homebrewandbeer.com

A good recipe that I have used:

1 Can Coopers Dark Ale;
Safale S-04 Yeast (11g Satchet)
50G Dark Brown Sugar
150G Corn Syrup
500g LDME
500g DDME
Tea Bag Tettnanger Hops
Tea Bag Goldings Hops.

Re-hydratred Safale Yeast for 30 Mins.

Boiled (Hgh Simmer really) DDME, LDME, DBS, Corn Syrup, Kit Yeast and Tettnanger Hops for 30 Mins. Turned off heat added Goldings Hops and left sit for 10 Mins. Added Coopers Dark Ale Can, gave a damn good stir, poured into Fermenter, added cold water to 23 Litres.

Added Yeast and left for two weeks to ferment

Starting Gravity - 1044
Left in Secondary for 2 weeks
Final Gravity - 1014

Bulk primed with 30g Corn Syrup and 150g LDME and bottled on 10 September 2006.

Been tasting this drop over the Xmas break and it is damn good, nice head, good flavour.

Brownie.

To source those ingredients here the brew would end up costing more than if you bought it from the bottle'o

Really?

Surely there's a HBS in Darwin that sells these basic ingredients?
Coopers Dark Ale - $9.50
S-04 - $4.50
Dark brown sugar - $1
150g Corn syrup - $2
500g LDME - $5.50
500g DDME - $5.50
15g Tettnager - $2
15g Goldings - $2

Approx $32 = $0.53 per stubbie.

I'd be surprised if you couldn't pick up these from a supermarket or HBS in Darwin (or at least viable substitutes for the hops)!

and could just as easily swap the yeast over for a starter from CPAs.

2 1/2 cartons of dark ale would be a minimum of $80. Not sure how any homebrewer could rack up that much on a brew even using a wyeast only once......

Could do it easy here in Townsville, is Darwin really that hard up for brew gear?

Internet orders will be your friend.

Ash wrote: Internet orders will be your friend.

Good point, I know Country Brewer have free postage/freight if orders are over $100.

Order the ingredients for three or four brews in one go.

The free postage for over $100 is only in NSW isn't it?

Whats a viable hops substitute?

Coles have LDME for $5.50
I just put down a coopers dark ale with coops brew2 and 500mg ldme

Would dry hopping in the secondary be of benefit?

Substitute as in the hop variety, where some HB stores have limited hop range.

hop pellets can be sent in an envelope for 50c so I wouldn't think they'd contribute to the cost that much even if you couldn't get them locally...

Dry hopping in the secondary would give you hop aroma only, which you may or may not want depending on your tastes and the style of beer.

http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/hops.html is a good place to start when looking for a substitute.

Noodles wrote:The free postage for over $100 is only in NSW isn't it?

Yes, you're right. My bad.

I just put down a coopers dark ale with coops brew2 and 500mg ldme

Pitched kit yeast about 36 hours ago noairlock activity yet but plenty of krausen ...is ale a lot slower than lager yeasts?

oh the brew is 24C

It's brewing. You have a gas leak. Don't worry about it.

Longrasser wrote:

...is ale a lot slower than lager yeasts?

Lager yeasts are usually slower when fermented at the appropriate temps 10-12*C

Cheers

Thanks fellas but I dunno....I just put down a Coops ale next to it and the thing started bubblin like crazy straight away??Same mixture
Im DAMN sure ive not got an airleak will i hit the brew again its was put down on the 16th?
Temp 24C

How are you so sure you don't have an airleak? Have you sprayed the outside of the fermenter with soapy water or something?

The Coopers yeasts are voracious. At that temp, it'll probably be done in 2-3 days.

I pour a little water on the lid of the fermenter to make sure the grommet is sealed proprerly, that could be the source of a leak.

Is it possible the krausen is from initial aeration and perhaps the yeast is dead? Maybe repitch?

I doubt it. I reckon the krausen is from your beer fermenting normally. Did you check around the lid? If you have a carboy, I bet the leak has something to do with the lid o-ring. I once cross-threaded mine!

You could try tightening the lid a little and see if that helps. But seriously, I think this is a storm in a teacup. Have you taken any hydrometer readings? That'd remove all doubt whether it's fermenting or not.

I never took any OG readings I unscrewed the lid (carboy) and rescrewed it will hava look at the SG later today

Right.... after 4 days the SG is 1020 and the brew smells ok but looks very cloudy no bubbles and tastes like yak piss.