How much sugar should i add to both 300/250ml bottles ?

[razzer195]

I'm completely new to home brewing but thought id give it a shot.. I have 5 gallons of coopers European lager currently undergoing its first stage of fermentation.

I have a stick-on thermometer which i think currently reads 22 degrees Celsius, The reason i'm not sure is because it has 3 colors; dark blue, light blue & brown. I'm assuming i take the light blue reading as this color is in the center?

Also when i get around to bottling/priming hopefully in 5/6 days time i'm not entirely sure how much sugar i should add to the bottles i have collected. I have 250ml bottles & 300ml bottles, Should i add around a 1/4 tsp for the 250ml and around a 1/3 tsp for the 300ml? Is this correct?

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[StevieDS]

It's quite difficult to be precise with teaspoon measurements, however for a lager you want between 5.4g/litre and 7.4g/litre depending on how fizzy you want it.
In teaspoon equivalent that's approx between 1.3tsp/litre and 1.8tsp/litre.
So that works out about 0.3 - 0.4 tsp for the 250ml bottles and 0.4 - 0.5 tsp for the 300ml bottles.
As I say, not easy to be exact when priming individual bottles (much easier to batch prime) but should get you close.
Hope that helps.
As for your temperature, 22 is maybe a tad high, around 18 or 19 would probably be better if possible.

 

[LeithR]

I don't know the Coopers kit, haven't brewed it but lager brews best at around 10 - 15*C but this only applies if coopers yeast is a lager yeast. If it is an ale yeast then a higher fermentation temp is appropriate. Somebody who brews lagers regularly will come along shortly and answer your question I'm sure.

 

[StevieDS]

I don't know the Coopers kit, haven't brewed it but lager brews best at around 10 - 15*C but this only applies if coopers yeast is a lager yeast. If it is an ale yeast then a higher fermentation temp is appropriate. Somebody who brews lagers regularly will come along shortly and answer your question I'm sure.

Quite right you are though I'm fairly sure most kits, even the lager ones, contain top fermenting yeast.

Edit: A quick Google search indicates that the Coopers European Lager kit actually does use a proper lager yeast and so should be brewed at a lower temperature as suggested by LeithR.

 

[Rivvo]

As for carbonation, in my limited experience batch priming is much easier and more effective.

 

[StevieDS]

As for carbonation, in my limited experience batch priming is much easier and more effective.

Definitely, although many beginners don't have a secondary fv to rack to for batch priming. It's certainly worth investing in a bottling bucket though.

 

[razzer195]

Thanks for the advice guys.

LeithR, StevieDS: I hope the yeast that was provided with the kit was lager yeast, as the temperature has now come down to 14 degrees Celsius and has stayed at that temperate for the past couple days. Ill maintain this heat if it's the best for lager.

Rivvo: I must agree, after a lot of browsing these very helpful forums, That bulk priming seems the easiest option and the option i think i will take.

Just a couple more questions:
1. Can i bulk prime even if i only have 1 bucket, my fermentation bucket? I was hoping that i'd just be able to add the priming sugar solution to the bucket and stir very gently, trying to avoid disturbing the resting sediments at the bottom of the bucket. Would this be a viable option?

2. As i only have 1 Bucket, Which is what my brew is currently fermenting in. Would i be able to siphon directly from this into my bottles (The FV didn't come with a fixed tap).

3. I don't have a bottling wand, Could i just siphon without it but control the flow with a tap that came with the kit?

Sorry about all the noob questions i just want my first brew to be as successful as possible!

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[Stapsin]

Thanks for the advice guys.

LeithR, StevieDS: I hope the yeast that was provided with the kit was lager yeast, as the temperature has now come down to 14 degrees Celsius and has stayed at that temperate for the past couple days. Ill maintain this heat if it's the best for lager.

Rivvo: I must agree, after a lot of browsing these very helpful forums, That bulk priming seems the easiest option and the option i think i will take.

Just a couple more questions:
1. Can i bulk prime even if i only have 1 bucket, my fermentation bucket? I was hoping that i'd just be able to add the priming sugar solution to the bucket and stir very gently, trying to avoid disturbing the resting sediments at the bottom of the bucket. Would this be a viable option?

2. As i only have 1 Bucket, Which is what my brew is currently fermenting in. Would i be able to siphon directly from this into my bottles (The FV didn't come with a fixed tap).

3. I don't have a bottling wand, Could i just siphon without it but control the flow with a tap that came with the kit?

Sorry about all the noob questions i just want my first brew to be as successful as possible!

