New Brewer/Kit

[Scoot49]

Hey guys,

I have recently started brewing again (about 8 years since my last, lol) and am loving all the info available.

I purchased a new Coopers Brewing kit from Big W, and was shocked to see there was no airlock.... The whole kit includes the fermenting barrel, the lid, a piece which sits in the middle (they call it a .... Kollar lol, sorry for the lack of info). Is this normal? I was discussign with my local home brew shop, and it was the first he had heard of it.

The lid doesn't even have a hole for the airlock.

Is this normal?

Also, am a bit confused with reading the gravity. I have seen people post readings of 1.000 for example, yet when I read mine, my OG was 34? Am I missing something?

Love the site.... unbelievable

[matr]

From what I have read / seen there is no airlock. I think it just allows positive pressure to vent through the lid seal?

With the hydro maybe they have just taken the 1.0 off the front of the readings to avoid confusion. What was your recipe? We can give you a good approximation to see if it adds up to 1.034

& welcome back to the club..

Cheers, Mat

[Scoot49]

Cheers mate,

Bit more research (google, lol) showed me that the kit is fine, not missing anything.

The hydro reads at the bottom (holding the bottom reading left to right) <--1.110, for ten increments, <--1.100 for ten increments, then 90,80,70 etc up to 10, then 1.000, and 0.990

I'm sure its all good, im just reading it wrong.

Currently brewing a Coopers Canadian Blonde, with 1kg LDM and 500g of Japanese LME (as suggested by home brew shop). I read my OG as 34..... but that must be 1.034. Is that correct.

Just took another reading and it was 12.

First brew was the Lager that comes in teh kit, with the BE1 etc. OG was like 36 I think, FG was 11. Has been in the bottle a bit over a week now, was in the barrel for a week on the dot.

[matr]

Currently brewing a Coopers Canadian Blonde, with 1kg LDM and 500g of Japanese LME (as suggested by home brew shop). I read my OG as 34..... but that must be 1.034. Is that correct.

I get about 1.043 for those ingredients (for 23L)... sooo dunno maybe it's reading out like one in this thread? http://www.coopers.com.au/the-brewers-g ... ts&m=17943

I'd be checking it against a proven glass one. Maybe someone on here is close by so you can check??

Cheers, Mat.

[Bum]

I'd be checking it against a proven glass one. Maybe someone on here is close by so you can check??

Or check it against 20C water (assuming that is the temp these are calibrated to) to see if it reads as 1.000. If it doesn't your hydrometer is out. Not a huge deal - you just need to adjust all measurements by the discrepancy. Hydrometers aren't all the dear, at the end of the day, so if it does end up being out it could easily be worth buying a new one for peace of mind.

Another issue is to make sure you give the hydro a spin in the sample first to shake off any bubbles stuck to it - these can give a higher than expected reading.

One thing to consider, matr, might be that this Japanese LME might actually be a blend rather than straight barley extract merely sourced from Japan. Name and style of beer it has gone in suggests it might include an untold portion of rice malt. This may also account for some of the apparent OG deficit? (Huge guess there, no idea what sort of gravity to expect from that stuff).

[matr]

One thing to consider, matr, might be that this Japanese LME might actually be a blend rather than straight barley extract merely sourced from Japan. Name and style of beer it has gone in suggests it might include an untold portion of rice malt. This may also account for some of the apparent OG deficit? (Huge guess there, no idea what sort of gravity to expect from that stuff).

Beersmith shows 1.043 using either 500g LME or 500g Rice Extract Syrup so no change in SG.

The first recipe seems correct. (I get 1.034)

Or check it against 20C water (assuming that is the temp these are calibrated to) to see if it reads as 1.000. If it doesn't your hydrometer is out. Not a huge deal - you just need to adjust all measurements by the discrepancy. Hydrometers aren't all the dear, at the end of the day, so if it does end up being out it could easily be worth buying a new one for peace of mind.

Looks like these ones are calibrated a bit different.. Quote from Coopers rep on their forum: "The hydrometers, supplied with the DIY Beer Kit, are calibrated using distilled water at 20degC - they should read 0.998 +/- 0.001."

