Newbie advice please for first brew.

[philipsno2]

Hello.

I have just aquired some brewing tackle and i am eagerly awaiting my first pint. I will mainly be brewing lager and have a few questions please.

I popped to my local shop today and purchased some Coopers Canadian Blonde as I like stella and the man in the shop said that it tastes similar. I have watched several youtube videos and they all state to use the Coopers brew enhancer. I asked the man in the shop for some and he stated that it is a waste of money as it is simply sugar. I questioned this as it cant be that straight forward (can it ??) and he said the brew enhancer is basically sugar and Youngs spraymalt light. Wanting to make it as good as it can possibly be i purchased a bag of spraymalt and he said to use half the bag of it and a kilo bag of sugar. Does this sound all ok ????

I am reasonably OK i think on the initial fermentation, temp, cleanliness, and how to use the hygrometer and believe that it should be left for around 7 days or until you get 2 similar readings as close as possible to zero on the hygrometer.

I have a pressure barrel which does not have the brass screw top to add C02. I am aware that as the lager is drank the pressure will drop and will not be as carbonated towards the end and i plan to purchase this kit in the future.

What i am really unsure of is secondary fermentation (carbonation) in the pressure barrel. I understand how to bottle lager individually ie carbonation drop or teaspoon of sugar but how much sugar would i need for the barrel and how do i use it ie at what stage, sterilised?? dry or with water. I would like it to be well carbonated and a nice head if possible.

Your help is appreciated.

Andy

 

[NickW]

I'm unsure why he's saying brew enhancer is no better than sugar, because it is better than sugar. Dried spray malt is better, liquid malt extract is even better.

 

[PaulCa]

A few things...

No idea about the coopers enhancer. Spray malt and sugar is fine. Next time see if you can get brewing sugar, it's a different kind of sugar. Cane sugar/kitchen sugar can leave a sharp tang.... this may be myth.

1kg of sugar AND half bag of spray malt should make it good and strong, what was the original gravity reading?

Lager. Lager is not really about the wort or the kit and more about the yeast and how you ferment it. Lager is fermented cold for longer and then conditioned at near freezing for another (seems like) age to make it crisp and clean. If you are brewing at room temp 18-24C with ale yeast, even if the kit said "Lager" it's an ale. Don't worry though, you'll still love it :)

Temps, I'd keep it at as cool a room temp as you can. 18C if achievable for the first "intense" fermenting, which is usually over in 3-4 days. Then you can let it rest at normal room temp, anywhere from 18-25C. I set my fermenter in the bath and fill it with cold water, or even put 2litre milk cartons full of ice in there to help keep the temp under control. The ferment creates heat.

7 days. Hmm. Rule No. 1, throw the instructions out. Rule No. 2, the longer the better in almost all circumstances. If you imagine it like a curve where probably 80-90% of the ferment is done in 3 days. 90-95% in the first week. 99% in 2 weeks. The last small percent make a difference as the yeast go on clean up mode and start eating up the crappy sugars they left behind. These can produce tangs and tastes in the beer. Besides, if it's only 90% fermented you risk overcarbing it when you bottle it.

CO2 will be required to keep the beer from going flat, and to be able to pour it without opening the lid.

For carbing, go for a 22 litre batch, go with 180g of dextrose brewing sugar, or kitchen sugar if you must. Boil some water and mix the sugar into 200ml then deposit into the bottom of the barrel before you siphon the beer in. Point the hose to one side so it swirls and mixes. Someone will hopefully be along with a link to a calculator for how much sugar = how much CO2 = how fizzy.

To get it nicely carbed with good head will take 3-6 weeks. To stop it foaming when you pour it and going flat in the glass before you finish it, you will need to cool it down in the fridge.

 

[Sandimas]

Cooper Canadian is a cracking beer and I think you'll enjoy it, it's one of my favourites. As other have said, leave it a minimum of 14 days, maybe a bit longer to allow it to clean up.

