brewing virgin coopers draught

[nobbyhigo]

HI all new to this so just feeling a bit brew giddy
got a home brew online kit for fathers day with coopers draught
started yesterday with a brew safe sanitiser
then cracked on
1kg brewers suger as supplied
yeast in at 24 deg
og 1037
have it under the stairs at 20 deg blipping away gently with a 1 1/2 inch head on
keep checking on it every hour or so

 

[Spapro]

Hi nobby, love the phrase 'brew giddy' :p

The hard part when starting out is being patient. Leave 2 weeks before thinking about kegging/bottling, once bottled/kegged leave 2 weeks in the warm (20°C) to carb up, then leave for 2 weeks somewhere cooler if possible before trying it.

Good luck with your first brew, sure it will be the first of many

 

[wheazy_joe]

Hi and welcome on board, this was actually my first kit also!

Patience is the key, I couldn't help myself and bottled my first kit after seven days, to be honest I think the beer suffered for it.

Since then have exercised more patience and been rewarded with better beer.

Don't open the FV lid unless you absolutely have to!

Good luck!

 

[nobbyhigo]

cheers everyone
looking forward to trying it
going to do the same kit for my second but with light spray malt just to get a benchmark on what it changes

 

[Tony1951]

cheers everyone
looking forward to trying it
going to do the same kit for my second but with light spray malt just to get a benchmark on what it changes

It's a nice kit that, and I did excatly what you did - first one with Brew Enhancer and second one with spraymalt. As you would expect, the second one was more malty. Both were very nice. I dry hopped mine on about day five of the fermentation by putting of 20citra hops in the brewing bin. That really added something special. I was well pleased. I also kegged another of the same kit. Later I tried the Cooper's IPA and the Cooper's English Bitter - really nice both.

Enjoy. And like others said - don't touch them until the 2, 2, 2 schedule has gone by (2 wks in FV, 2wks warm conditioning, and 2wks in the cool).

 

[nobbyhigo]

Cheers for the advice will start looking into dry hopping after first batch once I have my head round the basics

 

[pms67]

It's a nice kit that, and I did excatly what you did - first one with Brew Enhancer and second one with spraymalt. As you would expect, the second one was more malty. Both were very nice. I dry hopped mine on about day five of the fermentation by putting of 20citra hops in the brewing bin. That really added something special. I was well pleased. I also kegged another of the same kit. Later I tried the Cooper's IPA and the Cooper's English Bitter - really nice both.

Enjoy. And like others said - don't touch them until the 2, 2, 2 schedule has gone by (2 wks in FV, 2wks warm conditioning, and 2wks in the cool).

My conditioning is 2 weeks fv 2 weeks in shed (temperature outwith my control!) and 10 mins in the freezer, i cant wait 6 weeks to try a beer,4 max

 

[nobbyhigo]

cant see the first batch going 6 weeks myself

 

[wheazy_joe]

Have a try of the beer to see how it develops, but try and keep some so you can taste it at its best. Gets easier to leave it for a while when you have a few batches, so the key is to get your second one on the go straight away.

 

[Tony1951]

Have a try of the beer to see how it develops, but try and keep some so you can taste it at its best. Gets easier to leave it for a while when you have a few batches, so the key is to get your second one on the go straight away.

+1 on keeping the FV running at full tilt. :)

I understand also the temptation to try the beer early. I do it too, only it is better when kept as wheazy_joe says.

If you are bottling - check out the cheap flip top glass bottles at The Range. You can have them delivered if need be. They can't be beaten on price. They work well for me.

 

[nobbyhigo]

planning on putting my second batch on as soon as the first lot is bottled if all goes well will look into more gear to have two brews going
have got lots of pet bottles but will look into the flip tops for the long term

 

[wheazy_joe]

planning on putting my second batch on as soon as the first lot is bottled if all goes well will look into more gear to have two brews going
have got lots of pet bottles but will look into the flip tops for the long term

Remember you can always reuse commercial beer bottles.

 

[Daniboy0812]

Also a newbie here but been brewing kit for a few years. Just done a Coppers, bottled and fizzing nicely. Tasting fresh and brewing sugar definitely gives a fresher taste. My last brew was the Wilko Cerveza - used brewing enhancer 1kg instead of sugar but also added an extra 1kg of brewing sugar. In the end it was about 8.5% alc. I was 'brew giddy' after 2 pints. When you start drinking your brew, get another on the go so you don't run out. A dry house is a stressful house. Happy brewing

 

[nobbyhigo]

just a update for anyone interested
took a sample after 6 days brewing at 20 deg
was bubbling nicely for 4/5 days now all quiet
looks like flat beer best i can describe
now reading 1010 maybe 1008 but being conservative had a taste
bit like sugery warm flat beer nothing ofensive so think all is well
will take another hydromiter reading tomorrow but even if its still the same going to let it go the two weeks

 

[Spapro]

If you are going to leave it for 2 weeks I wouldn't be disturbing it tomorrow. Leave it until its had its 2 weeks then do a hydrometer reading (with a sanitised hydrometer). If its the same or has just dropped a little more from 1008/1010 its ready for bottling. You risk introducing an infection if you keep playing with it.

Good luck with it, sounds like its progressing well.

 

[nobbyhigo]

ok will do thanks
think i have been quite good so far havent bothered it at all resisting the urge seems to be the biggest problem

 

[nobbyhigo]

well took everyones advice left well alone till today
took a hydrometer reading 1004 so all looks good for bottling tomorrow had a taste was like flat beer nice enough for warm and flat beer totally clear
thanks for all the info
will keep adding to the thread as i progress

 

[nobbyhigo]

just adding bottled with 2 carb drops a week ago and left them under the stairs to condition plonked 3 in the fridge yesterday to test 😀 purely for research
have just cracked the first nice hiss on opening good pour with decent head didnt stay for long but it is still very young.
taste was ok got a bit of a twang but again is very young but very drinkable and is clear as a bell
one very happy brew virgin 😍

 

[wheazy_joe]

Excellent! The beer will get much better, one week is VERY young. Congrats and hope you enjoy the beer, time to get the next one brewing!

 

[nobbyhigo]

cheers Joe must admit its now a struggle to leave alone but a couple a week purely for research cant harm😀
have doubled up for second brew got a coopers bitter and irish stout on think i am really hooked now lol