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Hey all, bought my first ever kit yesterday, just the coopers micro brew kit. going to do a couple see how they go. than hopefully by reading all ur posts i can learn and experiment and come up with some good brews of my own. but for now, the kit has got me started, its fermenting well, bubbling away nicely, smells like beer atleast. any tips, tricks, advice would be greatly appreciated.

skoonah wrote:Hey all, bought my first ever kit yesterday, just the coopers micro brew kit. going to do a couple see how they go. than hopefully by reading all ur posts i can learn and experiment and come up with some good brews of my own. but for now, the kit has got me started, its fermenting well, bubbling away nicely, smells like beer atleast. any tips, tricks, advice would be greatly appreciated.

Keep it cool whilst it ferments.
Wash yer bottles properly when it comes time to bottle. Cleanliness is next to godliness.
Leave it a minimum of four weeks before you start drinking it (a sample at two weeks in the name of science is not a sin).
Sucrose is not your friend.
Be kind to dumb animals.
Don't cross when it says "Don't Walk".




Sounds like you're well on your way. Good luck!

Ok, dumb newb question here - why isnt sucrose my friend. I was told/read that sucrose is perfect for priming bottles? Why o why have i been doing this all these years? I dont bulk prime or rack. I just leave it in primary for a week after fermentation is finished then bottle. 2 weeks later i have carbonated beer thats very drinkable altho i tend to try and leave it for at least 4 weeks before announcing to the mates its ready. Never had any probs, not one exploding bottle in 10 years (not counting the one i left in the freezer for too long) and all beer carbonated.

CHeers
DrSmurto

Sucrose is 'mostly' not your friend. Coopers will tell you otherwise.

It is adequate for bottling, as it is a small enough quantity not to adversely affect the flavour of your beer. Still, you do get reduced head retention due to the beachball-sized bubbles.

As a rule, don't use it as the main fermentable in your beer. I sometimes use honey, brown sugar, candi sugar, golden syrup, maple syrup etc, but rarely do I use it as more than 20% of the fermentables- by weight.

Good informative answer Chris, thanks for that. Will need to find another use for the kg of sucrose i just bought........

I read that dextrose is the go for bulk priming but what priming agent gives the best head retention? Never bulk primed but have come into possession of an extra fermenter or 2 so may have to give that a go.

And a bit of good advice... do not take the Coopers instructions as gospel. They are not all that good as far as instructions go. And don't become obsessed (as so many brewers before you) with: dextrose, so called 'brew enhancers,' and other 'brewing sugars.'

Try 1kg of malt in your next brew, instead of whatever else Coopers suggests.

And read the sticky at the top of the forum: Simple things that make HB better.

I never use sugar or plain dextrose for fermenting, have always use the brew enhancers (or cans of liquid malt) and always have a chat to the bearded bloke in my local HB shop - tell him what you want to brew and 9/10 he comes up with a simpler alternative to my complex recipes....

Good old liquid malt. I hate the term 'brew enhancer' as it rarely does IMO.

drsmurto, being in Adelaide, have you tried Grumpy's (either the kits or the microbrewery)?

Well worth it.

Drive past it all the time - partners olds live in Gumeracha and mates live in Nairne. Always thought that was a pub

I'm in Campbelltown at the mo so my local HB is the Holden Hill beardy man who is full of great info altho i reckon he is a tad on the pricey side.

Do you know if any HB in adelaide stocks champagne yeast? Am planning on a GB for xmas and a chamgane like cider for summer?

Cheeers
DrSmurto

p.s. when making the ales i do love to be able to crack a CSA and use the yeast from that but for lagers i tend to use the yeast supplied. Thoughts? I have tried a Saflager but yet to taste it.

DrSmurto,
I was attempting to imply that using sucrose as one of the major components of your brew isn't a crash hot idea.
In small doses its flavour profile isn't an issue (i.e. priming for bottling) and in some cases its actually a really good idea to use sucrose (in some Belgian styles). However when you're starting out, I think its probably a good idea to stay away from it despite what Mr Mercurio and his able-bodied assistant say, so as to avoid that cidery taste that we've all grown to know and dislike. If skoonah's watching that video, he might be getting a different message.
If you've been brewing for ten years, you'll probably have a reasonable idea about what works for you.
Perhaps I'll leave the funny stuff to someone else next time.

I beleive what Chris is saying. Brew Enhancers (Coopers Brew Enhancers 1 & 2), these don't enhance your beer at all. Make it just plain and tasteless. But thats just me.

Malt it up son.......Your local HB shop should put you on the right path,,,,,

Skoonah try the Morgans range of tins. Especially the Blue Mountain Lager......

I'm trying Ned

drsmurto wrote:Drive past it all the time - partners olds live in Gumeracha and mates live in Nairne. Always thought that was a pub

Pub, Restaurant and quality Homebrew Store.

Do you know if any HB in adelaide stocks champagne yeast? Am planning on a GB for xmas and a chamgane like cider for summer?

All of the Brewcraft stores (Clearview, Melrose Park, Salisbury Plains, Torrensville, Reynella) should stock Red Star Premier Cuvee Yeast, I think this replace the Lalvin EC-1118 in their inventory.

p.s. when making the ales i do love to be able to crack a CSA and use the yeast from that but for lagers i tend to use the yeast supplied. Thoughts? I have tried a Saflager but yet to taste it.

Most 'Lager' kit cans, including the Coopers Original Lager, come with an Ale yeast. You should notice a fair bit of difference between a stock Coopers yeast and a Saflager. Coopers Heritage Lager comes with a genuine Lager yeast though.

You should probably replace the kit yeast in all Black Rock, Brewiser, Goldrush and Wander kits anyway, its not a particularly good strain.

Yet another dopey question that kinda continues on in this post. Am yet to get my hands on another fermenter to rack or bulk prime. Since i need to measure out sugar for each longneck, can i switch to dextrose instead of sucrose (using the same measure) and will that make a significant difference to the head retention. I seem to be getting well carbonated beers with no head unless i use my pewter mug after 10 mins in the freezer!

If you are using dextrose you need a bit more, something like 25% more. About 180g dextrose to 23L brew gives you a medium level of carbonation.

Coopers prime with sucrose though so I don't see it as hugely important as to what you prime with. Differing opinions on this forum though.

If you are worried about head retention think about adding maltodextrin, and more malt instead of dextrose in your brews (for primary fermentation.)

When i get around to getting anew fermenter i will be bulk priming with malt for sure but for now i have only the stubby/longneck measure for priming. Are you saying that with this i can really only use sucrose or normal white sugar?

Sure, plenty of people I know do, including for bulk priming.