And go out and get yourself a load of bottles. I think this brew benefits from being bottled rather than kegged:
a) each bottle will be individually carbonated much more than you can get in a barrel
b) you can store the bottles in the fridge

If you persist with the barrel you'll end up with flat warm lager :shock: Use the barrel for something else, like and English Ale or American Pale Ale.

All IMHO of course, but I tend to either bottle or keg dependant on the style of beer, anything remotely like a lager gets all bottled.

 

[jonnymorris]

If you persist with the barrel you'll end up with flat warm lager

Well said.

 

[AlliDelta]

As for the beer enhancer, it's more expensive than using sugar and Spray malt but your end result will probably be better, cost per pint will be a few pence so give it a try.

 

[philipsno2]

Thanks for the replies

 

[philipsno2]

I have decided to go down the bottling route. Im going to put it in 500ml pet bottles. How much sugar would you recommend for each one as a beer explosion will go down like a lead balloon.

 

[PD]

3 gms per bottle, easier if you get a £1 set of cooks measuring spoons and use the half teaspoon size per bottle

5gms will get you a very fizzy lager

 

[PaulCa]

Use the barrel as a bottling bucket if you have it already. If not buy a 5 gallon bucket or ask a baker or butcher for a clean used food grade bucket.

190 grams of sugar in 200-300ml of boiled water, dump it in the barrel and siphon the beer on top of it. Then bottle from there.

Putting teaspoons into bottles is a fools game, makes a mess, can cause them to spray foam everywhere and you end up with each bottle being different.

Another tip is to buy a bottling wand.

These are things that once you have done once, you will never want to go back to the old way.

 

[philipsno2]

Brew update. I made the wort exactly 48 hrs ago. Sprinkled the yeast on and temp was 25. Within a few hours the lid on my bucket was flexing upwards due to the gas but not enough to engage the bubbler. The temp has now dropped to 22 degrees but the gas appears to have stopped. Not totally but not as much as at first. Ive had a look at it but very slightly cracking the lid and there is a thick white head about an inch deep to the point where its touching the stem of the airlock and the head has brown patches. I dont think that there is a leak on the bin as when I apply very gentle pressure to it the water in the airlock moves but does not settle back as the same pressure is applied for a few seconds. It smells very gassy and beer like but I thought it would be producing more gas by now.

 

[PaulCa]

Sounds perfectly normal for fermenting in a bucket with snap on lid. My buckets did exactly what you describe. Trust me, it is still producing gas.

Try and avoid cracking the lid open it presents an infection risk. This is MUCH more important in the later stages when CO2 production is low and any O2 you let in won't be pushed out as quickly.

I moved to a fermentation "barrel" instead of a bucket. It's a plastic container with a narrower neck that has an O-ring sealed screw on top with a rubber bung for the airlock.

If you can keep the temp lower than 22C it will make cleaner beer. It's not always easy, but a bath full of cold water or putting it in a garage can help. I aim for 18C, but my bath leaks down teh plug and will drain in 4-6 hours. 22C isn't too bad though, but I would avoid going higher.

 

[philipsno2]

Thanks for that. Towards the end of fermentation when I am checking the gravity readings the lid will have to be removed and then placed back on if its not right. Will this not be a big problem with infection. ??

 

[jonnymorris]

Don't worry about it. One can be over sensitive to the risk.

 

[NickW]

Don't worry about it. One can be over sensitive to the risk.

+1 I used to do it a ridiculous amount of times when I first started brewing, just because I was so excited/impatient! Not had an infected brew yet (I hope I haven't just jyxed it)

 

[PaulCa]

Don't worry about it. One can be over sensitive to the risk.

Indeed. I have had 3 brews infected. White scum film on the surface. 2 in the fermenter and 1 in the clearing bucket. Both of the fermenter incidents I had opened the vessel a week or more into the ferment, took a look, it was fine and closed it. Opened it two days later and bamn! Infected.