New brewer in town

[ewgchard27]

Hi guys,

I have finally decided to start my own brew. I have bought a kit from online and got my first brew on last night. I went for Coopers lager and I think everything went OK.


Just a few concerns though.

1. I can't seem to get the temp of the FV above 16c is was sat at 14 this morning. I have read online that 18 is perfect for coopers.

2. I added a kilogram of sugar to the mix before topping it up to 23 litres but looking at it this morning it looks as though the sugar has just settled rather than dissolved is this right ?

3. I also did a hydrometer test before adding the yeast and it sat at 1.142ish and I can't seem to find anywhere that shows this is correct.



This brew hopefully will be somewhere near done for Xmas.....fingers crossed.



Thanks for your time.

 

[Wendy1971]

Hi and welcome to the forum :thumb:

 

[Vossy1]

Welcome to the forum :thumb: and well done on starting your 1st kit :party:

1. I can't seem to get the temp of the FV above 16c is was sat at 14 this morning. I have read online that 18 is perfect for coopers.

It really needs to be around 18 deg c or the yeast may not work and or it'll certainly take longer, can you move it to a warmer room?

2. I added a kilogram of sugar to the mix before topping it up to 23 litres but looking at it this morning it looks as though the sugar has just settled rather than dissolved is this right ?

It's more likely the malt extract though could be the sugar, wait until it wams up then give it a quick stir with a sanitised spoon.

3. I also did a hydrometer test before adding the yeast and it sat at 1.142ish and I can't seem to find anywhere that shows this is correct.

That seems very high, I would have thought 1.042 is more like it. Does the kit say to add the sugar, I'm not familiar with it :hmm:

 

[ewgchard27]

Hi guys

Thanks for the replies.

Bossy to answer your questions.

1, I moved it to my bedroom which seems to be warmer than where it was and wrapped the FV in a towel hopefully this will warm it up.

2, The kit specifies to add 1kg of sugar before adding yeast.

3. I will do another hydro test this evening and update the results


Cheers guys

 

[simonlpearce]

Get up plastic tub from wilkos for £7, fill it with water, put in your FV. Then go buy an aquarium heater £6 (ebay) and put it in the tub and set it to the correct temp.

The coopers brewmaster pilsner kit i just did was 500g brewing sugar + 300 malt extract, but i guess others could be different. My reading was 1038 so im guessing yours is more likely 1042, unless of course your hydrometer is broken.

 

[LeedsBrewer]

hello and welcome to the forum. I have similar problems with keeping mine warm. Until I get a fermenting fridge i'm wrapping my FV up in an old duvet and it's been fine so far.

 

[dennisking]

Hi and welcome.

 

[fermentall]

Hi, enjoy your adventure :

 

[ewgchard27]

Hi,

Just to update, I read the hydrometer wrong its actually 1.042ish.

One other thing, I haven't heard my bubbler bubble yet and its been over 24 hours since I started the brew. Is this normal ?

Admins feel free to move this to another section of the forum I know its gone a bit off topic from an introduction

Thanks for the help guys

 

[LeedsBrewer]

Many people don't get airtight seals on their fvs so that could be one reason for there being no airlock activity. When I pitch my yeast, I just wrap up my FV and forget about it. Very difficult on your first batch i know! But basically don't worry. It'll be fine. Check back in 4 or 5 days, take an SG reading with your hydrometer and if it has fallen then fermentation has taken place.

 

[joe1002]

Welcome to the forum :