LarryF
Brew Numpty
Good evening all, I bottled my first brew of Coopers lager yesterday, OG 1040 - FG 1013, it comes out at about 3.6% but I'm hoping that some of the secondary fermentation may add to this (I'd be over the moon with 4%). I was plagued by low FV temps all through the brew but three days at 1013 let me know it was time. I'm planning two weeks indoors, two weeks in the shed and two weeks for the hell of it if I have the patience. Although I will take two bottles and give them one week hot and one week cold and then taste them to see how it's going (and it's my first brew and I'm chomping at the bit for a taste). Anyway, as soon as I bottled I put on my next brew, Coopers English Bitter. I used 1kg of Muntons Beer Enhancer, 11g Wilko's Garvin yeast (I couldn't rehydrate, my digital thermometer comes tomorrow) and half a tin of golden syrup. I pitched the yeast at 22-24c and it came in with an OG of 1044, I then insulated the top 3/4 of the F/V with bubble wrap. My heating band and timer have kept it at a constant 20-22 overnight and for today and I've just had a peek now and it's all foaming nicely. So far I'm really pleased with the heating band and timer combo and with the top 3/4 of the FV being insulated I have the heating band on an off to save the leccy bill. I'm thinking of dry hopping with 100g of German Cascade hops at day nine and then bottling at day fourteen but please let me know if I'm adding too much or too little hops as it's a best guess and it comes in a 100g pack. Anyway, fingers crossed that my Coopers Lager comes out ok and that my English Bitter brews ok and in two weeks time it's going to be a Coopers Stout and a fornight after that it's a toss-up between Woodfordes Wherry at £19 in Wilko or the Better Brew Czech Pilsner( but that comes with delivery costs, I'm not the biggest fan of delivery costs). By the way, all of the beer kit prices at Tesco direct have gone up today, Coopers at £19!!! However the 1kg Youngs Beer enhancer is still £3.75 so I ordered half a dozen, just a heads up chaps.
