A Few questions, for a first timer

STEINBERG

After being away on holidays recently and tasting some of the best beers i have ever tasted, which were home brewed by family member of my partner, i decided i realy wanted to give this homebrewing a shot.

My partner ordered the Brewstarter premium beer kit from homebrewwest as a little surprise for me and it is due to arrive tomorrow. The kit was originally supposed to come with the Canadian Blonde, but i got a call this morning to say that they were out of it and would it be ok to add the Coopers real ale instead so of course i took it.
Now after some reading up on these forums i have got a wealth of information so far from some of ye guys and i thank ye for the time ye give,, i have a few questions

I got 1kg of muntons light spraymalt as i was expecting to get the canadian blonde and use it instead of the sugar in the kit. Is this ok to use with the ale? i was reading up and it seems an darker malt would be better...

I understand that using the malt will give a lower AVB as it is not 100% fermentable which i don't mind too much as i would prefer a nice tasting beer, would it be a good idea to add some of the brewing sugar just to bring up the AVB or would ye guys recommend going to say 19ltr instead of 23?
I read that it will give a fuller flavour beer with the malt extract and the AVB will be higher, i like my strong beer:D

Or am i trying to run before i can walk as they say? would i be better off just keeping it simple for a first timer?

irish_goat

The Coopers Real Ale was my first and I enjoyed it. I also used light spraymalt. Tbh, I wouldn't add the sugar, it'll add more alcohol but it will make the beer thinner and I always aim to get a better beer rather than risking the flavour for the sake of an extra bit of alcohol.

STEINBERG

That's what i was thinking myself,,, i will forget about the sugar and just try to get something tasting good as my first batch....
Why is there extra flavor from the spraymalt, is it because it is not 100% fermentables so some stays behind to give a richer, fuller flavour?
I need to get some books for sure, but there is so much info on here that im going to hold off for some time, thanks for your reply.

irish_goat

STEINBERG wrote: »

That's what i was thinking myself,,, i will forget about the sugar and just try to get something tasting good as my first batch....
Why is there extra flavor from the spraymalt, is it because it is not 100% fermentables so some stays behind to give a richer, fuller flavour?
I need to get some books for sure, but there is so much info on here that im going to hold off for some time, thanks for your reply.

Exactly, yeast can eat sugar no problem but won't be able to digest all the spraymalt. The bits it leaves behind will give you more mouthfeel and more malt character.

STEINBERG

First batch sealed up in the FV, its sitting now at 22C but should drop a little to about 18 id say, hope it turns out. The OG reading i took was 1.045, for 21 ltr.

STEINBERG

Fermentation seems too be going well,, what kind of time frame should i wait to take hydrometer readings? just leave it doing its thing for a week and see where its at?

Current Temp is 22C it was going at 20C but had to turn the heating on for an hour or so earlier on, is this ok?

BeerNut

STEINBERG wrote: »

just leave it doing its thing for a week and see where its at?

Yep. Give it a minimum of two weeks either way.

STEINBERG wrote: »

Current Temp is 22C it was going at 20C but had to turn the heating on for an hour or so earlier on, is this ok?

Should be fine.

STEINBERG

Thank you BeerNut, just trying to take it one step at a time without overloading myself with conflicting information. Looking foward to this, il be bursting to pop a bottle but ive read its best to leave it condition and mature for 3-4 weeks or longer if i can hold out. Think its time to think about my second brew.....