Homebrew Beer Howto

KAGY

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Do I not need a big saucepan or muslin bags or anything? Would that be the lot (along with the two buckets I also have that aren’t in shot).

No, you only need the saucepans and muslin if you're dealing with grains. You've let Coopers do that bit and are just using the concentrate.

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Actually the stout can says I need something called Coopers Beer Enhancer 3 on the side of the can so I’ll have to get that anyway.

The beer enhancer is just a type of sugar that won't fully ferment, that's what the malt extract is for.
You're good to go!

KAGY

KAGY wrote: »

Read the first post!
but as short as possible.

• Clean and sterilise the bucket and spoon
• if you want put the two cans in hot water to soften the contents and make it easier to pour
• Pour both into the bucket
• Add about 3L of water just off the boil, TIP: I normally pour the water from the kettle into the nearly empty tins first to make sure I get it all out.
• Stir it up
• top up to 23L with cool water, stirring. Actually, if you can get some air bubbles into it that will help the yeast get off to a good start
• Take a small amount out with a clean glass to measure your "starting gravity" probably something like 1.40, you can taste it now, it'll just be sweet and malty.
• Hopefully the temperature will have dropped below 24deg, now you can "pitch" your yeast. If not - wait. As it's your first one, I'd just sprinkle the yeast on top and push it under the foam with the spoon.
• Add your lid, and bubbler. Pro tip: don't fill the bubbler until you've moved the bucket to it's resting place, if you lift the bucket the water will be sucked into the bucket.
• Wait at least two week, then take a sample measurement with your hygometer and again the next day or two. if it's not still dropping and under 1.10 you're probably good to go. I often just leave it for 3 or 4 weeks and just assume its done
• Wash 40+ bottles
• Remove bubbler before moving or you'll suck all the dead flies into your beer
• add one or two carb drops (check instruction) in each bottle
• Put bucket on counter and let it settle for a few hours
• fit cleaned wand, open tap, maybe discard the first 500ml if it seems very very cloudy
• fill bottles and cap
• put away somewhere room temp,
• wait another 4 weeks
• enjoy beers
• finish batch of 40 beers and then realise you should have started a new one 6 weeks ago!

Notice how often I said clean, if everything is clean there's not much that can go wrong

Legend. I’d seen a good few on the procedures and it mostly seemed to follow the same thing but it was the contents throwing me a bit, especially the bottle washer thing (I thought it might have been another version of the bubbler or something). And I wasn’t sure about the belt.

KAGY

KAGY wrote: »

No, you only need the saucepans and muslin if you're dealing with grains. You've let Coopers do that bit and are just using the concentrate.



The beer enhancer is just a type of sugar that won't fully ferment, that's what the malt extract is for.
You're good to go!

Ah right so it’s the malt extract OR the sugar then? Cheers for that.

I was having trouble getting my head around that too. Sugar, malt extract, dry malt extract, but they all seem to be various options of the same thing. There wouldn’t be any time two or more would be added to the same brew then?

KAGY

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Ah right so it’s the malt extract OR the sugar then? Cheers for that.

I was having trouble getting my head around that too. Sugar, malt extract, dry malt extract, but they all seem to be various options of the same thing. There wouldn’t be any time two or more would be added to the same brew then?

Probably just the one. You could add more to make it stronger.
Dextrose is cheaper but will can leave the beer feeling "thin" or watery as it ferments out completely. Dry malt comes in different varieties from a light wheat beer type to dark ones for stout, but it's a pain to dissolve. Liquid malt is the "best" but most expensive. Malt can leave it too sweet so I often use half and half, it depends on the style.

Some kits are twin can and you don't need any, Belgian beers are strong and could use both.

At a guess
With can of malt only it'll be about 4.1%
With can + 300g dextrose it'll be 4.6%

Sorry for this (I did a good scan back) but the little thing for letting the bubbles out that sticks in the top of the bucket - red top left on or left off?

A simple 3 minute video or illustration page from the sellers of these would be so much help. They really assume you’re a day one expert.

Bogwoppit

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Sorry for this (I did a good scan back) but the little thing for letting the bubbles out that sticks in the top of the bucket - red top left on or left off?

A simple 3 minute video or illustration page from the sellers of these would be so much help. They really assume you’re a day one expert.