Thanks in advance guys.

1. Theoretically yes but you will definitely disturb the sediment even if you only lightly stir but its kind of unavoidable seeing as you only have 1 FV. Your other option would be to get some of the coopers carbonation drops which are easier to prime individual bottles with than tablespoons of sugar.

2. Yes you can siphon directly into your bottles but be careful not to disturb the sediment. You want to leave a bit of liquid at the bottom covering the sediment also. Don't get too greedy.

3. Yep you can control the flow with the tap that came with the kit.

At the end of the day sediment in kits is mainly just yeast and so you want to try and avoid getting it into your bottles as much as possible but you will always get some and its not the end of the world. When you're beer has carbonated you just need to make sure and pour it into a glass to drink and leave about 1/2" of liquid at the bottom on the bottle (which will have most of yeast).

 

[razzer195]

Thankyou Stapsin and to rest of you guys for your valuable input.

I think that's cleared everything up for the moment i shall let you all know how it turns out :)

 

[razzer195]

Update: It seems the fermentation has stalled or is just fermenting very slowly.

I opened the FV yesterday and took a gravity reading to see how it's progressing - I was surprised to get a reading of 1030, I had an original gravity of 1048. I was expecting a lower reading than that after its been fermenting for 7 days? It didn't even have a krausen on top.

Anyway iv moved into my airing cupboard now to see if warming it up may trigger the yeast back into action.

Is temperate the reason why my brew has hardly fermented? It was at 12-14 degrees Celsius in my kitchen? And should i just leave it? Or is there anything else you guys could recommend?

Beginning to worry that my first brew will be a complete failure!!

 

[Slid]

A lager yeast fermenting brew is a tough first effort.
Here are some words from the Coopers site:

!We recommend pitching Lager yeast at 22-24°C then allowing the brew to drop to as low as 13°C over the next day or so.

Some physical differences when fermenting with Lager yeast:

•Less foam and barely noticeable scum ring.
•Less CO2 produced and longer ferment time.
•Ferments more thoroughly - Lower FG achieved.
•May produce an eggy smell (this will dissipate with bottle age).

Due to lower temperature and longer ferment time cleanliness and sanitation is even more important when making Lager beer.

Fermentation may take 2 to 3 weeks.

To avoid the risk of overcarbonation - glass bottles may explode. Only bottle your brew when the fermentation process is complete. Fermentation is complete when the density of the brew remains constant over 2 days. We recommend the use of a hydrometer to check the specific gravity (density) of your brew."

In the context of what you have said, maybe leaving it in the kitchen is best.
Sorry that this sort of contradicts your decision to warm it up again.

Good luck with it, though, I doubt it's anywhere near ruined yet and I suspect your hydrometer reading at 1030 may have been a bit higher than it actually was. A lot of bubbles tend to attach to the hydrometer if the beer is still fermenting, giving a falsely high reading as they lift up the hydrometer in the sample jar.

 

[razzer195]

A lager yeast fermenting brew is a tough first effort.
Here are some words from the Coopers site:

!We recommend pitching Lager yeast at 22-24°C then allowing the brew to drop to as low as 13°C over the next day or so.

Some physical differences when fermenting with Lager yeast:

•Less foam and barely noticeable scum ring.
•Less CO2 produced and longer ferment time.
•Ferments more thoroughly - Lower FG achieved.
•May produce an eggy smell (this will dissipate with bottle age).

Due to lower temperature and longer ferment time cleanliness and sanitation is even more important when making Lager beer.

Fermentation may take 2 to 3 weeks.

To avoid the risk of overcarbonation - glass bottles may explode. Only bottle your brew when the fermentation process is complete. Fermentation is complete when the density of the brew remains constant over 2 days. We recommend the use of a hydrometer to check the specific gravity (density) of your brew."

In the context of what you have said, maybe leaving it in the kitchen is best.
Sorry that this sort of contradicts your decision to warm it up again.

Good luck with it, though, I doubt it's anywhere near ruined yet and I suspect your hydrometer reading at 1030 may have been a bit higher than it actually was. A lot of bubbles tend to attach to the hydrometer if the beer is still fermenting, giving a falsely high reading as they lift up the hydrometer in the sample jar.

Ahh thank you for the thorough reliable information slid, I do feel quiet reassured now!

Ill leave in the airing cupboard though as it only took it up to 14 degrees anyhow!

Again thank you :)