After a pretty poor start to my home brewing career where several rookie errors led to a pretty rank batch of ruby ale, I`m having a go at this Coopers sparkling ale.
Lessons learned from the 1st disaster I`m hoping for a better result!
My progress so far...
chucked the kit into the FV with 1kg Youngs beer enhancer on the 18th Feb. Made 23L. Pitched it at 23 degC and it had a OG of 1.040.
Took a day to get going, but then it bubbled away nicely for around 10 days at a pretty constant temp of around 20 degC. Gave it 2 weeks in the FV until the SG was consistent at 1.008 for a couple of days.
Bottled it with 160g Demerara sugar, dissolved into 800ml of boiled water and 20 ml added to each 500ml bottle. Recovered 40 bottles, so 20L recovered.
Bottled it up, left it out in the kitchen (roughly 20 degC) for another couple of weeks and then into the beer fridge and has been in there for the last 2 weeks.
All the info I`ve seen so far suggests that it`s a good idea to leave this bad boy to sit for at least 6 weeks, but 2 - 3 months is the ideal. So I`m aiming for that. Although I think I`ll crack a cheeky wee bottle this weekend, just to test it so I have a fair comparison for 6 weeks time! :)
Cheers,