Looking for a Starter Kit & Advice

[NickSawyer]

Hi Everyone,
Firstly I would like to thank everyone on this site as you have all been a great help to me already.

I have been thinking about brewing my own beer for awhile now although only recently have i started looking seriously into doing it. I think it should be alot of fun trying to get that perfect brew and have the satisfaction of knowing that i have made it myself.

I have had a look down at my local homebrew shop aswell as K-mart where i found a Coopers Microbrew kit. Im not sure what i would be better off buying as i have read mixed responses with the coopers kit however i like the idea of it coming with all the essential equiptment to make the first brew.

I have heard many opinions about the fermenter, some saying it is worth buying the kit for the fermenter solely, other saying it is rubbish. I realise if i were to ask you guys which is better, the pail type or the carboys, i would get once again a varied and confusing response and for this reason i ask, is there anything wrong with buying the coopers fermenter?

Also, would i be best off brewing the simple brew using the ingredients i recieve in the kit or would additional ingredients improve the brew while staying simple? I dont want a difficult brew as my first however i wish for a decent, tasty brew.

Should i substitute brewing sugar? and if so, what would you suggest i substitute it for?

Also, any other tips, tricks or additional ingredients which you could possibly give me to help make my first brew better please do so although i do not wish to brew a complicated beer as my first.

Thanks in advance,
Nick

[Tipsy]

I have heard many opinions about the fermenter, some saying it is worth buying the kit for the fermenter solely, other saying it is rubbish. I realise if i were to ask you guys which is better, the pail type or the carboys, i would get once again a varied and confusing response and for this reason i ask, is there anything wrong with buying the coopers fermenter?

No.

I just find the pails a bit easier to clean, carry and seal.

The Coopers starter kits are very good value.

[Kevnlis]

There are alot of excellent "first brew" threads on here. Just have a look and decide for yourself what to do. I suggest you add malt extract and some hops and not use any sugar or dextrose.

[Tim...]

Hmm, maybe try something like this:

1 Pale Ale Kit (Whichever brand you like)
1kg of LDME (Light Dry Malt Extract) or 1.5kg for slightly higher ABV
And something like 15g Cascade hops boiled in water for 5 mins.

Can't go too far wrong with that.

Or if you really want. Try out the instructions on the kit (ie Using Brew Enhance or Dextrose). See how that turns out, and do the same brew, but replacing the sugar with Light Dry Malt Extract. Taste that, then do the same but with some hops. That would be a great way to see the differences in what flavours are given by what ingredients. I kinda wish I did something like that when I started Thats probably best if you think you'll get through a batch of beer fast, so you don't have to worry about the first one not being anything great.

Also remember that Malt Extract only ferments about 80%, so 1kg of dextrose is the equivilant of 1.25kg Malt Extract.

[NickSawyer]

thanks guys,
i think i will take your advice Tim as i am unsure how i will go for my first shot. I will keep yous updated, thanks.

[rwh]

I reckon you should just go for the kit and kilo for your first brew, don't worry about any of the other stuff. I would sub out the brewing sugar though, and replace it with a Brew Enhancer 2.

I reckon a great brew to get started with would be the Coopers Bitter or Coopers Pale Ale with a Brew Enhancer 2. Just dissolve your kit can and your kilo of BE2 2L of boiling water in your cleaned and sanitised fermenter, then top up to 23L with cold water.

That's as simple as you can get.

Or, you can get started with a slightly more advanced brew, you really can't go too far wrong:

Basic brewing instructions
Simple things that make HB better

Oh, and "Don't worry, have a homebrew".

[Chris]

As mentioned above, the microbrewery is a good place to start- I'd dare say that at least half, if not more people on here started that way.

The old Cooper's lager is a much maligned brew, but it's an ok place to start. Seeing you have it- it comes with the brewery, you may as well make it. Just get rid of the incipid 'brewing sugar' that comes with it. Use ANY 'brew enhancer' or 1kg of malt- anything but the brewing sugar.

Another thing that makes brewing a little easier, is to ignore the airlock and the lid. Just use some gladwrap over the top of the fermenter, and a rubber band to hold it in place.

