First brew (Coopers Microbrew Kit)

[Ash]

Hey peoples,

Got an approval from the minister for war & finance tonight, next pay (Today week) I'll be getting my starter kit!

From then, I'll have 6 weeks till origin 3 - surely what comes with a coopers kit will be better than VB in that time? 2 weeks in the fermenter & 4 weeks in the bottle. Almost tempted to try one at origin 2 (3 weeks).

As I like a fuller flavored beer, I'm thinking of adding less of the brewing sugar the kit comes with (lower alc) & substituting in some LDME, like say 500g brewing sugar & 300g LDME.

Sound like a plan or should I just make it as per the coopers destructions off the bat?

Hell the last beer I had was Carlton MID out of a tinny (freebie from Dad) so it can't end up worse than that.

So yeah. I'm almost as happy as a pig in shit. Sound like a plan?

Cheers
Ash

ps: Go Maroons

[OldEvan]

I made my first brew staight out of the box, however Im sure a little substitution wouldnt be a problem

Not sure if you would still want to keep the total fermentables the same (ie 1kg regardless of dextrose/glucose/whatever), maybe someone with more experience could fill us in?

[NickMoore]

hi ash, forget the brewing sugar - it's mostly cane sugar and you won't be happy with the results.

grab one of those brew enhancer packs from the supermarket or k-mart. they're pretty cheap.

you can save the brewing sugar for the missus's baking, or a cider or something.

also, if you search this forum and others you find tips on how to keep your brew cool during the day, a problem in townsville I reckon even in winter. (from memory, there are also some methods outlined in the instruction booklet that comes with the cans.)

best of luck.

(btw, have you been to that brewpub in townsville - the one that makes its own beers? their stout won an international award up.)

[Ash]

Yeah I've been there (The Brewery is it's name, really original thinking there ) though I'm a stout virgin (never even tried guinness, even though I love Kilkenny)
I only tried their red ale & their lager at the time - both were nicer than the regular XXXX/VB/MID though this was a few years back so the memory is hazy.

I might give brew enhancer 2 a go, simple tip in a bag solution.

I plan to keep the fermenter & carbonating/conditioning bottles in a dead fridge so I can maybe use it as a massive esky with some ice in the bottom? Or fix it & get a proper thermostat. At least it's insulated so the temp should be stable

[JubJub]

I bought the Coopers Micro Brew Kit a monthor so ago. I found that the "Lager" and brewing sugar supplied give a mild bodied beer. If I were to make it again I would add something. Don't know exactly what, but it would seem most of the people here can tell you

Mine certainly needed more than the advertised two weeks.

I'll watch and learn.

[Hillbilly]

If it's your first brew I would wait with the lagers, any small mistake and you'll notice it. If you purchasing the gear at coles/K-mart grab a Coopers Australian pale ale with a Brew Enhancer2 to start out with. Simply mix the kits together toss in the yeast in at 22C and let it ferment, sure the sky is the limit when it comes to exotic yeasts, extra additives, temp controlled fridges and all that jazz. You hear it all the time and I made the same mistake on the first beer, a nice lager, yeah right, too watery and no head. So if I was you I'd go for something with more flavour eazy to start with and slowly work your way from there, nothing more disapointing than cracking your first brew with your mates and looking at swamp water with no taste.
Cheers,
Hillbilly.

[Ash]

Well I actually wanted to follow the coopers "just like the cans with the widgets" recipie for a Kilkenny clone - suppose I could do that straight off? It's just a Draught kit, BE1 + 300g Golden Syrup - don't see how I could stuff that up?

I've read a few people complaining about the coopers pale ale kits, bitter on the other hand seems to get rave reviews!

So many choices, so little time! (for the footy matches)

Wish the wife let me start this a month ago

[Dogger Dan]

Its all in what you like Ash

I would stay away from lagers to, Life is just to short to wait for one of those buggers and really, I don't feel that a kit will give you the true taste that you are looking for in a lager, especially if you brew it warm.

Stick with an ale, I like the sounds of the one you just wrote about.

Let us know how you make out

Dogger

[Ash]

alright, dogger twisted my arm - I'm doing the kilkenny clone straight off the bat.

Actually, I found the $9 20l food grade pails at bunnings - so that would let me get a kit together with the ingredients I want cheaper than the Coopers kit with the lager I don't want with the trade off being smaller, stronger brews - I can live with that.

With a pail fermenter you'd leave what, 2 inches at the top for the yeast to go off or more?

Yes I know the kits are made for 23l, I figure it means I'll need to add less additives (BE1 & golden syrup) if I go with these smaller cheaper fermenters - but being smaller brews I can try more variations for a given number of bottles!

Good idea/bad idea?

[Hillbilly]

Never ever make more than 23L from a kit, you'll end up with a watery beer with no head. Making up less is a can do but would'nt go lower than 20L. What ever pale you buy calibrate it using a meassuring jug, fill it up to 19L mark it with texta, same with 21L & 23L then you'll know exactly how much your making. Some kits require a total of 22L and others 23L belive me it makes a hell of a differance keeping your top up water on the dot.
Cheers,
Hillbilly.

