Howdy all. Newcomer to home brew here, help needed!

[shearclass]

Hi All

How are you?

I'm new to home brewing. am starting off on kits. Currently have one kit in a barrel (Brupaks IPA), one in bottles (Coopers European Lager) and one in fermentation Bucket (Muntons Smugglers Special)

The Brupaks IPA is ready to try on Friday hopefully, as it's been in the barrel 4 weeks now. I'm very excited to sample my first pint of ome brew, but being that it is my first pint, I think it might not be very good.

I've got lots ofquestions to ask, but before I do, I'll search through the posts on here. If I can't find anything I'll post my questions. I hope I can find some help!

Thanks in advance

 

[BigYin]

sounds like you are already well on the road to a very enjoyable hobby : :drink: :drink:

Welcome to the forum :mrgreen:

 

[Cussword]

You've got some good kits going. Welcome to the forum :

 

[shearclass]

Thanks for the welcome!

I wanted to start off with a couple of the more expensive kits as i hoped they would be more likely to taste ok.

I have some questions, but I'm not sure where to post them.

I thought I'd maybe post them on the How To.. thread about brewing kits? If I post it in the wrong place, feel free to move it moderators.

Cheers

 

[shearclass]

Actually I'll just post my questions here then if no one replies I'll try somewhere else.

Don't worry about answering each question, but if you can answer any of my questions i'd be grateful. I am sure that between the regular forum posters I can get some answers!

1 . I read a lot of postings about how bad it is that oxygen entering the beer

a) How do you check brew with a hydrometer without getting oxygen in the brew
b) I've read some posts that say if fermentation is stuck, stir the brew. Won't this add oxygen into it?
c) Is there a particular way to bottle or keg the brew without getting oxygen in it
d) In relation to the above, i read one of the how to posts on making premium beer kits, and part of the process was, once in the barrel, to blast some CO2 in there, leave for a few mins, then open the lid slightly to let the air out, then add more CO2. The beer kit instructions to not mention this, so i didn't do it with my first brew. Have i ruined my brew by not doing it?
e) I'm a bit geeky and like to know how things work, so can someone explain what actually happens when oxygen enters the brew to cause an off taste?

2. Camden Tablets

My local brew shop had never heard of camden tables being used to dechlorinate water. They thought they were used as a steraliser, and thoguht they may kill the yeast. Also, to add to confusion, the tablets themselves say "Add one crushed tablet to wine AFTER fermentation to prevent bacterial infection". However, people on this forum seem to swear by them. Do camden tablets have more than one use, or have i bought the wrong ones?


3. Larger Kit with Lager yeast or beer yeast?

I have a Coopers European lager kit in bottles which came with a lager yeast. I also have a Coopers Canadian Blonde kit which comes with beer yeast.

a) Would it be ideal to buy a lager yeast to make this kit, or should i just use the yeast provided?
b) I know the lager yeast takes longer to work than the beer yeast and operates at a lower temperature, but what will the taste difference be, if any?
c) Why do coopers only supply lager yeast with the European lager kit and not the other lager kits?


4. Mixing yeast with warm water before adding to wort.

Everywhere i read that if yeast is added to beer when the temperature i about 28 degrees or so then it will kill the yeast. However, the first kit i made, Brupaks IPA, told me to mix the yeast in a cup of water that was 38 - 40 degrees. Will doing this kill the yeast? Is is best to just add yeast to the wort at 20 ish degrees? Why does Brupaks advise otherwise?

I think i have more questions, but these are enough to be going on now!

Many thanks in advance for any help i receive, it will be most appreciated. i'm young(ish) and new to the real ale and home brewing game!

Cheers

 

[Darkbrewer]

Wow I'm a new brewer too and you've asked alot of the same questions I have. And most of em you just have to sift thru info and find what's best for you. For every method I've seen there is some info that says something else is better. I've been concerned with the air issue as well.

 

[robsan77]

welcome. Im off to bed but skimmed a couple of your q's.

It is best to pitch your yeast at about 24c but let the beer ferment at 20c. The initial higher temp will help speed up the yeast thus reducing the lag time and possible infection getting in. I have pitched at 28c before with no problems except a lot of diacetyl being produced (buttery flavour) which was good for the style anyway.

40c is too high in my opinion for rehydrating yeast and un-neccessary. i would always avoid large swings of temperature difference for a yeast, they are delicate creatures that can mutate rapidly and completly change the flavour of your beer.

yes campden tablets have other uses and are better at removing choline than they are as a sanitiser. There are better products out there for sanitizing.

