Back in after 20 yrs, a few questions.

[tester]

Hello all, read a few threads here before getting back into this. Bought about 6 kits and a couple setups from some locals online to get a small brewery going in basement for this summer .

Anyways, I'm at a week on the first couple and have some questions due to what is going on. 20 years ago the kits were pretty plain, not like what you can get now.

I have 3 glass carboys going.

1. Mangrove jacks grapefruit IPA
2. Mangrove jacks mango ale
3. Coopers European lager

I started 1 and 2 about 9 days ago, a day apart. #3 I started last Friday, 2 days ago.

On Friday (1 weeks time), I checked the SG for 1 and 2. 1 was 1.02, 2 was 1.01. both had bubble in airlock still going a few seconds apart.. really slow. So I thought I'd add in the hop pellets that came with them. Both reacted and started releasing more C02, I'm guessing from the small c02 bubbles in the brew attaching to the pieces of hops. Both 1 and 2 I didn't read the instruction part to stir the yeast when starting, just put on top, but it seems to have worked fine.

#3 I stirred in the yeast on the morning I made the kit. By the evening the motion in the tank was unbelievable like it was on a high boil. Crazy to see that sort of a current going inside. 1 and 2 I didn't see anything similar. 1 and 2 I sweetened with light malt syrop, 3 I used brew enhancer 2. My questions mainly pertain to 1 and 2 and brew techniques in general.

So, fast forward to today. #2 seems to have gone pretty still. It has cleared up a fair amount, with material on bottom a good 2" deep. There is a good thick layer on the surface as well of hops and yeast and bubbles.

#1 still seems to be churning pretty actively. I can see pieces of hops circulating pretty fast inside. Every once in a while a big blast of material will hit the side of glass from the bottom like there is a fish inside.. crazy!

So my questions are:

1. Even if sg is in the right range, I just sit on these until motion stops? What I worry about is hops were to be added (via directions) 2-3 days before bottling, when SG is 1.02 or lower. So #1 'should' be getting bottled, but it's churning and circulating. I don't want it 'too' hoppy. Do I not have a choice but to let it sit longer? It is active, but SG was 1.02 yesterday. Tonight will be 2 full days with hops, 9 days brewing.

2. Looking at #2, it should be ready to bottle tonight after 9 days, 2 with hops. Draining the brew into bottles without a ton of particulate is going to be a real challenge, including hop pieces. Is it ok, or something that is done, to strain it through a cheese cloth into a secondary container, then siphon into bottles from the secondary or something similar like that? I know it will settle in bottles, but man there is a lot of sediment and material in there.

Thanks!

 

[evil.soup]

I am very much a beginner at this myself, but I have done the Coopers Lager Kit, started it maybe 4 to 5 weeks ago and it is currently in the bottle carbonating and conditioning, will have been in bottles 2 weeks tomorrow.

I did go outside of the instructions with the lager kit and added my own hops at about day 5, but like you, I don't like a strong hop in my lager/beer, so I put them in a produce bag from lidl, you can buy a pair for 50p by the fresh fruit and veg section and they are about 1ft square. I weighed it down with a couple of stainless steel spoons in the bag so the hop had plenty of room to move around, but I was able to lift them back out of the brew after 38hrs and then left it to complete the fermentation.

I know that advice doesn't help you right now, but it will help you in the future. I can't take credit for the advice either as someone else on here suggested I did this and it worked a treat. Good practice to share!

As for fixing the current issue you have, yes, I would imagine it is fine to transfer to a secondary vessel for bottling, a lot of brewers seem to do this to help reduce the sediment etc.

Maybe controversially, a lot of people also use "cold Crashing" to help reduce sediment and particles, the idea being, if you can get the fermenter in the fridge for 48hrs, the particles should sink to the bottom. Not everyone believes there is a point to this, but I did it with my lager and it seemed to reduce the haze.

Either way, I think you will be fine, just make 100% sure it has all stopped before getting it to the bottle, mine stayed in the fermenter for 16 days in total as it still seemed to have the odd bubble even 2 weeks later!

Good luck with it!

 

[tester]

Thanks. Yes i'll have to see how it goes. One mistake I made was I shouldn't have put the hops in both at the same time. I went by the guide that said to do so when a certain ABV range was hit which they both had, then leave in 2-3 days. The grapefruit was made a day after the Mango so wasn't as completely done. So I got the Mango bottled on Sunday night for 2 days with hops, but the grapefruit was still a bit active. Monday night the grapefruit had stopped, but it had hops for 3 days. Some of the mango has a very small bit of hop material in it unfortunately (only a few bottles). I wasn't sure how much would get drawn in as it didn't seem like any was during transfer to secondary. I'm sure it will settle out as the bottles were already clearing nicely after a couple days. For the grapefruit, I used a straining bag doubled over twice and caught any hops that got sucked in. I tried a tiny bit of the grapefruit and it is hoppy.. But I don't think anything 'worse' than the mother in law likes to drink that I can't really handle. The smell on both was phenomenal so i'm looking forward to it either way. Next time I will use a straining bag for hops. The coopers is looking good. Almost nothing on the surface except for a very fine layer of bubbles. Not like the froth and 1" thick layer of yeast and foam the mangrove ones had.

