Tomorrow is the day, sort me out! :0

Hey guys

Been on here a bit lately asking questions and collections equipment. Well I have everything needed and will brew tomorrow. I am going to outline what I have and how im doing it. Let me know if I have something wrong.

Using an extract kit: Coopers real Ale
Hops: Pellets Cascade 50g
1.4kg Dextrose corn sugar

Two questions I have, how should I use my hop pellets, the owner told me to leave them in the fermentator. Do i need to boil before?

What do I do with all this sugar, I know it is needed for bottling to add carbonation, but how much do I add when cooking the wort?

I am making a 5 gallon batch, in a large 80 quart aluminum pot, over a propane burner which is 78,000 btu's.

I will be cooking all 5L in the pot, not putting water into the fermentator. It will all be wort. I was told when you have the space this is ideal.

I will be using the yeast that came with the kit, I would have prefererd something better but this is my first brew and im going for it.

Wort will be in a glass primary damijohn with Air lock and in 20 degree room temps away from sunlight.

Last question, to cool the work, ill be using a basic water ice batch and dropping a frozen bottle of sealed water or two into the wort, I heard can work. Everything saitized of course.

Okay, you seem to be on the right track. Heat up your 5 gallons of water to boil, take the pot off the burner and add all of your malt extracts and hops, stir, and put it back on the burner with the lid off for the duration of the boil. Get yourself a hop bag for the boil so you can just pull it out after the 60 min. You can leave the hop matter in the primary but it will change what the hops are doing. I usually boil with the hops or dry hop in a secondary. Using a hop bag takes much of the hop particles (which is a lot!) out of your beer and makes life easier for you. I dont see any problem with the way you are cooling your wort. Before I got a wort chiller I would stick the entire pot in a sink full of ice and just keep adding ice as it melts on the sides. Make sure you are sanitary if you are going to do it with the frozen bottle submerged in the wort (as you probably know cool wort is very susceptible to infection. After its cooled, put it in your fermentor and aerate the crap out of it (this is important!). I usually cap it and shake the crap out of it for a minute or 2. Then add your yeast, cap it with an airlock, and let it go! Good luck, let us know how it goes!

I forgot to corn sugar! When you are ready to bottle, boil up 3/4 cup of water (not sure what that is in mL), take it off the burner and when it is a little cooler but still warm, add the sugar to dissolve it. Dump the sugar water into your bottling bucket with the flat beer, give it a stir, and bottle it

I'm a little confused. I thought the Coopers kit was a prehopped no-boil kit. What do the instructions say?

If it's a no-boil kit, they want you to dump sugar in it to boost up the fermentables, since it's not enough malt.

If it is a no-boil kit, and you want to make better beer, you can get rid of the sugar and buy some dry malt extract. 2 pounds would be fine. You can bring up the extract and water up to a boil, and then add the hops. Boil 10 minutes, then cool. (That's assuming you've got a prehopped kit- you already have bittering hops, so you don't want to boil the hops or the kit for an hour).

Most people who boil their wort start with plain malt extract, not the prehopped, and add the hops during the boil.

If you can clarify exactly what you have, and what your instructions say, that would help us give better advice!

Ok so the kit is pre hopped, the guy at the store told me adding some hops wouldnt hurt sincce this kit is very mildly hopped.

This is what the kit says I should do, which most people on here say is crap. Dissolve contents (extract) and other fermentable sugars (dextrose? how much?) with 2 lites of boiling water, 4 litres hot tap water may be used. Top up fermenter with cold water to the 20l mark mix throughly with plastic spoon and chech temp for ideally 21c - 27c . Top yup 23litres with hot.cold to achieve. take s.g. reading and add yeast

I plan to get 5 gallons boiling, add extract, add dextrose (once i figure out how much) Put it hops mid way? What should I use to make a tea bag? Boil for an hour before coooling.

Please help with the sugar and hop problems.

b33risGOOD said:

Hey guys

Been on here a bit lately asking questions and collections equipment. Well I have everything needed and will brew tomorrow. I am going to outline what I have and how im doing it. Let me know if I have something wrong.

Using an extract kit: Coopers real Ale
Hops: Pellets Cascade 50g
1.4kg Dextrose corn sugar

Two questions I have, how should I use my hop pellets, the owner told me to leave them in the fermentator. Do i need to boil before?

What do I do with all this sugar, I know it is needed for bottling to add carbonation, but how much do I add when cooking the wort?

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I don't have the metric/US conversion multipliers memorized, but I know that 2 pounds=1 kilo is kinda close. By that, you have somewhere in the area of 3 pounds of sugar there. The standard amount for bottling is 5 ounces, or 5/16 of a pound. So MOST of this sugar is meant to be added to the wort during the boil. Reserve somewhere in the area of 1/2 of a coffee cup for bottling time, and add the rest to the boil.

I am making a 5 gallon batch, in a large 80 quart aluminum pot, over a propane burner which is 78,000 btu's.

I will be cooking all 5L in the pot, not putting water into the fermentator. It will all be wort. I was told when you have the space this is ideal.

I will be using the yeast that came with the kit, I would have prefererd something better but this is my first brew and im going for it.

