First ever brew sugar help. Wilko Cerveza

[Reed]

Hello all, thanks for reading.

I'm a first time brewer and after a lot of research I have a very rough idea on the brewing process but any tips would be appreciated! In wanting to keep things as simple as possible I have started with a kit, Wilko Cerveza, but I'm a little confused after reading a lot of what seem like contradictory advice. Below is what I intend to do, is it right?

1. Start the kit as per the instructions and add 1kg of brewing sugar and yeast to the first FV. Leave in a warmish place 18-20oc

2. Syphon off into second FV once gravity readings are consistent and no c02 is bubbling from the air lock of the first FV.

3. Add finingsonce to help clear the brew.

4. Add sugar equivalent to 1 tea spoon per bottle to the FV, stir and then immediately bottle, leave in warmish place for 5 days and then transfer to fridge for 10 days. from what I understand this helps carbonate the beer but I could be wildly wrong!

5. Hopefully drink a nice beer!

Does the above seem about right? I've left off the steps for sanitation but I am aware of its importance.

I'd also like to start a nice similar kit of a real ale similar to Hob Goblin Gold next if anyone could offer any recommendations?

 

[chewie]

Generally sound, 1st time out do follow the instructions but do not rely on any timings that they give. Things that you could do would be to not use finings and instead allow nature to take its course and combine steps 2 and 4 into one action whereby you put the dissolved sugar into the FV/bottling bucket and rack directly onto it prior to bottling.

I would be inclined though to allow longer for priming than 5 days even more so if you do decide to use finings, 14 days should ensure a very good carbonation level. If you are using a teaspoon per bottle it is best to use a measuring spoon, ordinary cutlery teaspoons vary by quite a bit on the amount they hold, a measuring spoon will give you consistent amount every time.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
If you are going to syphon off into a second FV, get one that has a tap fitted and this could be your bottling bucket.
Personally, I don't monitor the brew by taking gravity readings; I leave it alone for two weeks without disturbance to allow the yeast to complete its work and clean up after itself. Next I'd cool the brew down to fridge temperature for several days to promote settling of the sediment.
Try batch priming - there are online calculators to help you determine how much sugar to use. Dissolve the sugar in a little boiled water; when cooled put it in the bottling bucket and then syphon your beer onto the sugar solution so that it mixes evenly. Then bottle the beer.
I agree with @chewie - don't use finings and also allow two weeks for carbonation.
One final point- on your next brew use dried malt extract (DME) in place of some (or all) of the brewing sugar. It will give a better flavour and body to your beer.

 

[terrym]

Hello all, thanks for reading.

I'm a first time brewer and after a lot of research I have a very rough idea on the brewing process but any tips would be appreciated! In wanting to keep things as simple as possible I have started with a kit, Wilko Cerveza, but I'm a little confused after reading a lot of what seem like contradictory advice. Below is what I intend to do, is it right?

1. Start the kit as per the instructions and add 1kg of brewing sugar and yeast to the first FV. Leave in a warmish place 18-20oc

2. Syphon off into second FV once gravity readings are consistent and no c02 is bubbling from the air lock of the first FV.

3. Add finingsonce to help clear the brew.

4. Add sugar equivalent to 1 tea spoon per bottle to the FV, stir and then immediately bottle, leave in warmish place for 5 days and then transfer to fridge for 10 days. from what I understand this helps carbonate the beer but I could be wildly wrong!

5. Hopefully drink a nice beer!

Does the above seem about right? I've left off the steps for sanitation but I am aware of its importance.

I'd also like to start a nice similar kit of a real ale similar to Hob Goblin Gold next if anyone could offer any recommendations?

This may be of use
Basic beginners guide to brewing your own beer from a kit - The HomeBrew Forum
You don't need to rack off to a second FV, but it does help a lot imo to clear the beer before its bottled. If you have not got a second FV just leave it longer, say a minimum of two weeks then put the FV in the coolest place you have for 2 days or longer. Keeping it in the FV sealed up will do no harm, and the longer you leave it the smaller the amount of yeast that gets carried forward.
As for finings you don't really need to fine the beer, although some folks do. After its carbonated from the priming sugar just store, preferably in a cool place, and gravity and time will drop the yeast.