Doesn’t really matter.

Bogwoppit

Bogwoppit wrote: »

Doesn’t really matter.

Thanks. It looked fairly loose fitting so I reckoned gas could escape anyway but we didn’t even have chemistry in school back in the day so just wanted to be sure.

Well it’s done. Burnt myself 3 or 4 times and I’m not quite sure about the temperature but we’ll know in 6 weeks. I was cleaning everything but I wasn’t sure if I had to rinse everything after so I did, but that could be reintroducing germs (I see some on YT and you don’t need to rinse).
The hydrometer (couldn’t see the numbers mentioned on the scale) was in the middle of the red bar when I tested it. Was a pale ale kit I made after at the
last minute as I got mixed up about the carbonation things (probably shouldn’t be in an Irish stout??) and then realised after that they’re weeks away anyway.

Thanks for all the help to everyone - if I don’t get a better workspace I’ll have to leave it to the experts or face divorce.

rubadub

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Well it’s done. Burnt myself 3 or 4 times and I’m not quite sure about the temperature but we’ll know in 6 weeks. I was cleaning everything but I wasn’t sure if I had to rinse everything after so I did, but that could be reintroducing germs (I see some on YT and you don’t need to rinse).
The hydrometer (couldn’t see the numbers mentioned on the scale) was in the middle of the red bar when I tested it. Was a pale ale kit I made after at the
last minute as I got mixed up about the carbonation things (probably shouldn’t be in an Irish stout??) and then realised after that they’re weeks away anyway.

Thanks for all the help to everyone - if I don’t get a better workspace I’ll have to leave it to the experts or face divorce.

divorce is most likely at the bottling stage, then the siphon tube escapes you, or filled but unsealed bottles fall over and domino into each other. :pac:

The heating belt is different than a heat mat since you can move it up and down the fermenter, the lower it is on the fermenter the hotter the brew. Many do not use them as the house is warm enough. A fermenting brew generates its own heat, if you put a old jumper or something on the container it will further increase temp as the heat generating cannot escape as easily.

The temps advised on kits are usually higher than what is best, a lower temp takes longer to brew and I think the kits just say to brew high so people reading it are not put off.

I see now that the bubbler thing is half empty (it had popped the red top off) and it’s bubbling every 10 seconds or so. Should I fill it back up so both sides have water?

BeerNut

Doesn't really matter. I'd leave it alone -- that's the most important thing to do in general at this stage.

BeerNut

BeerNut wrote: »

Doesn't really matter. I'd leave it alone -- that's the most important thing to do in general at this stage.

Is is ok to fill if it goes dry?

BeerNut

Yes.

rubadub

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

I see now that the bubbler thing is half empty (it had popped the red top off) and it’s bubbling every 10 seconds or so. Should I fill it back up so both sides have water?]

In the beginning you will get very vigourous fermentation happening creating load of gas which can blow the water out, it will settle down in a few days, you will notice the bubbling getting slower. I do not even bother with an airlock.

A lad in work gave me some hop leaves (250g, 5.8% I think it says). Can they be lashed in dry in a cheese cloth to a brew or are they useless to me without doing a full boil? Thanks.

raxy

No reason you can't dry hop with them. The results will depend on what kind of hop they are though.

raxy

raxy wrote: »

No reason you can't dry hop with them. The results will depend on what kind of hop they are though.

Thanks. I wasn’t sure if I needed the little pellet ones to do that. Might as well give it a rattle so.

I’ll be leaving the brew in the main fermenter for the 2 weeks before bottling (I have no means of doing the secondary thing), so are they best left in for the two weeks or chuck them in closer to the end, though that would mean lid off for a few seconds.

mordeith

A few days before the end is grand. Don't worry about opening the lid

BeerNut

I wouldn't bother with the cheesecloth, just throw them in as they are.

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

are they best left in for the two weeks or chuck them in closer to the end, though that would mean lid off for a few seconds.

You don't need to keep the bucket sealed. The lid is really just to prevent things falling in. I would usually dry hop a week before bottling. Too long and you can get a grassy off flavour.

Thanks all. I’ve my initial one done a week now but I just did a different one today, and I think I made a few errors with the first pale ale, so I’ll wait and add it to my new one after a week as I’m much happier about how the whole process went. That’s really good to know about removing the lid.

squawker

EDIT - I’ll actually put this here and not clutter up the other lads thread.

