A tin and a dream ...

[Lee]

... is pretty much all I have at the moment. So I shall be lurking the boards a fair whack - have to get it right, my pride (and a small amount of money) is on the line as to my success.

(Success being defined as it being vaguely drinkable)

Wish me luck!

 

[gsidford]

(Success being defined as it being vaguely drinkable)

In that case you will be exceedingly successful with your first brew if you follow the advice given by the old hands here !

Welcome aboard and good luck with your brewing.

 

[Tony]

Hey Lee
Nice to meet you! Ask away, plenty of people around to help!
:

 

[Lee]

That's good. I'm rather a sore loser.

First dumb question. The airlock for my fermenting bucket I have looks like this:


The lid sits in rather securely, not so much that a bit of pressure wouldn't push it open as far as I can guess - does it need to be secure or should it be left on loose?

 

[Moley]

If you look very closely inside the rim of the ‘lid’ you will see three small lugs, giving sufficient stand-off to allow gas to escape while keeping flies out.

Anyway, it's a fairly regular discussion point on the forum, but most fermenting bucket lids aren't gastight and a bubbler is pointless.

 

[Lee]

Ah. A bubbler. It was just in a bag - not explanation, name or mention. Figured I should look into it. Will just bug in it the lid then.

Thanks

 

[Moley]

If your bucket lid is drilled with something like a 30mm diameter hole, then you should use the airlock (a.k.a. bubbler or trap) together with a drilled cork or rubber bung. Just under half fill the outer section with water and pop the lid on. If it bubbles, that's a sure sign that fermentation is happening. If it doesn't bubble, that doesn't necessarily mean that fermentation isn't happening, just that you haven't got an effective seal somewhere, so use your eyes, ears and nose as well.

 

[Lee]

Brilliant. Thanks for the tip.

The tin I have is a Coopers European Lager kit (1.7kg) - I don't have any "brew enhancer", I do however have some "Brewing and Winemaking sugar" - a whole kilogram of the stuff. Any idea how much I should put in? The instructions say 250 grams of that (well, sugar/dextrose) and 500 grams of dry malt. If I'm reading it right. Which is unlikely.

Hmmm .... Amazon say's that it's suitable for most "40 pint brews" which implies all of it.

 

[evanvine]

(Success being defined as it being vaguely drinkable)

Oh, those wonderful heady days, if it was alcoholic and didn't make you sick! :

 

[Lee]

My friends and I are very discerning drinkers. Honest.

 

[Moley]

Most of the one-can kits call for 1kg of sugar but can be improved by a 1kg sugar/spraymalt split.

However, as I have long since moved on from kit brewing, have never in my life brewed lager and have never in my life used brewing sugar, I'm declaring myself out of this one and hope some other members will comment soon.


Loving the blog though :rofl:

 

[Aleman]

Coopers lager kits are better made with sugar rather than malt extract as even the extra light extract throws the malt and colour balance off

Other than that go for it . . . ferment around 16-18C . . . it may take a bit longer but will taste better for it.

Welcome to the forum

 

[periolus]

Welcome aboard! I haven't been on long either and there are PLENTY of helpful and experienced brewers that will support your journey! Just ask away and search the forums for useful info.

 

[Lee]

Thanks for all the suggestions - I'm starting brewing today. Will post updates in my blog and wherever is appropriate on here!

 

[Wendy1971]

hi and welcome to the forum lee