Question Re New Coopers Kit

[Blazar]

Hi Everyone,

First post here, and what better way to celebrate this moment than by asking a silly newbie question

I've got one of the new Coopers DIY kits (the one without an airlock). Watching through the DVD it comes with it is suggested that once the "foam" on top has subsided it's wise to remove the Krausen collar and then replace the lid. Now I would have thought that removing the collar and then putting the lid back on would cause the CO2 to escape, is it wise to do this??

P.S. I won't be putting the brew down till Sunday (I promised my kids I wouldn't touch the kit other than watching the DVD until Father's Day ). For starters I'll simply be using the supplied can of Coopers Lager and carbonation drops, but will substitute the yeast for a lager yeast and will swap the supplied Brew Enhancer 1 for a kilo of something similar, both of which I've already picked up from my LHBS. I also have a thermostat-controlled fridge so I can ferment at around 10-12 degrees.

Thanks for reading and congrats on running such a knowledge-rich forum.


Cheers,

Ben.

 

[JDW81]

Hi Everyone,

First post here, and what better way to celebrate this moment than by asking a silly newbie question

I've got one of the new Coopers DIY kits (the one without an airlock). Watching through the DVD it comes with it is suggested that once the "foam" on top has subsided it's wise to remove the Krausen collar and then replace the lid. Now I would have thought that removing the collar and then putting the lid back on would cause the CO2 to escape, is it wise to do this??

P.S. I won't be putting the brew down till Sunday (I promised my kids I wouldn't touch the kit other than watching the DVD until Father's Day ). For starters I'll simply be using the supplied can of Coopers Lager and carbonation drops, but will substitute the yeast for a lager yeast and will swap the supplied Brew Enhancer 1 for a kilo of something similar, both of which I've already picked up from my LHBS. I also have a thermostat-controlled fridge so I can ferment at around 10-12 degrees.

Thanks for reading and congrats on running such a knowledge-rich forum.


Cheers,

Ben.

Throw away the krausen collar and just stick with the lid (many here use glad wrap instead of a lid, but stick with the lid for now).

Opening and closing the lid isn't the best idea as it can increase infection risk, but letting CO2 escape doesn't really matter. You're not trying to force it into the beer until you bottle.

If you think fermentation has finished check you gravity, then leave it and check again in 2-3 days. There is no real rush, better to wait an extra week than have bottles exploding.

Welcome to the hobby obsession, and be prepared to start spending far more money on brewing gear than you ever thought possible.

JD.

 

[Blazar]

Thanks JD I never really understood what the collar was for. And by not using it that means one less thing to clean as well!!

Another thing I'm unsure of is the secondary fermentation temperature. If the primary ferments at 10-12 degrees do I need to maintain that temperature once I've bottled or can I get away with storing in a cupboard which would obviously be a higher temp.

 

[JDW81]

Thanks JD I never really understood what the collar was for. And by not using it that means one less thing to clean as well!!

Another thing I'm unsure of is the secondary fermentation temperature. If the primary ferments at 10-12 degrees do I need to maintain that temperature once I've bottled or can I get away with storing in a cupboard which would obviously be a higher temp.

In an ideal world you'd bottle condition/store your lagers at fermentation temperatures (I won't go in to lagering here, but it might be worth reading up on if you plan to brew a lot of them). Assuming the cupboard temp doesn't get super high (i.e. above 18-20 degrees) then they'll be fine. I'll hazard a guess that your first brew will be long gone before you've got to worry about long term storage temperatures. What you want to avoid is wild temperature fluctuations.

For your first few brews worry about getting the basics right (sanitation, controlled fermentation and a steady final gravity). Your first brew is kind of like your first child, you'll love it warts at all.

Good luck!

JD.

 

[yum beer]

Ditch the collar, your kit brew wont get anywhere near a big enough krausen to be a worry,
then first chance you get, find yourself a 'normal' fermenter...see Big Green Shed, water drums and cubes.......and ditch the stupid coopers fermenter...
**** knows why they ever changed design.

 

[JakeSm]

Ditch the collar, your kit brew wont get anywhere near a big enough krausen to be a worry,
then first chance you get, find yourself a 'normal' fermenter...see Big Green Shed, water drums and cubes.......and ditch the stupid coopers fermenter...
**** knows why they ever changed design.

+ 1 for ditching the new design coopers fermenter, i have never understood what they were going for, or whats wrong with the normal style fermenters.
one thing i would say to make your first beer even better, would be to add a bag of hops, any type really just so you know how to get into using them, as they dont come with the kit and the instuctions dont call for them. the more you add/experiment with a kit brew the better it should taste.

cheers jake

 

[Blazar]

Thanks Jake, I should have mentioned I've picked up a bag of Hallertau hops from the LHBS to use. If I ditch the collar and just use the lid do I need to drill a hole or two in it or just screw it on lightly?

As an extra surprise my wife just got me a can of Coopers APA!! Think I'll hold off putting that one down till after a practice run.

 

[woodwormm]

though the APA will ferment quicker for your first brew = drinking sooner

also i find ales a little more forgiving to brew.. as much as i like lagers. i don't bother with them anymore, i go for crisp clean ales (it is possible) so that my fermenting fridge is only tied up 2-3 weeks per brew rather than 3-4-5....

