What Do You Think?

[achy02]

Hi I am just wondering what people think of a recipe I have just started brewing. (Obviously I am a newbie and have gotten a bit carried away)
It has one can of Cascade Golden Harvest, about 750g of liquid light malt, 1kg of dex/maltodex/light malt and 15gram of Saaz. It is brewing at pretty low temp - 15deg.
I am a bit worried because I used the packet yeast and I have since read that the bohemian cascade yeast is s%^t. (it has hasn't started fermenting after 24hrs) Also the OG was 1070 which seems high. Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts.

 

[tdack]

http://www.brewcraft.com.au/wa.asp?idWebPa...p;idDetails=172 comes out at around the 1055 mark depending on how many litres you are using. I've found that the first OG reading can be a little high. I've put it down to a bit more of the sugars/liquid malt ends up in the little sediment thingy on the tap. Now I discard the first draw off and use the second for my readings.

 

[Brewtus]

Hi I am just wondering what people think of a recipe I have just started brewing. (Obviously I am a newbie and have gotten a bit carried away)
It has one can of Cascade Golden Harvest, about 750g of liquid light malt, 1kg of dex/maltodex/light malt and 15gram of Saaz. It is brewing at pretty low temp - 15deg.
I am a bit worried because I used the packet yeast and I have since read that the bohemian cascade yeast is s%^t. (it has hasn't started fermenting after 24hrs) Also the OG was 1070 which seems high. Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts.

Check the instructions but I think it is ale yeast so warm it up to 20 deg and see if it takes off. If it says it is lager yeast and ferments at 13-17 then how did you decide it is not working? Don't trust the evil airlock...

 

[mattwest]

Cascade yeast is certainly one of the slower kit yeasts going around. It usually doesn't start working for 24 hours which can be a worry for infection. Don't be surprised that once it has started it begins to give off a rotten egg smell as well - they even brag about this on their website. If using the yeast again I would make a starter.

In my k&k days, all the Cascade kits I used ended up producing good beer in the end, so all is not lost.

WOZB

 

[achy02]

Many thanks for your replies. Today the brew is bubbling and the SG has dropped to 1050, so all seems to well. I think I will rug it up for the chilly nights, my suspicion is that it is an ale yeast and not a lager yeast. Either way I am going to give it a good length of time in the fermenter to do its thing. Thanks again and happy brewing!

 

[1beer2]

I agree, just did a cascade recently and it took a couple of days to get going, worked out Ok in the end, that was at room temp, about 17 to 18 C.

 

[wambesi]

Many thanks for your replies. Today the brew is bubbling and the SG has dropped to 1050, so all seems to well. I think I will rug it up for the chilly nights, my suspicion is that it is an ale yeast and not a lager yeast. Either way I am going to give it a good length of time in the fermenter to do its thing. Thanks again and happy brewing!

Good to hear it's off and going, it's a good idea to rug it up, try to get it within 18-20 constantly as I'm 99% certain it's an ale yeast under the top.
I made a real nice porter with their choc mahog once, but otherwise have not heard many good things about the kits.

It's all about experimenting though!

What blend/mix did you add? you mention it was a blend of DME, Dex & Maltodex do you know the actual proportions?

 

[Brewtus]

My lager was slow to start as it was in the garage and it went below lowest reading of 10 deg on the sticker thermometer. It was about -5 outside that night an never really warmed up in the day. A few hours inside got it going. Now it is wrapped in a silver windscreen shade (not needed for the car right now) with a styrofoam top top keep the heat in and back in the garage.

 

[Thunderlips]

Don't be surprised that once it has started it begins to give off a rotten egg smell as well - they even brag about this on their website.

Rotten eggs is a sign of a true lager yeast, as far as I can tell they all give off that smell.
As for Cascade, I didn't even know any of their kits had a true lager yeast.
You learn something every day

 

[Fourstar]

Ahh Sulphur! The reason wny i love ales so much! Not to mention the fact of trying to keep a lager at such low tempratures for extended periods. Need a brewing fridge! ASAP

 

[mwd]

Hydrogen Sulphide ( rotten eggs gas ) can be smelt at just a few parts per million. As used in the Stink Bombs of old.

Highly poisonous and dangerous in high concentrations kills the smell sensation a killer in the Oil and Gas Industries.

N.B. Just a minute few parts per million in the yeast fermentation process.

 

[WarmBeer]

Also the OG was 1070 which seems high. Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts.

Try adding half the cold water into your fermenter before adding the tins / sugars. This way you wont end up with thick, sludgey wort in your tap giving a false initial reading. Also, remove the so called "sediment reducer" from the back of your tap, it doesn't really work, and will just collect the sticky wort when you are trying to mix.

 

[Swinging Beef]

I wish you luck, but I tried to do the golden harvest twice, (it sounded sooo nice!) and it turned out crap.
I gave it to a mate who also brews, and his tasted like arse, too.
I quite like Cascade beers, but I wont be lining their pockets again for their home brews.
Tho a choc mahogany porter sounds veeeeeery inviting.

 

[Bribie G]

Cascade is of course owned by Fosters Group and Tooheys is as we know Lion Nathan. With little Aussie Battler Coopers now being the world's number one kit manufacturer, no doubt Tooheys beer kits and Cascade are the big two's perphaps 'token' or 'me too' response in the HB market and I wonder how committed they really are to the product.

Having said that I don't actually intend to try their products, I'm more into recipes and extract / minimash and if I use a kit as a basic ingredient in a recipe I go for Morgans. And I get all my yeasts from CraftBrewer nowadays, sulphury lager S23 included . Love to walk into the garage brewhaus and smell that sulphur "Heck there's a lager goin on here" :icon_cheers:

 

[beersatan]

I'm no eggspurt but I think the yeast must be an ale/lager blend and found 10 days in the old fermenter saw it through.
I've done the golden harvest and the imperial voyage and both took a full 3 months in bottles to get rid of that farty smell. I had to try them regularly to see, of course. For both batches, by the time they came good there were only a few bottles left and were resorted to as top ups after my more favoured brews.
They are probably good for the "patient" brewing noob - whatever or whoever that is.

 

[Brewtus]

I'm no eggspurt but I think the yeast must be an ale/lager blend ......both took a full 3 months in bottles to get rid of that farty smell.

Isn't this what a diacetyl rest is meant to prevent? Take the temp up to 15 - 17 deg for a day or two.

 

[achy02]

Thanks for your replies. Brew is still bubbling and going well, I rugged it up as advised and it did the trick. I am a little sad to hear that most other Cascade brews have turned out poorly but you live and learn. I normally brew Coopers or Morgans, this a first. I think I will give it a good shelf life before making my final judgement on it. The dry mix I used was a Brewers Blend from HBS. I think he said it was similiar to the Coopers Brew Enhancer 1. Also there is no 'sulphur' smell so I am fairly sure it is just a slow ale yeast not lager. Anysuggestions on what I should brew after this one is bottled and stored?

 

[Brewtus]

I like Spicy ghost with 250ml of honey and brew enhancer 2.