 

[IainM]

It is advisable to do your first kit according to instructions, so you know how it is suppose to taste, before messing about with it. On the other hand, if you want to get better beer I would suggest:
(1) Destroy the instructions. Fire, shredder, it doesn't matter. You can be as creative as you like with this step.
(2) Clean and sanitise everything you will need: a fermentation vessel (fv), a large spoon or paddle, a small cup/glass, thermometer, a tin opener, hydrometer. You might need to rinse these things depending on which sanitiser you use. Probably best to sanitise a clean work surface too, so you have somewhere to put these things for when you need them.
(3) Fill the glass with about 200ml of water and heat in microwave for a few secs to get it to around 22C , sprinkle the packet of yeast from the kit on top, and give it a little shake. Keep shaking it every once in a while.
(4) Put a few litres of cold water into a sanitised fermentation vessel, and stir in 1kg of light or extra-light dry malt extract (DME), using your spoon/paddle. Or, alternatively, 1kg of brew enhancer (BE). DME is better though. Both BE and DME clump and get super sticky when dissolving, but it is easier to mix into cold water. Pour the stuff in slowly and keep stirring while you do it and it will be fine.
(5) Put the kettle on. Open the can from the kit and pour it in. Then, fill the can with boiling water from the kettle to dissolve the stuff that has stuck to the sides. With a towel or oven mitts, pour some into the fv, give the can a swirl, then pour some more. Just make sure that everything is dissolved and ends up in the fv.
(6) Using a mix of hot kettle water and cold water (tap is ok if your water tastes good, otherwise cheap supermarket bottled water is fine), start filling the fv to 20 litres. You want to balance these so that the final temperature is about 19C. Now take a hydrometer reading - you can either put the hydrometer straight into the fv (if so, remember to take it out) or use a sample tube (filled with a sanitised ladle, not dipped in the fv). I'd recommend the latter, as then you can drink the sample after taking the reading and find out what unfermented wort tastes like. When taking the reading, give the hydrometer a little spin first, and it might be worth taking a photo as its often easier to measure from zooming in to a photo then standing squinty-eyed trying to figure out where the meniscus is.
(7) Beat the living daylight out of your wort with your spoon/paddle. Splash it around, get some air into it, make it foam up. Getting oxygen in now will make your yeast happy. To be honest, skipping this step probably won't make much of a difference as this is a pretty low abv beer and the yeast will get an easy ride, but it is good practice.
(8) Swirl the yeasty water and chuck it in, put the lid on and leave the fv somewhere 18-20C. If your fv doesn't have an airlock, just crack the lid a bit on one side so the CO2 can escape. Otherwise, fit the airlock.
(9) Leave it alone for two weeks. Try to avoid large temperature fluctuations. Don't open the lid, mess around with it, take hydrometer readings. Just leave it alone. OK, ok, I know. This is your first brew. Just try to peek the absolute minimum that your curiosity will permit. If the airlock doesn't bubble, it doesn't matter.

After the two weeks take a hydrometer reading. It should be more or less around 1.008, or 1.006, 1.005, possibly even 1.010. If it is above 1.013 or so I'd be worried that it might be stuck, but it shouldn't be stuck as my understanding of the Wilko yeast is that it is pretty good. Now you can stick your two hydrometer readings into an online abv calculator and figure out how strong your beer it. It is now time to bottle. How you do this depends on whether your bottles are plastic or glass, what sanitiser you have, whether you will sypon from the fv, or have a bottling bucket with a tap. Either way, yeah, about 130g sugar is good for 20L of beer with a decent level of carbonation that is suitable for this type of beer. Once bottled, keep somewhere warmish (18-22C) for a fortnight, then somewhere coolish for a fortnight, then enjoy your must-better-than-what-following-the-instructions-would've-given-you beer.

 

[Reed]

Wow thank you for the advice. I managed to fit my tap to my bottling FV today. I've also ordered some dried malt extract so keen to see how that goes on my next brew.

Thanks again. I'll keep you all updated on how it goes.

 

[LarryF]

