MYO Lager Kit Advice (newbie to beer/lager making)

[JohnBoy27]

Hello fellow brewers!

I hope you're all keeping well?

I was in the Range the other day and picked up a Make Your Own premium lager kit. One of my neighbours was having a clear out and gave me beer making stuff to get started (bigger fermentation vessel, bottles etc.) which is all pretty much brand new (result!). I'm going to start the kit next week when I have time and looking for some pointers and have some questions that you maybe able to answer which would be greatly appreciated! I make wine and so this will be my first ever lager!

I'm obviously going to follow the instructions but wondering if I should be picking up a packet of finings to clear the lager before bottling? I have watched a few videos on YouTube and the lager looks really cloudy. Does this sediment naturally fall out after bottling, secondary fermentation and eventually conditioning?.

Any other advice would be greatly appreciative!


Thank you in advance


John

 

[Dutto]

Tip 1
Sanitise! Sanitise! Sanitise!

Tip 2
No matter what the kit says, use the 2+2+2 as a minimum (2 weeks fermenting + 2 weeks carbonating + 2 weeks conditioning) before you even taste it!

Tip 3
Use a light DME or Beer Enhancer instead of sugar - and half the amount if you don’t want to make “falling down juice”.

Tip 4
Get your next brew on almost immediately.

Enjoy!
:hat:

 

[JohnBoy27]

Tip 1
Sanitise! Sanitise! Sanitise!

Tip 2
No matter what the kit says, use the 2+2+2 as a minimum (2 weeks fermenting + 2 weeks carbonating + 2 weeks conditioning) before you even taste it!

Tip 3
Use a light DME or Beer Enhancer instead of sugar - and half the amount if you don’t want to make “falling down juice”.

Tip 4
Get your next brew on almost immediately.

Enjoy!
:hat:

Thanks Dutto for the advice, it is appreciated.

Oh! "falling down juice" sounds interesting... maybe slightly tempting haha! I assume the DME and enhancer just improve the flavour profiles?

Thank you!

John

 

[Chippy_Tea]

We regularly make the MYO wine kits, the beer kits are popular so you should enjoy it.

 

[JohnBoy27]

We regularly make the MYO wine kits, the beer kits are popular so you should enjoy it.

I have never tried the wine kits as I wasn't sure of how highly they were rated I assume they are worth a shot?

I'm quite excited actually to see how the lager turns out actually. Is it worth adding any finings to the finished lager?

John.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I have never tried the wine kits as I wasn't sure of how highly they were rated I assume they are worth a shot?

At £20 - £25 for 30 bottles they are definitely worth a try.
(it is rumoured they are made by Muntons for the Range stores)

This is the one we regularly make -

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...make-your-own-rosé-wine-rebranded-2019.83751/

 

[Dutto]

To the subject of Finings my answer is No!

“Time + Gravity” will suffice.

However, if you want to hurry thing along then some members Cold Crash their brews.

 

[stan]

Hi
did this one about 3 months ago as dutto says 2+2+2 is the way to go i ferment for 2 weeks then transfer to a second bucket and add gelatine ( dr oetker works for me ) and crash cool to 2c for a week ( if you can do this ) then bottle and leave it alone for 3 weeks ( 2 weeks warm @ brewing temp then 1 week in the garage ) i found this one gets better as time goes on hope this helps a little

 

[GhostShip]

Do you have any means of temperature control? It's very warm at the moment and set to get even warmer next week. Lager generally requires a lower fermenting temperature than ale which might be hard to achieve unless you have a brew fridge? Depending on where you keep your FV when fermenting, perhaps consider standing it in a large bowl of cold water and constantly monitoring the temp?

 

[JohnBoy27]

To the subject of Finings my answer is No!

“Time + Gravity” will suffice.

However, if you want to hurry thing along then some members Cold Crash their brews.

Ahhh ok, thanks for letting me know - now I guess thats why there isn't a packet of finings in the box!

 

[Branny]

This is my next one. I'll be doing a pressure ferment and using CML Kolsch yeast at 15 deg. Hopefully, it'll be a good one but I doubt I'll get to 6 weeks.

It'll be fermented and once activity stops for 48 hrs it's a 3-day cold crash before kegging. I'll be drinking it as soon as the -currently fermenting - MJ Grapefruit IPA runs out.

 

[Dutto]

….. I'll be drinking it as soon as the -currently fermenting - MJ Grapefruit IPA runs out.

Be patient and you will reach Critical Mass!

This is where you have sufficient stocks to be able to consider what you wish to brew for at least six weeks ahead.

At the moment I have ready to drink:

• 8 litres of Ruby Red Ale
• 20 litres of Lager
• 11 litres of Rosé Wine
• 20 litres of IPA

I also have fermenting or conditioning:

• 22 litres of Red Wine
• 20 litres of Cerveza

This means that I can plan what I wish to brew when the brew-fridge comes free on the 30th July!

In brewing “Patience is a virtue that’s worth cultivating!”
:hat:

 

[JohnBoy27]

Be patient and you will reach Critical Mass!

This is where you have sufficient stocks to be able to consider what you wish to brew for at least six weeks ahead.

At the moment I have ready to drink:

• 8 litres of Ruby Red Ale
• 20 litres of Lager
• 11 litres of Rosé Wine
• 20 litres of IPA

I also have fermenting or conditioning:

• 22 litres of Red Wine
• 20 litres of Cerveza

This means that I can plan what I wish to brew when the brew-fridge comes free on the 30th July!

In brewing “Patience is a virtue that’s worth cultivating!”
:hat:

Thats some collection Dutto! The Cerveza sounds amazing

 

[AndrewJB]

At £20 - £25 for 30 bottles they are definitely worth a try.
(it is rumoured they are made by Muntons for the Range stores)

This is the one we regularly make -

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...make-your-own-rosé-wine-rebranded-2019.83751/

I know this is probably a bit late now, but the 2 cider kits I purchased from The Range a few months ago state that the manufacturer is Bevie Partners Ltd (Ritchies?). The MYO website also states Bevie.

Wilko kits are made by Muntons.

 

[clib]

Anybody made this MYO Premium Lager kit with the yeast supplied? What was the:

- Temperature recommended?
- Temperature you fermented at?
- Resulting beer like? Good/OK/Bad? Lager-like/Not lager-like?

Thanks. My kids like lager so I'm looking for a simple fix!

 

[Nucbrewer]

Bevie partners make Mangrove Jacks,
https://shop.bevie.co/au/

 

[Jim Brewster]

Anybody made this MYO Premium Lager kit with the yeast supplied? What was the:

- Temperature recommended?
- Temperature you fermented at?
- Resulting beer like? Good/OK/Bad? Lager-like/Not lager-like?

Thanks. My kids like lager so I'm looking for a simple fix!

I haven't, but did a simple all grain pseudo lager using US-05 yeast at ambient temp back in December (so <15C in the house) and it was pretty lager like for an ale drinker like myself. Left it outside in the frost for a few days too which helped make it almost crystal clear