 

[robsan77]

1 . I read a lot of postings about how bad it is that oxygen entering the beer

a) How do you check brew with a hydrometer without getting oxygen in the brew if you dont have a tap then carefully use a sanized turkey baster or something to remove a sample to test. Dont put it back. Dont worry about oxygen getting in by opening the lid, just dont go splashing about.
b) I've read some posts that say if fermentation is stuck, stir the brew. Won't this add oxygen into it?yes and is a bad idea :nono: unless your beer hasnt fermented at all. try repitching yeast and nutrient first.
c) Is there a particular way to bottle or keg the brew without getting oxygen in it yes
d) In relation to the above, i read one of the how to posts on making premium beer kits, and part of the process was, once in the barrel, to blast some CO2 in there, leave for a few mins, then open the lid slightly to let the air out, then add more CO2. The beer kit instructions to not mention this, so i didn't do it with my first brew. Have i ruined my brew by not doing it? no but it may not last as long as it could, best get drinking :
e) I'm a bit geeky and like to know how things work, so can someone explain what actually happens when oxygen enters the brew to cause an off taste?no :grin:

 

[shearclass]

@Robsan77 - thank you very much for your help. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply to me.

@DarkBrewer -This may be the most reassuring thing I have read so far - "For every method I've seen there is some info that says something else is better." - means it's not just me who is confused!

I am glad to say I tried my first pint of home brew last night, and although I thought it would be dreadful, it was bloody delicious! I was well impressed with myself. However, I'm putting this down to beginners luck. The drink I had was out of a bottle. I put most of my first brew in the keg, but made up a few bottles to take to my girlfriends house.

Back to my questions...

I don't mean to sound like an ****, but how do I know whether to believe those who recommend not stirring, and those who say it is OK to stir brew when fermentation is stuck? I guess I should believe you as you are a black belt brewer! When I made my first brew, most of it went in the barrel, though I did do a few bottles. After a couple of days in the bottles, I gave them a gentle stir to dislodge the sediment at the bottom, believing it would somehow help with fermentation and flavour. I guess this should have ruined the beer, but as I said above it tasted great. Was I just lucky?

Is anyone able to tell me what oxygen does to the brew? I am very keen to understand this.

Can you tell me then what the best way to bottle and barrel beer is without introducing too much oxygen? I am using a fermentation bucket with no tap, so am siphoning with a u bend, bucket clip, and a siphoned tube with a nozzle on the end. I’ve seen advice showing beer been dropped from a height into the barrel, but wouldn’t this introduce oxygen?

When you say re-pitching the yeast, you mean just buy another pack and add? Is it recommended to always add yeast nutrient at the beginning, or only if fermentation becomes stuck?

Finally, and less important to me at this stage, I’m still unsure about why my lager kit has beer yeast, and any issues this will cause, and how my taste will differ if I used a lager yeast. I think, for speed, I will just use beer yeast this time.

 

[jonboymentalhealth]

Hi and welcome, you already have one important quality patience. Four weeks is impressive. :thumb:

 

[shearclass]

As well as my questions above, my current brew - Mutons Premium Smugglers Special is stuck at 1.02... what should I do?

I'll search the forum and try and find some help to this...

 

[BigYin]

Back to my questions...

I don't mean to sound like an ****, but how do I know whether to believe those who recommend not stirring, and those who say it is OK to stir brew when fermentation is stuck? I guess I should believe you as you are a black belt brewer! When I made my first brew, most of it went in the barrel, though I did do a few bottles. After a couple of days in the bottles, I gave them a gentle stir to dislodge the sediment at the bottom, believing it would somehow help with fermentation and flavour. I guess this should have ruined the beer, but as I said above it tasted great. Was I just lucky?

Is anyone able to tell me what oxygen does to the brew? I am very keen to understand this.

You can stir, but gently, without splashing and creating bubbles. Getting too much air into it apparantly causes off flavours through oxidation.

Can you tell me then what the best way to bottle and barrel beer is without introducing too much oxygen? I am using a fermentation bucket with no tap, so am siphoning with a u bend, bucket clip, and a siphoned tube with a nozzle on the end. I’ve seen advice showing beer been dropped from a height into the barrel, but wouldn’t this introduce oxygen?

I wonder if that was cooled beer going from the boil to a fermenter? need to aerate it then.. Other than that, a little bottler is great for filling bottles, and for a barrel I just make sure the tube is kept as close to the beer level in the barrel to try and minimise any splashing.

When you say re-pitching the yeast, you mean just buy another pack and add? Is it recommended to always add yeast nutrient at the beginning, or only if fermentation becomes stuck?

that's what I would take from that advice - put a pack of yeast in - I've never used yeast nutrient in beer brewing - thought it was a wine thing :wha: Having said that, I've tried that - re-pitching - and the SG still don't drop, so I ended up bottling it anyway...

Finally, and less important to me at this stage, I’m still unsure about why my lager kit has beer yeast, and any issues this will cause, and how my taste will differ if I used a lager yeast. I think, for speed, I will just use beer yeast this time.

The yeast might make a little difference, but not much. Don't worry about it, just make it and drink up :drink:

 

[shearclass]

Thanks for your help Big Yin.

i'm going to give this one a stir and hope for the best.