Coopers European Lager update..

[cephei]

So its 3 days now since I started my first coopers brew kit with the European Lager. So far I think things are going ok I've followed everything to the letter in the Coopers instructional DVD and manual.

There still seems to be pressure in the airlock causing one side of the water to be higher than the other although not as high as it was the other day..

The fermentation tank is starting to give off a sulfur/beer smell but im sure thats normal.

I can see a caking of stuff appear a few inches above the wort liquid and there is a whitish sediment at the bottom.

I've been reading around about people using these kits and I've noticed some people leaving the wort in the fermenter for longer than the 5-7 days suggested by coopers, and also storing the fermenter somewhere where the temperature is far lower than the suggested 21-26 celcius..Mine is brewing at 21-22. Is this just personal choice or am I doing something wrong?

I was just going to do it by the coopers instructions (5-7 days in fermenter, take hydrometer reading,if same two days in a row its ready, bottle and store for two weeks, then drink..)

Should I just continue the way I am or should I be doing these other things also?

Cheers!

 

[Cussword]

:thumb: It sounds fine. For your first time just stick to their instructions. You can experiment as you get more confident :

 

[cephei]

Thanks! Oh yea instead of the plastic bottles that came with the kit I was thinking of using Budvar or Tiger beer bottles (50cl/500ml) how many of the carbonation drops would I need for this size?

 

[hippytyre]

I have the same kit as you and mine actually came with 500ml bottles. The instructions said to use 1 carbonation drop per bottle.
Your brew sounds exactly the same as mine, right down to the temperature. I have about a inch of froth of the top which has went down a little today and a thin line of sediment on the bottom.
My bubbler does blurp now and then but it certainly isn't constant. I just took a hydrometer reading as it's been 5 days since mine went in and the reading is 1010 so I'm not sure that's ok at this stage.

 

[djskinner]

I would be careful using the Tiger/Budvar bottles as lager bottles don't tend to be strong enough to put up with home brew bottle conditioning and they might explode with the pressure.