simple. Which I like.

 

[Yob]

Sorry, but yuck... Not an IPA just an unbalanced bitter brew in my opinion.. IPA's should have a good balance between the malt and the hops which a tucan won't have, never will by itself.

 

[Scottye]

Carniebrew, can I confirm that your IPA toucan is just the two cans and yeast, with dex as a thinner? Nothing more (aside from water)? Seems a little too simple. Which I like.

Hey cremmerson
I'd be wary of a two can Sparkling Ale, especially if you haven't by chance sampled the Sparkling kit on its own. To me it is not in the top 10 Coopers kits and for me two cans of it would be simply unpalatable.
Yob sums it up pretty well.
For an IP, from a kit, I'd be looking at a simple one can Coopers IPA, a kilo of LDM, 250g of Victory Malt, 250g of Dextrose, 23 litres and then hops of your choice, I used (St) Ella 10g @ 7mins, 15g @ 3 mins and 25g @ 30mins. I fermented with S04 but if I did it again I would use a liquid English Ale yeast
.

 

[carniebrew]

Carniebrew, can I confirm that your IPA toucan is just the two cans and yeast, with dex as a thinner? Nothing more (aside from water)? Seems a little too simple. Which I like.

No easier than 2 cans and yeast, for sure. There's obviously tastier ways to do it, so it's up to you how much you want to balance ease vs end result.

Coopers give a good example under the "Strong" section of their brewer's guild: http://www.coopers.com.au/the-brewers-guild/how-to-brew/strong/authentic-ipa

That brew would give you something like 6% and 45 IBU. Similar BU:GU ratio (.8) as the toucan sparkling ale, so Yob will probably still hate it....but each to their own.

 

[wbosher]

Coopers give a good example under the "Strong" section of their brewer's guild: http://www.coopers.c...g/authentic-ipa

Isn't that exactly what I suggested about three weeks ago here?

 

[Yob]

Yob will probably still hate it....but each to their own.

cant see a reason not to, it's boring as **** for anyone with a moderate amount of brewing experience, the reviews from that kit Ive read, when I was a forum member over there, indicated it was one of the better kits, sure, but still needed a bit of pimping up with fresh grain and fresh hops, and that doesnt mean half a kg of dex.

Carnie, Melbourne Brewers have a kit brewing comp every year, Id be happy to enter a bottle for you when it comes up. I'll brew one too but I will make my old partial type recipe and hop additions and see what the judges say....

damn.. that would mean getting another fecking coopers can <_<

 

[Scottye]

No easier than 2 cans and yeast, for sure. There's obviously tastier ways to do it, so it's up to you how much you want to balance ease vs end result.

Coopers give a good example under the "Strong" section of their brewer's guild: http://www.coopers.com.au/the-brewers-guild/how-to-brew/strong/authentic-ipa

That brew would give you something like 6% and 45 IBU. Similar BU:GU ratio (.8) as the toucan sparkling ale, so Yob will probably still hate it....but each to their own.

Whereas this brew would more than likely be too bitter for me, I recognise that it is exactly what some people want.
Last week I purchased two 500ml bottles of Stella IPA from the Seven Sheds Brewery in Northern Tassie. This thing was as bitter as heel with zero aroma, and to me little taste. However they are making them and have a market for them.

If cremmerson is in this boat then OK, just not for me :super:

 

[carpedaym]

For an IP, from a kit, I'd be looking at a simple one can Coopers IPA, a kilo of LDM, 250g of Victory Malt, 250g of Dextrose, 23 litres and then hops of your choice...

Have you done this yourself? Do you get much flavour out of the Victory seeing as it's not going to be mashed?

 

[Scottye]

Hey carpedaym

Victroy Malt is OK to steep. I didn't use it with my Stella IPA, I used 400g of Crystal Malt. However I used it in my latest Stella driven APA, 150g, and it seems to work well with this hop. This led me to believe that it would be a good match to my Stella IPA recipe. However as I have moved out of brewing with kits I am not in a position to test my theory.