Go figure!! it wouldn't be easier to make it read 1.000 at 20C now would it.. Some just have to be different..(KKKKKrausen KKKKKollar and all)

[Bum]

Beersmith shows 1.043 using either 500g LME or 500g Rice Extract Syrup so no change in SG.

Ah, my apologies.

As for the calibration variation - that does seem odd. My apologies again but checking calibration is still probably the first port of call if readings are in doubt.

Man, what's with Coopers trying to reinvent brewing? First no airlock, then weirdo hydrometers that change the gravity of water. What next? Beer kits manufactured without hops, I'll wager!

[matr]

Don't you mean kits manufactured with REAL hops?

Maybe you could try cube isohopping? All the big boys are doing it!!

[Bum]

In all fairness, Coopers do make quite a few kits that do include real hops and even the ones that don't are better than most of their competition.

^applies as much to my joke as matr's

And in even more fairness, I've also had some very nice craft brews that utilise some isohops in order to eek out those few extra IBU you just can't get with hops alone. There really shouldn't be any ingredient that is taboo so long as it is used well. Except people. I don't want no Soilent Beer.

[Scoot49]

unreal, cheers for all the feedback guys.

After reading that post over at the Coopers site, I think I may just buy a new hydrometer from the local store....

In saying that, I can't remember the exact readings of the original lager, but I worked out that it should be about 4.5% alc. Would this be right.

Also... very noob question here, but what is IBU?

[Bum]

IBU stands for International Bitterness Units. Basically it's just a way to represent how bitter a beer is.

[Scoot49]

hmm, very nice.
Thanks for that mate.

I read somewhere that it's perfectly fine to drink your beer before the 'standard' 2 weeks in a bottle. Is this correct? I just put on in the fridge (Coopers Lager, standard with the fermenter), which is 2 weeks in the bottle on Sunday.

Which brings me to my next question. Carbonation drops, or is there another 'preferred' method when bottling?

[Bum]

If your beer is carbed it should be fine to drink. Hell, it won't hurt you at all if you drank it straight from the fermenter. Having said that, on future brews you'll see that leaving your brews to condition a little bit longer will produce obvious improvements but for your first one there's absolutely no good reason not to hook in when you're ready - there' no hope in hell of getting anyone to wait to try the first batch, IMO.

There's lots of accepted methods for priming your bottles and none of them are terrible. Many find that the carb drops provide a level of carb higher than they like and just as many find they produce an inconsistent carb level. Another way to go is using the priming sugar measures you can get from your LHBS and just use dextrose or caster sugar (or pretty much any fermentable really) - basically just as easy as the drops. A more advanced and customisable method is called 'bulk priming' but if I were you I'd put that method to the side for a little bit for now. It isn't terribly difficult but it does add extra things to think about when you should be focusing on making the beer right first. Do a search and you'll find lots of info about the method.

[billybushcook]

For ease & simplicity I still prime with sugar measure/dipper & plain old white sugar,
I just line my 30 bottles up & put the sugar in each then go about filling & capping each one.
I did use dextrose a couple of times but found it dificult to measure & get it into the bottles because it does not "pour" like a grainy type sugar, a few others use castor sugar, essentially the same thing as plain white but just a bit finer granuals & still pours OK.
I have used the Carb drops too but fell back to my old habbits mainly because there is always sugar in the house.

Cheers, Mick.

[Scoot49]

uh huh, so when it comes to the actual beer, it doesn't make much difference in the overall taste?

It says to use two drops per long neck.

What happens if I use more?

More gas? More Alc%?

[billybushcook]

More gas......big bang!!!!!!

Mick.

[Scoot49]

ooooh, not good, lol

so what's a good way to increase the alc% and keeping some decent taste?

[Bum]

Malt extract in your brew instead of or in addition to your current fermentables.

Extra hops and steeped grains will also increase flavour.

Looks like it is time to do some reading, Scoot. Start here: http://homebrewandbeer.com/forum/viewto ... f=2&t=1966 but there is plenty of info around the place. I disagree to some extent with some of the first post but if you read the whole thread you'll get some idea of you you can make your beers bigger and better.

[Scoot49]

uh huh....

I did browse over that, lol.

Will have a better read tonight when I get home.

Thanks again to all who have inputted here, makes life much easier