Click to expand...

If you have the time and container, I would make a starter. This will up the number of yeast cells that you will be pitching, and making sure that the yeast are viable. Many people, myself included, have bypassed this step at times successfully, but......

Wort will be in a glass primary damijohn with Air lock and in 20 degree room temps away from sunlight.

Last question, to cool the work, ill be using a basic water ice batch and dropping a frozen bottle of sealed water or two into the wort, I heard can work. Everything saitized of course.

Click to expand...

This should work, but make SURE that the frozen water bottles are well sanitized. Sanitize the lid for your pot, and put it on the pot of wort from pretty much the time you shut off the burner until you transfer to the fermentor.

And most importantly, RDWHAGMB, and have fun. You are making BEER, one of the noblest endeavours known to man.

thanks a lot man, I wanted to use DME but the guy at the store told me not to once i mentioned i dont want sweet beer, which i dont lol. I forgot how much sugar he said to use during boil, but I will take ur advice and use all of the 1.4kg except enough to use for when bottling. Which means most of it.

I was disapointed the beer supply store only had this is stock when there site showed many other kits. Has anyone made this beer before. Is it sweet? lol
What can I put the hops into to function as a "teabag" and when should I add them to my wort?



THANKS AGAIN

I stand by what I said in my earlier post. I'd ditch the sugar, and purchase 2 pounds of dry malt extract and add that instead of the sugar. Bring to a boil, add the hops, boil 10 minutes and cool. Add yeast. I'd not use Muntons dry yeast (which works ok for worts that have lots of sugar, but not for malt) but I'd use a quality dry brewing yeast, 11 grams. Muntons Gold is fine, or Nottingham, or Windsor, or S04 or S05.

I'd ferment at 17-20 for two weeks to three weeks.

As many have said, you have several options here. First, the sugar:

1. Reserve 5 ounces (about 0.14 kg, I believe) of the dextrose for bottling, and add the rest to wort along with the extract after it comes to a boil (remove from heat first).

2. Don't use any of the dextrose in the wort and use dry malt extract instead. Follow the same directions as step 1.

And for the hops - you have a bit to decide on, here. You could not use the hops, in which case you only have to boil your wort for a minute or so instead of 60 minutes. If you want all bitterness from your hops, add them once it starts to boil then boil for 60 minutes. If you want all flavor from your hops, add them all at the start of the boil and boil for 15 minutes. If you want a split between the two, add half at the beginning of the boil, boil 45 minutes, then add then other half and boil another 15 minutes. You could also reserve some of the hops and add them after boiling for 55 minutes for some hop aroma. EDIT: I think Yooper's advice would give you some good aroma and flavor. Best to follow her advice, she knows her stuff.

You don't need a hop bag. Just throw them right in the pot. The choice is really yours. It's hard to say what you should do as I have no idea how the final product tastes and where the hops would do the most good.

b33risGOOD said:

thanks a lot man, I wanted to use DME but the guy at the store told me not to once i mentioned i dont want sweet beer, which i dont lol. I forgot how much sugar he said to use during boil, but I will take ur advice and use all of the 1.4kg except enough to use for when bottling. Which means most of it.

I was disapointed the beer supply store only had this is stock when there site showed many other kits. Has anyone made this beer before. Is it sweet? lol
What can I put the hops into to function as a "teabag" and when should I add them to my wort?



THANKS AGAIN

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Malt extract doesn't make sweet beer! If you've drunk beer, you've had malt. What makes beer sweet is not using enough hops, and not spending a bit of time in recipe formulation to get a balanced beer. If you use the Munton's yeast, then I guess you might get a sweet beer from using extract. Not because of the malt extract, but because the yeast is junk and won't eat the maltose properly in the beer.

I wouldn't worry about a "teabag" for the hops at all. They'll fall about in the boil, and make a kind of "sludge" but it's no big deal. It'll all settle out in the end. I've made nearly 300 batches of beer and haven't needed to "teabag" hops yet!

An 80 qt aluminum pot? Really? Dude, that's a 20 gallon pot. Seriously?

Then you wrote: I am making a 5 gallon batch... Ok this seems normal.

Then - in the next sentence below that, you wrote: 5 litres in the pot.

Hunh?

Clarify your measurements - or - really- you are in for a heap of trouble!

b33risGOOD said:

thanks a lot man, I wanted to use DME but the guy at the store told me not to once i mentioned i dont want sweet beer, which i dont lol.

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That's really silly advice. Most beers are made using absolutely no dextrose and tons of maltose (malt extract), and plenty of them are not sweet at all.

And, to make it more weird, you will "ferment in a 20 degree room?"

REALLY? That far below freezing? Is this some bizarre kick ass lager I've never heard of, or are you totally crazy? Wow, this sounds like an antifreeze whiskey or something?

Most of your ales ferment in the 60-70 degree F range.

great advice, I should have stuck with my instincts and got the DME like I knew I should. The clerk actually told me the sugar would be better for a none sweet beer. The DME was for dark and amber tho...... Anyways I have anothers cooper kit, for just this reason, this is a learning experiance, My second batch will have DME and a better yeast. At least I have 2 packages of years encase one is bad, which i doubt.