[Rubber.Piggy]

The height of the krausen (foam) will depend upon the beer. Mine tend to go 70-100mm high, so only 2 inches of space would be pusing it. That said, I know some people intentionally leave little space so that the krausen foams out of the fermenter and doesn't fall back into the wort.

See what the other guys say.

[da_damage_done]

I don't know about a 20L pail

It may be a little small - the coopers ones are 30L and i had some 22 - 23 L brews froth out of that.

In a 20L you'd be bound to have an overflow - while this shouldn't really be bad for the beer - it'll be a bit messy.

I bought a 25L container with a lid and with a bung for a tap i use for secondary fermentation - you could get on of these from bunnings - it'll give you a bit more room to play with - from memory it was $13

Also instead of an air lock you could use gladwrap refer
http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/forum/vi ... highlight=

So effectivley all you'd need to do a basic brew would be
1) The Beer Concentrate
2) The Ingredients
3) The $13 container
4) Some unscented household bleach for sanitsation
5) A tap from bunnings $1.90
6) Some white sugar for carbonation
7) 30 Longies / 60 Stubbies
8 ) Bottle tops ($1.99 for 100 at Wollies)
9) A capper of some description (probably the most expensive item)
10) Some way of measuring 8g per litre of sugar for carbonation
11) Some gladwrap
12) A funnel to put sugar into bottles
13) I'd probably try and get a little bottler - it'll make bottling easier - or you could improvise
14) A big spoon to stir with

To tell you the truth I'd be more inclinded to go to a homebrew suppliers and buy a starter kit from them - rather than the coopers one

There are some here
https://www.bmbrews.com.au/index.php/products/kits.html

Hope this makes sense - I've probably left something off the list - I didn't realise that there are so many things you need to make beer - and that's just a basic brew - without racking etc

[Dogger Dan]

You will be better off with something bigger than 20 litres. Stick withe the Coopers fermentor, and you wont be dissappointed later.

Sorry Ash, I must have mis read the post I didn't realise you were stuck with a Coopers Lager if you got the kit, I was thinking you could take anything you wanted.

There are some recipies that use a lager and ferment it as an ale. They are nice too. For a nice beer with no style, treat the lager as you would the ale kit and add the other ingredients you suggested. Spend a couple of dollars on a SAF Ale yeast like the 04 and drive on. You won't be dissappointed.

Dogger

[NickMoore]

ash, an idea if you want to persist with that pail. fill to 15-litre mark and ferment. once primary fermentation is over and the krausen has fallen, add circa four litres of boiled, cooled water (that is, sterilised) and very gently stir with a sterilised spoon. put lid back on and leave a few more days.

if you've got two of those pails and want to rack you could add the extra water then.

remember, those kits are designed for 23 litres, so at 19 or so it will be more bitter than the maker intended.

[Ash]

yeah, I was just trying to cheap out - I might get one of the 20l ones for racking & bottle the non-racked 3l or so immediately (I assume about 1l of crud is left on the bottom, yeast etc?)

Dogger - Maybe the guys at the HBS will let me swap out the lager kit that comes with them? BigW wont for sure, though if I opened the box quickly & swapped it....

I suppose good karma is pay the $79 at the HBS & get what I want and maybe some extra free advice or cheap out at $10 less at BigW & maybe not be happy with it? I suppose if I get stuck with dramas the HBS will be more helpful if I got the gear from them than if I didn't, yeah?

DDD - was the 25l jobbie a pail, a carboy or a water jerry can? I could only find plastic jerry cans (in the camping section). Our Bunnings as big as it is has no where near the stuff the ones down south have.

[da_damage_done]

it was a carboy

[Ash]

Um, how safe is a second hand fermenter?

theres a bloke getting out of brewing on ebay with a cheap listing who is in Townsville & wants local pickup only (fine by me)

[Paleman]

You will be better off with something bigger than 20 litres. Stick withe the Coopers fermentor, and you wont be dissappointed later.

Sorry Ash, I must have mis read the post I didn't realise you were stuck with a Coopers Lager if you got the kit, I was thinking you could take anything you wanted.

There are some recipies that use a lager and ferment it as an ale. They are nice too. For a nice beer with no style, treat the lager as you would the ale kit and add the other ingredients you suggested. Spend a couple of dollars on a SAF Ale yeast like the 04 and drive on. You won't be dissappointed.

Dogger

Dogger, the Coopers Lager actually comes with an Ale yeast.

[Dogger Dan]

Paleman,

I know it used to but the last one I had came with the Silver Pack rather than the Gold Pack and it looked a lot like SAF Lager. Can't say for sure cause I blended it into a pile of Strawberries so all I can smell is the berries rather than the traditional H2S (I fired it up a few weeks ago and its in the Secondary now)

Ash,

If you spend the money up front on the starter kit, you won't be dissapointed. You get all the fixings as well as the bottles (is that still true?) Brewing with the right stuff makes it a lot easier than dinking around trying to jury rig something. And if it is pooched, Coopers will happily replace it

Dogger

[Ash]

Well I scored a whole kit plus extra long necks on ebay for $10

even if I have to buy a few extras it's gotta be a good thing for that money, even if the fermenter is stuffed it's cheap for the number of bottles I'll be getting.

should be picking it up Tues or Wed hopefully (local sale, hence I was the only bidder!)