Second Ever Home Brew Batch - Some Questions

[mckinlay6]

Alright,
Here goes. I've been reading these forums for about 3 weeks now and watched many videos about home brewing and understand the basics now. I bought a Coopers DIY Brew Kit and that has been in my FV for approximately 8 days now and is looking like its nearly ready to bottle (lager kit). (I'm giving it an extra few days as the temp has been around 18c, is that ok? Just used kit yeast)

So in the meantime I've been thinking of my next batch and last night decided to do something similar to the Wild Yak Pacific Ale. I am intending to just keep it at kits and bits for now but after watching heaps of videos I wouldn't feel uncomfortable doing a small boil if needed. After some research I've decided that perhaps Galaxy Hops would be best to get that flavour, but my main question would be whether I just need to dry hop and how much is required to get a decent flavour without overpowering the brew?

Also, I used the Brew Enhancer that came with the kit for my lager, would you suggest getting another BE or substituting for a malt extract? If so, is it like for like with quantities? Eg, 1kg BE = 1kg DME.

I was also going to get US05 yeast for LHBS.

Any advice would be appreciated, these forums have been a priceless source of knowledge and advice thus far.

 

[Colfa]

Mate I don't have much more experience than you so I won't pretend to be an expert but will tell you that my brews got a hell of a lot better after ditching the kit yeast and using us05.

Beyond that it was poper temp control and getting a decent stock up so I could leave it in the bottle longer.. Also,

This might get shouted down but I tried the conventional wisdom that using a full tin of liquid malt extract is best. I liked it but none of my mates did. They said it made the brew too 'chewy'. Everyone seems to like the ones I make with dry malt extract a bit of dextrose and then dry hopped, starting at about day 7 for 4 days.

Still learning but that's what's working so far.

 

[mckinlay6]

Yeah I have seen so many people day about the yeast so I feel like that's a great place to start.

How did you go about getting good temperature control in the beginning?

 

[Bonenose]

Check out the Coopers site, they have a lot of good looking recipes. They have a recipe there for their session ale that I think could give you something like a Wild Yak can always tweak the hops.

Also check out product info on the brewing support FAQ's for info on LDM, BE etc.

+1 on US05 and temp control

 

[Colfa]

Yeah I have seen so many people day about the yeast so I feel like that's a great place to start.

How did you go about getting good temperature control in the beginning?

I had an old fridge in the shed, so I just got a mangrove Jacks temp controller which was about 60 bucks and taped the probe to the fermenter, covered with some Styrofoam.

 

[Bonenose]

I use a chest freezer but same as above

 

[Thomas Wood]

My local brew shop has a list of easy kit recipes. I have made the Wild Yak (#25) one and loved it.

http://www.newcastlebrewshop.com/assets/newcastle-brew-shop-recipes2.pdf

I did:

1 can MJ's classic dry blonde (https://mangrovejacks.com/products/australian-classic-blonde-dry)
500g Dextrose, 500g Light Dry Malt
The yeast in the Kit, rehydrated first rather than sprinkled

Then on Day 4, I dry hopped the following for 3 days:
15g ella hops
15g citra
15g galaxy hops

I bottled, and the difference in flavour from week 2 compared to week 4 was huge. I definitely recommend leaving it for as long as possible if you have the patience.

This was one of my first ever brews as well.

 

[Colfa]

My local brew shop has a list of easy kit recipes. I have made the Wild Yak (#25) one and loved it.

http://www.newcastlebrewshop.com/assets/newcastle-brew-shop-recipes2.pdf

I did:

1 can MJ's classic dry blonde (https://mangrovejacks.com/products/australian-classic-blonde-dry)
500g Dextrose, 500g Light Dry Malt
The yeast in the Kit, rehydrated first rather than sprinkled

Then on Day 4, I dry hopped the following for 3 days:
15g ella hops
15g citra
15g galaxy hops

I bottled, and the difference in flavour from week 2 compared to week 4 was huge. I definitely recommend leaving it for as long as possible if you have the patience.

This was one of my first ever brews as well.

I have one of the same mangrove Jacks kit in the fermenter at the moment. For people who are into their mainstream commercial beers that one always ends up being the favourite. I usually have one of those on hand.

 

[munta]

Thanks for the list, I'll give some of those a try

 

[Colfa]

My local brew shop has a list of easy kit recipes. I have made the Wild Yak (#25) one and loved it.

http://www.newcastlebrewshop.com/assets/newcastle-brew-shop-recipes2.pdf

I did:

1 can MJ's classic dry blonde (https://mangrovejacks.com/products/australian-classic-blonde-dry)
500g Dextrose, 500g Light Dry Malt
The yeast in the Kit, rehydrated first rather than sprinkled

Then on Day 4, I dry hopped the following for 3 days:
15g ella hops
15g citra
15g galaxy hops

I bottled, and the difference in flavour from week 2 compared to week 4 was huge. I definitely recommend leaving it for as long as possible if you have the patience.

This was one of my first ever brews as well.

That's a bloody good recipie list and simple.

 

[koshari]

Personaly i just use kit yeast which really does work pretty well if you keep it below 19deg. with the money ssved buy more hops. Good temp control makes a huge difference, to warm and the yeast goes nuts and you end up with a massive krausen ring. Cold crashing is one of the best ways to really clean up your brew. Also i stick to malt extract and dont use dextrose except for priming my kegs as i find itmakes the beer taste bodiless and thin.

To get that fruitey flavour you get with pacific/summer ales dry hopping is the key. Start of with 50-75 g of hop pellets per 20-23l and go from there.

How about you try 50g of Galaxy and 25 of cascade or Amarillo first up.

Also you can yry steeping a bit of ctystal malt as well.

 

[mckinlay6]

Thanks for all the replies! What a recipe list, that's perfect for future brews and inspiration.

I'm working on getting a cupboard type insulator built from some scrap timber I have around, and will line it with styrofoam. I've had my current batch in the laundry and it's been around 16-18 degrees for the entire length of the fermentation. I assume this is ok? Eventually I will get a fridge and temp controller as that sounds much easier and a great way to control everything.

 

[koshari]

Get a fridge straight up. I went the fermenter cupboard route and wish i had gone a frige from the beginning. first hot summer taught me that.