Final point, DO NOT BELIEVE PAUL MERCURIO in the Coopers video! The Cooper's range- like the vast majority of ale yeast beers, are best fermented at 18*C. Try and stay below 20*C if you can.

[NickSawyer]

Thanks again for the help everyone,
looks like i will be heading down to kmart this weekend to pickup the microbrew kit and some brew enhancer.

Chris, do you think it will make alot of difference if it is fermented at around 24*c opposed to 18*? The reason i ask is because i may have a hard time keeping it so cool.

I have read quite a few methods of keeping the brew cool although most seem to be quite expensive (brew fridge, airconditioning etc). The only real method i can see working for me until i get a little better at brewing and are willing to fork out some extra money is, the wet t-shirt around the fermenter with a fan blowing on it. Do you think this will be sufficient?

If anyone has any other ideas for keeping the fermenter cool while brewing please just say as i will most probably be going for the t-shirt idea at this stage.

Thanks again,
Nick

[scblack]

The most common and fairly effective way to keep your brew cool is to use the laundry tub (or a big esky). Put the fermenter in there, top up the tub with cold water, and also put in a couple of ice bricks. Then a wet towel, draped over and into the water to keep it wet. A fan blowing on it will also help keep cool. I would replace two ice bricks each morning and night.

I have managed to keep brews down to 20celsius doing this.

24celsius would brew OK, I would not like to brew much above that temperature though. I understand that Coopers yeasts are quite good at higher temperatures, so if temp does go above 25, it is not the end of the world.

[rwh]

Temperature stability is more important than absolute temperature. So if your attempts to keep it cool just result in it fluctuating between 24 and 18, you'll get a worse brew than if you ferment it at a steady 24. Having said that, the optimal results for a given yeast are often towards the bottom of their temperature range (it's complicated).

[earle]

Nick

I agree that one of the best things you can do is chuck the sugar and replace it with brew enhancer or malt. I wouldn't worry too much about temperature to start with. I'm a bit further north than you and my fermenters are in my garage (tin roof, block construction with some bricks that allow ventilation). I make ales in the warmer weather and lagers if it ever cools down. In winter I put a blanket around the fermenter if its an ale. I try not to brew too much on the hottest months but have done so without any cooling devices. Been brewing up here for about 5 years and prior to that I was out west where it gets really hot.

Of course temperature control would create a better product but I'm quite happy with them as they are. I may use the wet towel or ice bricks in the styrofoam box this summer but as rwh says I'll have to pay more attention to avoid temperature fluctuations.

I reckon keep it fairly simple for the first few brews to get your sanitizing (very important) and other procedures down pat. Then improve bit by bit.

Most importantly relax and enjoy yourself. Oh yeah, a couple of cold brews will assist you during bottling, you may have to make do with something commercial while bottling your first brew.

Earle

[Chris]

If you can't keep the temp down, then you can't keep it down. The wet towel and fan thing apparently works quite well.

Just don't believe Paul with the 24-27*C thing. He/they are trying to make the brewing process faster, not improve the beer flavour. I think Coopers assumes that if you brew several batches, you'll probably keep brewing, and hence they want to make it quick/cheap/easy at first. After that, they assume you'll seek out other info- like homebrewandbeer.com

[Noodles]

My suggestion would be to make your first brew following the instructions and work your way up from there. You'll get a very drinkable beer first up with the supplied ingredients but you will also appreciate the things you do down the track to improve your beer. If you go straight into using hops or/and grains for your first brew, you won't know what improvement they are making to a basic kit & kilo. Use the brewing sugar, then use a brew enhancer for your second brew, then move on to using malt. It's all part of the learning process. I love the fact that when I run into a home brewer who has only ever used the kit and a kilo of brewing sugar, I can tell him I've tried that method but now I use malt, hops & grains and they improve this that or the other.

[Fermenting Fred]

Ditto on what Noodles said,(that is what I have done & you appreciate the improvements you can make with experience) but to answer the other part of your question, the coopers fermenter is a fine tub & you'll want another one before too long anyway. At that time you can buy some other type or kegs or fridge mates or second fridges more bottles or bottle washers...oops this is looking like my xmas wish list Enjoy brewin' & spend hours on this site it has mountains of searchable info.