Question, should i strain the work to remove particles? or just siphone into fermentor.

wow guys

first of all, about the 5 litres of water, i was qouting the instructions, as someone had asked me to.

If you read my post im boiling 5 gallons of water.

the pot is so big because I want to ideally brew 10 gallon batches in the future.

And 20deg is room temperature, im talking tee shirt and pants tempt. Warm

rjgiddings said:

And, to make it more weird, you will "ferment in a 20 degree room?"

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I'm pretty sure that's Celsius, making it 68F.

b33risGOOD said:

Question, should i strain the work to remove particles? or just siphone into fermentor.

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Just siphon it all to the fermenter. You'll be fine.

b33risGOOD said:

The DME was for dark and amber tho....

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Go with light or extra light DME.

is my big pot gonna give me problems or something? dont induce paranoia here.

Ok I cant make a starter, because I dont have 3 days time on this batch, its fine.

What is the proper way to start the yeast. Sorry for all the questions, ill be sure to answer others once I learn.

b33risGOOD said:

is my big pot gonna give me problems or something? dont induce paranoia here.

I just need to know about the sugar, my beer isnt going to be cough surup right? Otherwise ill wait 3 days for DME, and drive 50k

which i would rather do for my second batch

also what does this coopers ale turn out to tast like I heard coopers was alright.

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Your pot is fine.

Dextrose is perfectly fermentable, and you won't end up with a sweet beer. When yeast ferments malt extract, though, it produces a better tasting beer. Not to say the dextrose will produce a bad beer, just an inferior beer to one that uses malt extract.

Feel free to use malt extract on the second batch instead. It will give you a good appreciation of how yeast ferments different sugars.

On Palmer house Brew web site it says and I qoute

Preparing Your Yeast
Dry Yeast needs to be re-hydrated before pitching; it will work much better. Once rehydrated, it can be "proofed" by adding a little bit of sugar to see if it is still viable.
1. Put 1 cup of warm (95-105F, 35-40C) boiled water into a sterile jar and stir in two packets of dry yeast.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and wait 15 minutes.
3. Boil one teaspoon of sugar in a little bit of water and let it cool.
4. Add this sugar to the re-hydrated yeast, cover, and place in a warm area out of direct sunlight.
5. After 30 minutes or so the yeast should be actively churning and foaming. This is now ready to pitch. If it is not showing signs of activity, then repeat the process with another packet.

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Basically it is sayign to use 2 packets, Since I bought 2 kits I have two packets but is this correct?

Just use the one packet. The one time I tried proofing I got a big foam before adding the sugar. If that happens, don't bother adding the sugar. Your yeast is fine.

If it doesn't, add the sugar. If you still don't get a foam, your yeast is likely bad which is allegedly common for these kits. You can try the second pack, but you'll probably have to go back to the store and buy a pack of dry Nottingham.

b33risGOOD said:

On Palmer house Brew web site it says and I qoute



Basically it is sayign to use 2 packets, Since I bought 2 kits I have two packets but is this correct?

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Yes, Palmer is an idol so we won't argue!

BUT...........................just pouring in the yeast gently by sprinkling it on top works, too.

My preference is to simply rehydrate the yeast according to package directions. Usually, that's having 1/4 cup of water at 32C, and sprinkling the yeast over. Wait 15 minutes, then stir gently and add to the wort. The wort should be cooled first, of course!

Ah man I owe you,

b33risGOOD said:

Ah man I owe you,

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Why's that? Just because I'm ok with metric and celsius?

And now, the best piece of advice. Relax. Take a deep breath. It's only beer. Even a caveman can do it, so it's not rocket science. You'll be fine!

Well since you are all so welcoming its true

What temp should I have the boil at? Or should I just keep it at a nice small boiling temp?

What temp should I have the wort at before I transfer into primary and pitch yeast.

Amen.

Boil is 212 Farenheit or 100 Celcius. Try as you might, you can't get it higher. Really, a slow boil or a rolling boil I don't think will make too much difference.

Don't pitch the yeast until the wort is down below 80 Farenheit, or about 25 Celcius.

b33risGOOD said:

Ah woman I owe you,

Click to expand...

Fixed that for ya.

When should i take my gravity readins, lol

b33risGOOD said:

When should i take my gravity readins, lol

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Take one right before you add your yeast to the fermenter, after stirring well with a sanitized dowel or spoon to aerate. Then, close it up and take another one in two weeks or so.

wow I think you guys have me covered.

When i siphone or pour my brew from kettle into primary or a bucket. Should i use a strainer or siphone only certain amounts, avoiding the sludge?

b33risGOOD said:

When i siphone or pour my brew from kettle into primary or a bucket. Should i use a strainer or siphone only certain amounts, avoiding the sludge?

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It's debatable, but I just pour everything in - sludge and all. Never seems to hurt my beer.

I would like to thank everyone here for their help. My beer is now in the fermentator and will remain there for about 14 days. Everything went fairly well but I plan to make a post later on talking about the day adn a few minor (i hope hahaha) mishaps

thanks again.