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squawker wrote: »

Pretty good guide here as well

https://www.nationalhomebrewclub.ie/wordpress/guide-to-fermentables-sugars/

Was reading through this again and there’s a couple of things I’m not 100% clear on is quantities. Like if a kit recipe calls for 1kg sugar can you just throw in 1kg DME instead, like is it like for like, or do you still need some sugar also?

Also, on the grain steeping, what’s the quantity? It says the amount of water but not the amount of grain. And do you just let this water cool (after steeping and boiling off) and use it as some of the “water” in your kit mix?
I was reading this also http://beersmith.com/blog/2009/03/22/steeping-grains-for-extract-beer-brewing/ but it also says “ The grains are added to 1.5 or 2 gallons of plain water” but no mention of how much grains. I know there’s probably not a set amount but there must be a minimum that it’s a waste of time.

BeerNut

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

if a kit recipe calls for 1kg sugar can you just throw in 1kg DME instead

Yes. There isn't really such a thing as a kit recipe -- the beer is pretty much finished when you buy it.

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

on the grain steeping, what’s the quantity?

I would generally go with between 500g and a kilo of speciality grain for a 20L batch when extract brewing.

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

do you just let this water cool (after steeping and boiling off) and use it as some of the “water” in your kit mix?

You don't need to let it cool, just throw it in. TBH I don't see a whole lot of point in steeping grains with a kit. Don't buy that kit if it's not the style you want to make.

BeerNut

BeerNut wrote: »

Yes. There isn't really such a thing as a kit recipe -- the beer is pretty much finished when you buy it.

I would generally go with between 500g and a kilo of speciality grain for a 20L batch when extract brewing.

You don't need to let it cool, just throw it in. TBH I don't see a whole lot of point in steeping grains with a kit. Don't buy that kit if it's not the style you want to make.

Thanks. I wasn’t sure if it was 1kg sugar replaced with 1kg DME, or if it was 1kg sugar replaces with 1kg DME + 200-300g of sugar.

I know there’s probably not much point but it’s just another step of a little more involvement, and they seem to be cheap so it’s worth spending the time just to do it mainly. If it adds even a little something then all the better.

raxy

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Thanks. I wasn’t sure if it was 1kg sugar replaced with 1kg DME, or if it was 1kg sugar replaces with 1kg DME + 200-300g of sugar.

I know there’s probably not much point but it’s just another step of a little more involvement, and they seem to be cheap so it’s worth spending the time just to do it mainly. If it adds even a little something then all the better.

There's a conversion for sugar/dme on this page. 1kg dme = 0.82kg brewing sugar so will give a slightly stronger beer. You can also adjust how much water you put in to change the strength if you want.

One thing that has entered my head, especially as I’m going to use the kg of dark dry malt extract so slightly higher ABV, is are there any sugars extracted when I do the soak of the 100g of crystal malt? I’d presume there is, so just worth checking how much to expect in case I end up with petrol.

Bogwoppit

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

One thing that has entered my head, especially as I’m going to use the kg of dark dry malt extract so slightly higher ABV, is are there any sugars extracted when I do the soak of the 100g of crystal malt? I’d presume there is, so just worth checking how much to expect in case I end up with petrol.

Worry less, brew more.
If you end up with petrol then send me your recipe, it’s just gone up in the last budget.
Your beer will be fine.

BeerNut

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

are there any sugars extracted when I do the soak of the 100g of crystal malt?

Some, but they're not fermentable. That's the point of darker malts: their sugars don't ferment so they add sweetness to the beer.

BeerNut

BeerNut wrote: »

Some, but they're not fermentable. That's the point of darker malts: their sugars don't ferment so they add sweetness to the beer.

Good to know cheers. Definitely may go fairly light on them so.

If anyone uses the Coopers carbonation drops, do you add a small bit of sugar along with one of them for a 500ml bottle or do you just put in two? I haven’t the setup for batch priming (using my second bucket to ferment) and I don’t think they’d cut in half cleanly. I bottled my first batch on Saturday and only used one per bottle. I did put two in a couple of bottles to see but I’ll be bottling again before these have sat long enough to try.

BeerNut

I've always found one is fine.