homebrewandbeer.com

Thats a donut isn't it?



Dogger

Hi there,
I'm about to attempt my second batch of HB, (i'm using a cooper's kit). The first thing I made was the Lager that came with the kit, but this time I'm trying the Canadian Blonde. The thing I noticed with the Lager last time that it was a bit weak in terms of alcohol. It tasted like beer should but it didn't make you feel like beer should!
So I was planning on adding a bit more sugar this time to give it a bit more kick. I'm also using the Brew Enhancer 1 as recommended by coopers for this mix... so the question is, should I add more Brew Enhancer, or just more dextrose? Or is this not a good idea at all?
I'm not sure how the different ratios of ingredients will affect eachother... any help?

Canalien,

You could do one of three things to boost alcohol content.

1. Add more brew enhancer (or malt extract). Perhaps go with 500g more to start. Bear in mind that this will also add sweetness and body to your beer.

2. Add some dextrose/glucose. Try 500g to start. This will make no noticeable difference to the body or sweetness, but add alcohol.

3. Reduce the amount of water you add to the fermenter. Instead of topping it up to 23 litres, perhaps try making 21 litres, or perhaps even 19 litres. You'll get less beer, but the beer you do get will be more concentrated and have more body and more alcohol.

Cheers,

Oliver

Thanks for that info. I tried adding an extra 500g dextrose to the wort (ended up with an SG reading of about 1064). Will this affect the head retention at all?

Canalien,

You'll find that it may have an effect, but only because higher-alcohol beers tend to have trouble retaining a head.

It shouldn't be the end of the world though

Oliver

My 8th brew to date, has anybody tried using the Coopers Brew enhancer 2? I threw in 12g of hersbrucker hops after soaking for 10mins in boiling water.
Can't wait to try this one!
Recipe 1.7kgs Coopers Canadian Blonde, 1kg Coopers Beer enhancer 2 plus 12g hops.

I tried the Canadian Blonde last year with the Coopers Brew Enchancer 2 also, but it was extremely gassy, it was a 7 or 8 day brew (mid 20 deg), so I assumed I bottled it too early.

This year I tried to replicate a Corona, and used the Morgans Canadian Light (1kg dry body blend, 500g dextrose, supa alpha hops). Unbelieveably it was also gassy (14 day brew) - these are the only two brews I've ever had that have done this. By way of comparison, my previous brew to that was a Coopers Lager (same temperature), and it took only 8 days.

Is it just a coincidence or has anyone else had the same problems? Given that it's two different makers it's probably just bad luck.

Cheers

Scorpio

Aussie Claret,

Did one near enough to the recipie a while ago, should be good.

Cheers,

Greg.

Scorpio wrote:I tried the Canadian Blonde last year with the Coopers Brew Enchancer 2 also, but it was extremely gassy, it was a 7 or 8 day brew (mid 20 deg), so I assumed I bottled it too early.

This year I tried to replicate a Corona, and used the Morgans Canadian Light (1kg dry body blend, 500g dextrose, supa alpha hops). Unbelieveably it was also gassy (14 day brew) - these are the only two brews I've ever had that have done this. By way of comparison, my previous brew to that was a Coopers Lager (same temperature), and it took only 8 days.

Is it just a coincidence or has anyone else had the same problems? Given that it's two different makers it's probably just bad luck.

Cheers

Scorpio

I should add that the 8 day Coopers Lager (in the middle of winter) came out fine.

Cheers

Scorpio

Cheers Greg.
AC

Scorpio wrote:I tried the Canadian Blonde last year with the Coopers Brew Enchancer 2 also, but it was extremely gassy, it was a 7 or 8 day brew (mid 20 deg), so I assumed I bottled it too early.

This year I tried to replicate a Corona, and used the Morgans Canadian Light (1kg dry body blend, 500g dextrose, supa alpha hops). Unbelieveably it was also gassy (14 day brew)...

Scorpio,

Sounds like you may have overprimed. Seven or eight days at mid 20s is plenty of time for a beer to ferment out fully.

Cheers,

Oliver