 

[evil.soup]

I would imagine they will turn out fine, even if you have pulled some of the hop etc through, it should settle out.
The last couple of bottles I filled from the Coopers were like thick dish water, but they have settled clear.

 

[CaptAwol]

Welcome back to brewing, my advice is to keep notes on what you've done along with the results, there's no wrong way to add or use hops and everyone is searching for the right way to utilise hop's, to which the odd few know it all.

For successful brewing keep everything clean inside and out, which is easy now with all the products available, then consider temperature control.

Brewing is like life, a big learning curve that no one will ever reach.

 

[tester]

Welcome back to brewing, my advice is to keep notes on what you've done along with the results, there's no wrong way to add or use hops and everyone is searching for the right way to utilise hop's, to which the odd few know it all.

For successful brewing keep everything clean inside and out, which is easy now with all the products available, then consider temperature control.

Brewing is like life, a big learning curve that no one will ever reach.

Yes I'll keep notes for sure. Would the bag of hop pellets keep adding flavor or would they be pretty well expended after a couple days? Basically would 3 days not be much different than a week or does it keep on infusing for a while?

 

[evil.soup]

Yes I'll keep notes for sure. Would the bag of hop pellets keep adding flavor or would they be pretty well expended after a couple days? Basically would 3 days not be much different than a week or does it keep on infusing for a while?

Not sure how accurate it is, but I have read some research that suggests leaving the hop in for long periods can actually reduce the hop flavour, apparently reabsorbing some of the oils etc...

That could all be nonsense, but I did read it. I don't think a week will make a hell of a lot more difference than 3 days though as from what I have researched, they seem to give out most of their flavours in the first 3 days.

I tasted mine straight after removing the hop bag and I was worried, as it was quite a strong hop flavour, but I tried it a few days later before bottling, and it had mellowed out a bit, so you may well be fine.

 

[tester]

Not sure how accurate it is, but I have read some research that suggests leaving the hop in for long periods can actually reduce the hop flavour, apparently reabsorbing some of the oils etc...

That could all be nonsense, but I did read it. I don't think a week will make a hell of a lot more difference than 3 days though as from what I have researched, they seem to give out most of their flavours in the first 3 days.

I tasted mine straight after removing the hop bag and I was worried, as it was quite a strong hop flavour, but I tried it a few days later before bottling, and it had mellowed out a bit, so you may well be fine.

Thx.
Only a week in bottles, but I'll try the mango tonight. Put two in the fridge this morn. They are in Corona bottles, so can see that they have settled out quite well. Can't believe how red the beer is though.

The Coopers ale seems to be completely done but I'll leave for a few more days. Completely different brew experience. Not sure if it's because I used enhancer in the coopers, and malt in the other 2, but I swear the coopers was 95% done by the end of day 3. Yeast went nuts, then it died out very fast @ 21degrees.

 

[evil.soup]

I actually have a coopers irish stout on the go and thar was going good guns within a couple of hours but after maybe 3 days it has died down quite significantly. That's sitting at about 20 degrees also, a bit low really so maybe it's on a go slow now. I'm going to leave it 11 days before I go back and check it though. I added beer enhancer, 200g demerara sugar and steeped 250g of chocolate malt to go in there so it should have plenty of fuel to get on with.

I have a few bottles of my coopers lager in the fridge as we speak and I will be trying them for the first time tonight in an hour or so, been in bottle for almost 3 weeks, got my fingers crossed....

 

[tester]

I actually have a coopers irish stout on the go and thar was going good guns within a couple of hours but after maybe 3 days it has died down quite significantly. That's sitting at about 20 degrees also, a bit low really so maybe it's on a go slow now. I'm going to leave it 11 days before I go back and check it though. I added beer enhancer, 200g demerara sugar and steeped 250g of chocolate malt to go in there so it should have plenty of fuel to get on with.

I have a few bottles of my coopers lager in the fridge as we speak and I will be trying them for the first time tonight in an hour or so, been in bottle for almost 3 weeks, got my fingers crossed....

How was the lager? I might bottle today after 10 days.
The mango was actually good. Reminded me a bit of a beer we have here called Sleemans Cream Ale. But it def could use more time in the bottle.

 

[evil.soup]

It was actually quite good, a little more hop than I would like but not to the level I would find intolerable. My partner really liked it, she said it reminder her of San Miguel, happy with that comparison. A little dash of lemonade is very very nice!

Plenty of carbonation too, little video showing my first pour. Very happy for my first ever home brew:)

 

[tester]

How much sugar did you use? I put 3/4 cup in with the mango and fizz is a bit weak. I'm sure though in another week that will pick up.

