coopers wheat beer kit

FUD MAN · 15-09-2010 11:47am #1

hi, i have just received a coopers wheat beer ingredient kit. have tried the aussie lager already and turned out fine. was thinking of tinkering with the ingredients a bit for the wheat beer and so bought a wheat spray malt. now the instruction on the tin say to use a light spray malt coupled with some brewing sugar, so the dilema is whether to stick to the instructions of try the wheat spraymalt and in what quantities. fairly new to home brewing so any help would be appreciated!

Saruman · 15-09-2010 11:54am

I would replace any mention of sugar with the spraymalt.

I think I did brew that kit a few years back when I used kits. It turned out quite satisfactory.

FUD MAN · 15-09-2010 12:14pm

that sounds fairly definitive! only prob is i dont have enought wheat spray malt to substitute the sugar and light spray malt added together so should i mix the wheat spray malt with the light spray malt then do you think?

Saruman · 15-09-2010 3:17pm

Yes that will be fine.

FUD MAN · 15-09-2010 3:29pm

then thats what i'll do. thanks for the advice!

Sonovagun · 15-09-2010 5:30pm

I recently got the same kit. I'm thinking of adding a can of coopers wheat malt extract instead of sugar. is a malt extract a suitable sub for sugar

FUD MAN · 16-09-2010 9:39am

I did mine last night, i replaced the recommended light spray malt and dextrose sugar with light spray malt and wheat malt. the airlock hadn't started to bubble as of this morning but then it took till the next evening to bubble the last time i brewed the aussie lager. ill let you know how i get on....

Saruman · 16-09-2010 4:30pm

Good stuff Fud man

@Sonovagun is the can of malt extract a beer malt extract or something you picked up at a supermarket or something?

Sonovagun · 16-09-2010 8:19pm

It's a can of beer malt extract wheat

Saruman · 16-09-2010 8:23pm

Then that should be fine, though dry malt extract gives a better taste. Liquid stuff can give you what is known as kit twang.

FUD MAN · 17-09-2010 9:38am

Well went home to no activity through the airlock so followed the advice from someone on another thread and gave the wort a stir with a sanitized spoon. started to bubble about 5 minutes later so happy days!

oblivious · 17-09-2010 9:54am

FUD MAN wrote: »

Well went home to no activity through the airlock so followed the advice from someone on another thread and gave the wort a stir with a sanitized spoon. started to bubble about 5 minutes later so happy days!

Air lock is not always a good indication of activity, if the weather cool the liquid will be able to hold more dissolve more CO2.

FUD MAN · 17-09-2010 10:05am

wort isn't too cool fermenter has one of those stick on thermometers and its 26 degrees c. (it's in the hotpress) prob too warm if anything. someone had suggested to me to put the fermenter into a bedroom and wrap a duvet around it so might try that. missus has a habbit of leaving the emersion on after using the shower. trying to drill into her to turn it off when she's not using it!

Saruman · 17-09-2010 10:18am

FUD MAN wrote: »

wort isn't too cool fermenter has one of those stick on thermometers and its 26 degrees c. (it's in the hotpress) prob too warm if anything.

You said it perfectly there... Get it out of the hot press, that is not where you put beer and 26c is far too hot.
18c is an ideal temp for most beer.

There are two myths about homebrew. The first is that you brew it in the bath and the other is fermenting in the hotpress. Please don't perpetuate the myths

Stick it in a corner or closet and maybe cover it in a towel or blanket or something. That is all it needs.

FUD MAN · 17-09-2010 10:34am

yeah wanted to take it out last night but had someone stay over in the spare room so couldn't leave it there but intend to take it out as soon as i'm home from work, in the meantime wife has strict instructions to leave door of hotpress open all day!

oblivious · 17-09-2010 11:05am

FUD MAN a lot of the general kit brewing that goes around in from it heyday in the 1970's, when average room temps where lower that to day. These days stand room temps are 18-22c more than perfect for brewing. I find that ca cardboard box that can fit the fomenter is generally enough, but if the weather is cold a towel is generaly eough insulation

best of luck with the brew

FUD MAN · 17-09-2010 11:26am

cheers man!

FUD MAN · 17-09-2010 9:06pm

came home from work today and all activity in the airlock has stopped. bear in mind it only started thursday evening. moved the fermenter anyway to bedroom and wrapped it with a duvet, temp holding at 24 degrees as opposed to 26 in hotpress. dont know if its stopped fermenting now or not. took sg reading and its 1020, started at 1048. shold i be concerned?

FUD MAN · 17-09-2010 9:17pm

came home from work today and all activity in the airlock has stopped. bear in mind it only started thursday evening. moved the fermenter anyway to bedroom and wrapped it with a duvet, temp holding at 24 degrees as opposed to 26 in hotpress. dont know if its stopped fermenting now or not. took sg reading and its 1020, started at 1048. shold i be concerned?

Saruman · 17-09-2010 10:49pm

What is your expected terminal gravity? Some kits say, others don't.

Just don't worry about it and leave it in the fermenter for two weeks and you can't go wrong.

FUD MAN · 18-09-2010 10:07am

Think 1006 is the final gravity i'm supposed to aim for. does lack of activity in the airlock mean no fermenting? there is a lot of condensation on the lid...

oblivious · 18-09-2010 10:30am

Around 1.012 will also be fine

FUD MAN · 18-09-2010 10:42am

OK CHEERS!

FUD MAN · 18-09-2010 2:39pm

Am at 1012 now (sat) must be still fermenting. has only been 3 days. will leave it for the recommended week maybe for two as sauruman suggests and see what happens. tis all a learning curve as the man says!;)

FUD MAN · 21-09-2010 6:27pm

took reading the other day seemed to be 1012 then sun and mon appeared to be 1014, today its 1012, i dont know what the hells going on! does anyone know should the brew be fizzy when it finishes fermenting? was going to bottle this evening but now im not sure if i should?

Saruman · 21-09-2010 6:45pm

It should not be fizzy no, or at least not in any perceivable way.

The different readings might be due to a change in temperature. If one of the readings was taken when it was much warmer than the other then it gives different results and what temp the hydrometer was calibrated for. 20c is fairly common so 20c is the best temp to take the reading at. That is liquid temp of course.

To be honest it sounds finished. Leave it for a while to be sure but you are getting in to the more sciency area of brewing and with kits it does not make much difference. When you move on to extract and especially all grain, your temperature control is more important.

coopers wheat beer kit

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