 

[Lecterfan]

+ 1 for ditching the new design coopers fermenter, i have never understood what they were going for, or whats wrong with the normal style fermenters.
one thing i would say to make your first beer even better, would be to add a bag of hops, any type really just so you know how to get into using them, as they dont come with the kit and the instuctions dont call for them. the more you add/experiment with a kit brew the better it should taste.

cheers jake

I would humbly suggest that the OP do a teeny bit of reading on beer types (and the matching hop varieties) before throwing in a random bag of hops in order to understand the process. 20 gms of chinook or columbus (for example) in the 'wrong' beer (which, granted, is subjective) can lead to unexpected and often undesirable results.

As far as process goes, the old mantra of cleaning/sanitation, ferment temps and yeast handling are far more important in the long run (should the kit-based brewing give way to a deeper urge to brew). The art to adding hops is knowing which ones and when.

Just my 2c and I'm not stirring, just offering another perspective.

 

[wbosher]

From a noob to a noob, I would suggest sticking to the basics and make the fist one with no additions. If that turns out ok, then maybe throw some hops into your 2nd brew. That's what I did.

There is heaps of information here and plenty of people willing to help in that department. There is also a really good spreadsheet on here somewhere with information on what hops to use for different styles of beer.

I'll see if I can dig it up or find the link.

 

[JakeSm]

Yeah you are totally right there mate, there are more important things to worry about first. Though with him looking around this site before he actually put on his first brew, there alot of pointers we can give him to make his first a better drink.
I dont think he can really stuff up the addition of hops in a 10min steep tea bag. I would be more worried about boiling them.

I am just trying to make his first beer better as this is where alot of people give up after doing it. They may think its not that good at all and couldnt be bothered doing another one. Just trying to keep him interested,

Thanks for your perspective, im sure he likes all the feedback he can get before he starts.

Cheers jake.

 

[wbosher]

Yeah you are totally right there mate, there are more important things to worry about first. Though with him looking around this site before he actually put on his first brew, there alot of pointers we can give him to make his first a better drink.
I dont think he can really stuff up the addition of hops in a 10min steep tea bag. I would be more worried about boiling them.

I am just trying to make his first beer better as this is where alot of people give up after doing it. They may think its not that good at all and couldnt be bothered doing another one. Just trying to keep him interested,

Thanks for your perspective, im sure he likes all the feedback he can get before he starts.

Cheers jake.

Yeah Jake, your right about the teabag..really hard to mess that one up. I just did the Coopers Lager (my 2nd brew), it's still fermenting, about 3 days in. I got one of those "finishing hops" teabags, just steep in boiling water - off the heat - for 10 minutes and throw the whole lot into the FV...that simple. It's more expensive that buying pellets but a good way to start with hops IMO.

I wouldn't worry about changing the yeast, just use the one in the kit. Maintaining a 18 - mid 20s temp range is probably much easier than the low temp required for a real lager, one less thing to worry about, and one less thing to go wrong.

Like I said, I'm a noob too, so this is just my 2c worth.

 

[Blazar]

You blokes are all spot on, thanks very much. The hops were suggested to me by the LBHS along with the different yeast so I'm happy to try those together with the Coopers Lager first off. All going smoothly with the first brew I'll throw down the Cooper's APA (which is one of my favourite commercial beers) soon after bottling my first brew.

Plenty of baby steps for me to take but it will be worth it.

 

[bum]

I'll throw down the Cooper's APA (which is one of my favourite commercial beers)

A lot of people really like that kit but few say it is the same as CPA. It was nothing like it when I brewed it - that might be me though.

 

[mosto]

Ditch the collar, your kit brew wont get anywhere near a big enough krausen to be a worry,
then first chance you get, find yourself a 'normal' fermenter...see Big Green Shed, water drums and cubes.......and ditch the stupid coopers fermenter...
**** knows why they ever changed design.

Agree with getting a more suitable fermentation vessel, but don't ditch the Coopers one, it makes a perfect bulk priming vessel.

 

[Lecterfan]

The process of adding hops may be hard to stuff up, but adding Pride of Ringwood instead of East Kent Goldings to your red ale, or chinook instead of saaz to your pilsner is easy to stuff up if you think that hops is hops is hops. In either of those examples (or millions of other combinations) it might be better just to use the kit on it's own and concentrate on ferment temp and yeast health/handling.

Baby steps, good beer. :icon_chickcheers:

 

[wbosher]

From a noob to a noob, I would suggest sticking to the basics and make the fist one with no additions. If that turns out ok, then maybe throw some hops into your 2nd brew. That's what I did.

There is heaps of information here and plenty of people willing to help in that department. There is also a really good spreadsheet on here somewhere with information on what hops to use for different styles of beer.

I'll see if I can dig it up or find the link.

Go here - http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=29655

 

[Wal05]

For my 2 bob's worth, being fairly new to this hobby...ahh...obsession B) I have only been going for 13 months and currently have brew number 29 and 30 in my fermentors but it has only really been in the last 10 brews or so that I started mucking around with hops and spec grains. Prior to that I was really just trying out different styles of beers and working out which ones I preffered.

My first few brews were lucky to last through proper carbonation let alone any bottle conditioning. Now days though I have built up a bit of a stash (about 150 bottles) of the beers I like and all with extra bits added, some that I have made more than once and others that are a bit experimental.

So, Blazar, it is really up to you how you approach your brewing but be warned, you will spend more money on bits and pieces and you will sometimes spend more time on it than will be appreciated by SWMBO...!!!!

Happy brewing

 

[wbosher]

be warned, you will spend more money on bits and pieces and you will sometimes spend more time on it than will be appreciated by SWMBO...!!!!

:lol: Ain't that the truth :lol:

 

[Blazar]

:lol: Ain't that the truth :lol:

Potentially not a bad thing though!!