Wondering if most bottles beers will end up on the dry side.. I seem to recall last time I brewed my beer was a bit sweet, but still very bubbly. I drank a store bought lager last night and thought about the sweetness. They can control that obviously by filtering yeast, adding a sugar, and force CO2 injecting. Will yeast in a bottle for carbonation eventually eat 'all' the sugars making the beer dry or will some sugars remain when it hits a certain pressure and the yeast can't work or something along those lines? I would assume that doesn't happen if bottles explode.

 

[evil.soup]

The yeast will have consumed all the sugar during fermentation then finish up what you add to the bottle for carbonation. I think the type of yeast used can change dryness. Some will be more efficient than others. Mine went down to 1006, which is quite dry I would imagine, but it works well with a beer/lager.

I used 8g of priming sugar per litre for that level of carbonation. Not sure what 3/4 cup equates to in grams though?

 

[evil.soup]

Checked my stout day 10 and it is at 1012, so it is on a go slow as well. It still has a bit of bubble so is still working, I think it is because I don't have temp control and it is sitting at 20 degrees.

 

[tester]

Checked my stout day 10 and it is at 1012, so it is on a go slow as well. It still has a bit of bubble so is still working, I think it is because I don't have temp control and it is sitting at 20 degrees.

3/4 cup is 113 grams I think. The fizz is light, don't mind it but it peters out a bit throughout the drink. The euro lager I put in 150g after finding the formula online and following that. Bottled day before yesterday. Was really cloudy still after a week and a half but in bottles about 1/4 clear at the top already. Need to get drinking to get some bottles for next brew.

Trying the mango IPA and grapefruit IPA. Both are ok, not a big fan of IPAs. But lighter than store bought. A bit disjointed in flavours is only way I can describe it. Maybe time will improve. Both still very drinkable to me. Mango is quite bitter on finish. Almost like a soapy taste in a way. Not unpleasant, but different.

 

[evil.soup]

Im not a big fan of fruity beers personally so I don't have much experience with them.

As for drinking to free up more bottles, that is where I am at the moment, it's not a bad thing of course lol! My mate is collecting bottles for me and I have all I need to bottle the stout, but I will be getting a Mangrove Jacks Blueberry cider on the go within a week, so I need to drink more quickly!!

 

[tester]

Interested to see how the cider goes. I've read they are a bit weak. Was going to try a couple but passed when I read up on them so interested to hear your take.

I had a mango IPA the same time wife opened a retail can of her fave. I tried the retail one and it's a strong burst of floral and citrus flavor that dissipates to a bitter IPA end then fades fairly quickly. If I had to explain it on a scale it would be something like 9-5-1 for initial taste, bitterness follow, bitter aftertaste. The mango I'd describe it as 5-5-2. The taste isn't intense, on par with the bitterness after, and leaves a bit of a bitter linger. The grapefruit IPA from MJ is maybe 6-5-2. The grapefruit I did leave the hops in a day longer. But the flavor is really lacking in both compared to the retail can I tried at same time. Still very drinkable, but nothing I'd do again. I don't think my wife or her mother who love IPAs would drink much of this unless in a pinch.

Looking forward to the coopers lager. Next I'll either brew the MJ cinnamon and orange wit, or the coopers 86 Days Pilsner.

 

[evil.soup]

I am looking to do another lager following the cider and the 86 days pils is one I am considering, or maybe I just stick with what I know with the current coopers and reduce the hop a little.

As for the cider, I have seen some good reviews of the MJ craft range but have been considering brewing short at 21 ltrs same as I have with the lager and the stout, just to add more flavour. Will pop an update in here once I have done it.

 

[tester]

Couldn't wait, so I cracked a euro ale on day 6 lol. I was surprised by this one. It's already crystal clear, and plenty of carbonation. The yeast on the bottom as well is like a clay now, and absolutely none of it came out.. could pour the entire bottle already. Took 3-4 rinses to get it out. And it was already great. A little more bitterness on the finish than I would get with a Stella or something similar, so hopefully this relaxes a bit. Almost like a hoppy bitterness. Not as much of the Stella skunk either which isn't good, or bad really. I'm wondering though if I brewed to 22l vs the 20l I went to based on so many recommendations to do that, how it would have turned out. Didn't find it at all weak or lacking for sure at 20. But either way even now I'd do it again. Very nice and excited how it will age.

Started a batch of 86. 12 hours in the yeast was at the bottom in clumps like someone dumped in spatzle or large cheese curds.. looked really odd and not a lot of activity. Next day though it had settled down to a flat bottom layer and was bubbling away nicely at 20 degrees. Used light malt on this one.

 

[evil.soup]

Sounds like you have been busy!

I did get the MJ blueberry cider on today and went by the instructions for a change and made it to 23ltrs but used the MJ cider enhancer rather than just dextrose, apparently it makes a difference to flavour and body.

The smell was amazing and it tasted great just as it was so I am hopeful for a nice cider at the end...

Bottled my stout yesterday, far less sediment than the Coopers lager and like you said above, it had settled well and wasn't easily disturbed, unlike the Coopers lager sediment.
Taste test of the stout was also very positive, can't wait to drink it!