It is advisable to do your first kit according to instructions, so you know how it is suppose to taste, before messing about with it. On the other hand, if you want to get better beer I would suggest:
(1) Destroy the instructions. Fire, shredder, it doesn't matter. You can be as creative as you like with this step.
(2) Clean and sanitise everything you will need: a fermentation vessel (fv), a large spoon or paddle, a small cup/glass, thermometer, a tin opener, hydrometer. You might need to rinse these things depending on which sanitiser you use. Probably best to sanitise a clean work surface too, so you have somewhere to put these things for when you need them.
(3) Fill the glass with about 200ml of water and heat in microwave for a few secs to get it to around 22C , sprinkle the packet of yeast from the kit on top, and give it a little shake. Keep shaking it every once in a while.
(4) Put a few litres of cold water into a sanitised fermentation vessel, and stir in 1kg of light or extra-light dry malt extract (DME), using your spoon/paddle. Or, alternatively, 1kg of brew enhancer (BE). DME is better though. Both BE and DME clump and get super sticky when dissolving, but it is easier to mix into cold water. Pour the stuff in slowly and keep stirring while you do it and it will be fine.
(5) Put the kettle on. Open the can from the kit and pour it in. Then, fill the can with boiling water from the kettle to dissolve the stuff that has stuck to the sides. With a towel or oven mitts, pour some into the fv, give the can a swirl, then pour some more. Just make sure that everything is dissolved and ends up in the fv.
(6) Using a mix of hot kettle water and cold water (tap is ok if your water tastes good, otherwise cheap supermarket bottled water is fine), start filling the fv to 20 litres. You want to balance these so that the final temperature is about 19C. Now take a hydrometer reading - you can either put the hydrometer straight into the fv (if so, remember to take it out) or use a sample tube (filled with a sanitised ladle, not dipped in the fv). I'd recommend the latter, as then you can drink the sample after taking the reading and find out what unfermented wort tastes like. When taking the reading, give the hydrometer a little spin first, and it might be worth taking a photo as its often easier to measure from zooming in to a photo then standing squinty-eyed trying to figure out where the meniscus is.
(7) Beat the living daylight out of your wort with your spoon/paddle. Splash it around, get some air into it, make it foam up. Getting oxygen in now will make your yeast happy. To be honest, skipping this step probably won't make much of a difference as this is a pretty low abv beer and the yeast will get an easy ride, but it is good practice.
(8) Swirl the yeasty water and chuck it in, put the lid on and leave the fv somewhere 18-20C. If your fv doesn't have an airlock, just crack the lid a bit on one side so the CO2 can escape. Otherwise, fit the airlock.
(9) Leave it alone for two weeks. Try to avoid large temperature fluctuations. Don't open the lid, mess around with it, take hydrometer readings. Just leave it alone. OK, ok, I know. This is your first brew. Just try to peek the absolute minimum that your curiosity will permit. If the airlock doesn't bubble, it doesn't matter.

After the two weeks take a hydrometer reading. It should be more or less around 1.008, or 1.006, 1.005, possibly even 1.010. If it is above 1.013 or so I'd be worried that it might be stuck, but it shouldn't be stuck as my understanding of the Wilko yeast is that it is pretty good. Now you can stick your two hydrometer readings into an online abv calculator and figure out how strong your beer it. It is now time to bottle. How you do this depends on whether your bottles are plastic or glass, what sanitiser you have, whether you will sypon from the fv, or have a bottling bucket with a tap. Either way, yeah, about 130g sugar is good for 20L of beer with a decent level of carbonation that is suitable for this type of beer. Once bottled, keep somewhere warmish (18-22C) for a fortnight, then somewhere coolish for a fortnight, then enjoy your must-better-than-what-following-the-instructions-would've-given-you beer.

Brilliant write up on starting a kit off.

1) Destroy the instructions. Fire, shredder, it doesn't matter. You can be as creative as you like with this step.

Love it!!

 

[oldskool]

ive been adding a kg of brew enhancer and 1/2kg of brewing sugar to mine primaried it for 8-9 days racked it to a keg with 100g sugar left for another 2 days in warmth put it in the kitchen to clear for another couple of days tried it and was so impressed i drank it flat in another couple of days and made more and this time ive added even more sugar lol but thats just coz im a loon, i recon its up there with the premium lagers as it is id say about stella sort of strength and nice and light and fresh like corona, im just in my 3rd one now and ive just ordered a cornelius keg so i can get it carbonated better and faster lol this one should knock your socks off coz i added 1kg enhancer (muntons) and about 850g sugar dunno if im gonna bother with a secondary if my keg and gas come tomorrow it will have had 11 days in the bin, its clearing and its my neighbors birthday and he just drank half my current keg need to start bulk buying LME lol

 

[Global33]

ive been adding a kg of brew enhancer and 1/2kg of brewing sugar to mine primaried it for 8-9 days racked it to a keg with 100g sugar left for another 2 days in warmth put it in the kitchen to clear for another couple of days tried it and was so impressed i drank it flat in another couple of days and made more and this time ive added even more sugar lol but thats just coz im a loon, i recon its up there with the premium lagers as it is id say about stella sort of strength and nice and light and fresh like corona, im just in my 3rd one now and ive just ordered a cornelius keg so i can get it carbonated better and faster lol this one should knock your socks off coz i added 1kg enhancer (muntons) and about 850g sugar dunno if im gonna bother with a secondary if my keg and gas come tomorrow it will have had 11 days in the bin, its clearing and its my neighbors birthday and he just drank half my current keg need to start bulk buying LME lol

This place seems rather cheap, but not ordered from them yet.

http://www.brewsmarter.co.uk/bh-light-lme-liquid-malt-extact-15-kg-1762-p.asp

It drops to less then a fiver per 1.5kg if you order it with a kit.

