Starting back...What to brew?

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BeerBottle

Member
Joined
28/3/09
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Location
Beveridge, Victoria
Tomorrow i'm starting back into my brewing after an extended period of low brewing activity and bad luck. I have recently moved interstate from Sydney to Victoria. Sydney people, please don't take this as a dig at your city but, in the two years I was there I had the worst brewing (and Weber) experience ever. I had so many brewing and cooking failures that I literally just gave up.
I am keen to get back into it all but now my problem is that over Christmas I was given a few brews and now I have to choose which one to start back with.

Will it be the Coopers Canadian Blonde, Lager or heritage lager? or maybe the Brewers selection Norwest pale ale I was given?
I guess I will find out in the morning when I start.

I forgot to mention...I have three fermenters so maybe a Blonde, Lager and pale ale :)
 
Welcome back mate, both to home brewing and to the better side of the Murray! *flame suit on*

I'd be sorely tempted to do a toucan given you've got a few up your sleeve. Why not put the Canadian Blonde and the Euro Lager into 23 litres, you'll end up with a ~40 IBU pale coloured 5% (after bottle conditioning) Pale Ale without adding a single other ingredient! I reckon it would be a very merry return to kit brewing. If you have any hops up your sleeve throw 20 grams of Cascade or Nelson Sauvin into the fermenter on day 4 for some great aroma/flavour.
 
Carnie's idea sounds like a winner!

Toucan it! kits mostly taste the same anyways, especially with their generic yeasts and no hops. use some s-04 or us-05 and some cascade or amarillo for something a bit more distinctive.
 
BeerNess said:
Carnie's idea sounds like a winner!

Toucan it! kits mostly taste the same anyways, especially with their generic yeasts and no hops. use some s-04 or us-05 and some cascade or amarillo for something a bit more distinctive.
Jeez great pickup BeerNess, can't believe I forgot to mention swapping out the kit yeast for some US-05. I just take it for granted now for any Pale Ale's I brew.
 
BeerNess said:
Toucan it! kits mostly taste the same anyways, especially with their generic yeasts and no hops. use some s-04 or us-05 and some cascade or amarillo for something a bit more distinctive.
Kits do have hops though...some quite a bit, like the Coopers IPA which has nearly 40 IBU right out of the can. Muntons Export Stout has a whopping 55 IBU....
 
Yeah I'd be inclined to agree with carnie and do the toucan brew. And as beerness suggests, I'd use us05 yeast, or if you want it done quick to build up stocks, use Nottingham dry yeast. Will probably finish in 4 days, but will be more noticeable than us05. Us05 is a very 'flavor nuetral' yeast.

BTW, what's the change of location got to do with using a weber??
 
carniebrew said:
Kits do have hops though...some quite a bit, like the Coopers IPA which has nearly 40 IBU right out of the can. Muntons Export Stout has a whopping 55 IBU....

yeah very true,... sorry i was thinking (but not typing) more about late additions, 15min or less or dry. yeah if doing an extract boil with kits i wouldn't do any 30m-60m bittering additions :beer:
 
Big Nath said:
BTW, what's the change of location got to do with using a weber??
I suspect it was just Sydney from the sounds of BB's post, bad mojo place, so glad I moved up the coast!
 
Big Nath said:
what's the change of location got to do with using a weber??
I have no idea. For some reason ( 3 times) one whole side of the briquets went out! All the vents were open and they had turned that nice light browny/white colour. I'd put the meat in, come back later and every one of them on one side had gone out...completely turned black, same side every time. I'm just putting it down to a Sydney Weber curse :)

As for the toucan...I have never done one before so, does doubling up on the can mean I also double up on yeast and "brewing sugars"?

Thanks
 
BeerBottle said:
As for the toucan...I have never done one before so, does doubling up on the can mean I also double up on yeast and "brewing sugars"?

Thanks
Nah, don't bother with any adjuncts/brewing sugars. Just dump both cans into your fermenter and fill up to 22 litres. Then pitch some dry US-05 over the top, ferment as close to 18 degrees as possible, job done.

Should turn out to be a hoppy American Pale Ale style brew (with the emphasis on Pale, it won't have much colour, but plenty of flavour), bordering on an Imperial Pale Ale. Lemme know when it's done, I want to try it!
 
I was going to start my brewing again a few days ago but that stupid little back to work thing got in the way :angry:

I have decided to try the toucan, I have the Canadian blonde and the heritage lager. I haven't done a toucan before so unless anyone thinks this might be a bad combination i'm going to run with these. I have a packet of US-05 so as suggested i'm going to go with that as well, or I could use the S-23 and S-04 which I also have.

It's been so long I feel like i'm starting all over again :D
 
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