 

[LarryF]

ive been adding a kg of brew enhancer and 1/2kg of brewing sugar to mine primaried it for 8-9 days racked it to a keg with 100g sugar left for another 2 days in warmth put it in the kitchen to clear for another couple of days tried it and was so impressed i drank it flat in another couple of days and made more and this time ive added even more sugar lol but thats just coz im a loon, i recon its up there with the premium lagers as it is id say about stella sort of strength and nice and light and fresh like corona, im just in my 3rd one now and ive just ordered a cornelius keg so i can get it carbonated better and faster lol this one should knock your socks off coz i added 1kg enhancer (muntons) and about 850g sugar dunno if im gonna bother with a secondary if my keg and gas come tomorrow it will have had 11 days in the bin, its clearing and its my neighbors birthday and he just drank half my current keg need to start bulk buying LME lol

WTF!!!!........You are a beer warrior Sir.

 

[Reed]

Hello all, just to keep you updated I have just sat down from putting my first brew on (is that the term?) and I can't wait for it to be done. Quite enjoyable and some very weird tastes along the way. I have followed IainM steps and it was very easy to follow, thanks for taking the time to help me out.

On another note my first reading was 1.025-1.028 is this typically normal?

I'll post some pictures at bottling stage.

 

[Reed]

Correction, just had another check and its 1.050!!

 

[IainM]

Correction, just had another check and its 1.050!!

Sounds more like it. 1.050 is just about perfect.

 

[Reed]

I have noticed today that the FV is not as active as it was so I'm assuming that the fermentation process is slowing down. Where as before the air lock was bubbling away every minute or so and the lid visibly bulging from the pressure the lid is now slack.

The temperature has been constant and I haven't messed with it at all, does is sound like it's all going to plan?

 

[terrym]

@Reed
All sounds as if it is going to plan. Normally primary fermentations are pretty much finished after 4-7 days. I suggest you leave it alone until about 14 days are up, and then take an SG reading, followed by another a day or so later. You should find the readings are the same so you could go ahead and bottle. However if you leave it a 2/3 days longer, especially in a cool place if you have one, the beer will be much clearer when it comes to you finally bottling, and you will avoid lots of yeast sediment in your bottles.

 

[IainM]

@Reed
All sounds as if it is going to plan. Normally primary fermentations are pretty much finished after 4-7 days. I suggest you leave it alone until about 14 days are up, and then take an SG reading, followed by another a day or so later. You should find the readings are the same so you could go ahead and bottle. However if you leave it a 2/3 days longer, especially in a cool place if you have one, the beer will be much clearer when it comes to you finally bottling, and you will avoid lots of yeast sediment in your bottles.

+1 on this. Sounds good to me.

 

[Reed]

@Reed
All sounds as if it is going to plan. Normally primary fermentations are pretty much finished after 4-7 days. I suggest you leave it alone until about 14 days are up, and then take an SG reading, followed by another a day or so later. You should find the readings are the same so you could go ahead and bottle. However if you leave it a 2/3 days longer, especially in a cool place if you have one, the beer will be much clearer when it comes to you finally bottling, and you will avoid lots of yeast sediment in your bottles.

How cool are we talking? Would sticking it on a concrete floor in a drafty garage be OK or is that a little too cool or ideal?

Thanks for all your help, what a great forum.

 

[IainM]

How cool are we talking? Would sticking it on a concrete floor in a drafty garage be OK or is that a little too cool or ideal?

Thanks for all your help, what a great forum.

If it isn't frozen then it isn't too cool.

 

[shanec70]

Hi all. Sorry to hijack this thread, I started brewing this 16 days ago. I transferred from the FV to a brew bin and added 130 grams (was this enough)of sugar to it (dissolved in warm water) and gave it a good stir before bottling 21 litres and capping them. I have left them in my kitchen which is around 17-19 degrees, is this environment warm enough for the first stage of conditioning/carbonation (it is the same room that I carried out the fermentation in) and what would anyone recommend to leave them in this room for before moving to a cooler area which will be my garage floor( is this cold/cool enough). Also when would you expect to see the carbonation starting? Thanks in adavance as this is my first beer/lager that I have made after a few very successful wine kits.


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[terrym]

I transferred from the FV to a brew bin and added 130 grams (was this enough)of sugar to it (dissolved in warm water) and gave it a good stir before bottling 21 litres and capping them. I have left them in my kitchen which is around 17-19 degrees, is this environment warm enough for the first stage of conditioning/carbonation (it is the same room that I carried out the fermentation in) and what would anyone recommend to leave them in this room for before moving to a cooler area which will be my garage floor( is this cold/cool enough). Also when would you expect to see the carbonation starting?

At 130g you have added an amount of sugar to give the right level of carbing for your pilsner (using this https://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/)
About 18*C should be OK for the carbing process although it might take nearer 14 days to complete rather than 7 days.
Unless you have used PET bottles (which can be tested by firm pressure to see if carbing is finished) the only way of finding out if they are fully carbed is to open one, although if the beer is clearing/cleared that is a good sign.
Finally conditioning is best done in the coldest place you have, so if that's your garage floor so be it. :thumb:. If you are looking to lager your pilsner however you will need a fridge.