First Brew - Question on Cooper's Kit

Hello,

My first post and first brew
So my brew kit came with a choice of a Coopers Ingredient Kit. I chose the Canadian Blonde Ale. I started my brew yesterday thinking I was all ready. I boiled and cooled 3 gallons of water and added to fermenter. I then boiled another 3 gallons of water and added the 3.3 lbs LME and 1lb DME that came with the kit. Cooled and added to fermenter. I screwed up - thought more water would boil off - I have about 5.75 gallons of wort in the fermenter. So I was looking at the instructions and couldn't tell if I was supposed to add one of the dextrose packages. Two packages came with the kit - 8oz of Dextrose and 5 oz of Dextrose (labeled Priming). I read on through and it said the 8oz was used for bottling, so I did not add this in the boil.
It has been about 24 hours now and the airlock is now bubbling. (I pitched the yeast at 68 degrees and think I sanitized everything properly).

Is this going to be too watered down? Was I supposed to add the 8oz dextrose? Should I lightly boil and add to the fermenter? Or add more DME? Or just let it be?

MRD

basically, not knowing how it would have tasted if it was 5 gallons even means theres nothing to compare it to, it will taste like beer. My first AG brew came out to almost 6 gallons in the fermenter, turned out just fine. As for the dextrose, "priming" usually means bottling sugar, but you said the other package was labeled for bottling so I'm not sure there, 5oz sounds like more reasonable amount for priming. Happy brewing.

The 5 ounce would be used for bottling, I'd think. 8 ounces is too much unless it's a bigger batch.

The 8 ounces is presumably for the beer itself. Dextrose doesn't add a ton of flavor and it's not a lot. That being said, your beer is pretty light right now. DME would help more than sugar. If you do add, you'd have to boil and cool first.

Howdy and welcome to the board!

With the 5.75 gallons it will be just a little watered, but not enough for you to be able to taste. It will be a lighter beer, but not by much. Still will taste like good beer.

In the recipe was there anywhere mentioned added dextrose to the boil?

The packet labeled Priming is, well, priming sugar, which is added at the time for bottling. Did you add the 5oz labeled Priming, or did you add the unlabeled 8oz packet? The unlabeled probably was meant to be added to the boil. This is no problem, if you added the priming sugar, then you will just need to get some priming sugar for when it is bottling time. If you don't have a LHBS nearby and paying shipping for 5oz of corn sugar seems a waste, you can use table (cane) sugar. Look up on the forum about priming sugar amounts or ask on this thread if you need clarification.

And 24 hours for yeast is still early to see activity. It is fine. If you want, shake the carboy a bit if you didn't aerate the wort (poured it in so it would splash and get oxygen in it) when it was added to the carboy. After 48 hours if you see no bubbles and you see no krausen forming (foamy stuff on top of the wort), THEN you can start to be a bit worried. And even then, it may just need time.

I hope that helped. Anything you want clarified, or any other questions?

Aren't the Cooper's kits designed for 6 gallon's of beer? My first one, the Lager, was for 6 gallons (23 liters). The 5oz Dextrose is for bottling, 8oz would be too much. I'm not familiar with that kit but I'd guess they figured the 8oz would go into the wort. I think you'll be ok without it anyway, just relax


Rev.

Rev2010 said:

Aren't the Cooper's kits designed for 6 gallon's of beer? My first one, the Lager, was for 6 gallons (23 liters). The 5oz Dextrose is for bottling, 8oz would be too much. I'm not familiar with that kit but I'd guess they figured the 8oz would go into the wort. I think you'll be ok without it anyway, just relax


Rev.

Click to expand...

This sounds like a kit that expands upon Cooper's, not an actual Cooper's kit. Those don't have DME, do they?

Rev2010 said:

Aren't the Cooper's kits designed for 6 gallon's of beer? My first one, the Lager, was for 6 gallons (23 liters). The 5oz Dextrose is for bottling, 8oz would be too much. I'm not familiar with that kit but I'd guess they figured the 8oz would go into the wort. I think you'll be ok without it anyway, just relax


Rev.

Click to expand...

Yep...23 liters on their kits is correct. The 8oz was supposed to go into the wort, then the rest is for priming. Should be ok in the end though...just not as directed

McGarnigle said:

This sounds like a kit that expands upon Cooper's, not an actual Cooper's kit. Those don't have DME, do they?

Click to expand...

If you buy the kit from coopers and not make your own for the Canadian Blonde you get:

Includes Canadian Blonde Beer Kit (Malt & Yeast), Brew Enhancer 1 and Carbonation Drops

MRD911 said:

Hello,
I screwed up - thought more water would boil off - I have about 5.75 gallons of wort in the fermenter. So I was looking at the instructions and couldn't tell if I was supposed to add one of the dextrose packages. Two packages came with the kit - 8oz of Dextrose and 5 oz of Dextrose (labeled Priming). I read on through and it said the 8oz was used for bottling, so I did not add this in the boil.
It has been about 24 hours now and the airlock is now bubbling. (I pitched the yeast at 68 degrees and think I sanitized everything properly).

Is this going to be too watered down? Was I supposed to add the 8oz dextrose? Should I lightly boil and add to the fermenter? Or add more DME? Or just let it be?

MRD

Click to expand...

Nah mate, you didn't screw up at all. The Coopers kits are for 23L (= 6 US gal). So you actually made it slightly more concentrated instead of watered down which is totally fine. You could have added the 8oz of dextrose for an extra alcohol kick but absolutely not necessary, completely optional. At this stage, just let it be. Did you get a hydrometer with your kit? Did you measure the OG?

McGarnigle said:

This sounds like a kit that expands upon Cooper's, not an actual Cooper's kit. Those don't have DME, do they?

Click to expand...

He got the full kit:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002VZMNFC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Even if he'd only gotten the HME can all those Cooper's one's that are pre-hopped are all for 6 gallon batches.

*EDIT - by the way I looked it up with Beersmith (software) and it appears that 8oz of Dextrose would only give you an extra 0.39% to your ABV. So you're not even losing a whole half point of alcohol percentage.


Rev.

Thank you all for the replies! I think I'll just let it be and let it forment for a couple weeks after the opinions. I found the online instructions - they differ somewhat from the printed (it mentions 6 gal. rather than 23 liters). I guess after reading so much, I assumed it was 5 gallon.. I'm still baffled about the 8 oz and 5 oz dextrose, however:



Pale straw color. Crisp pale malt aromas with a hint of spicy hops, clean pale malt flavors and a light-bodied palate that finishes with obvious hop bitterness. Perfect for summer drinkin. Includes:

Ingredients

•Canadian Blonde (Hopped LME)
•1 lbs extra light dried malt extract (DME)
•8 oz. Corn Sugar
•Coopers Ale Yeast
•5 oz. Corn sugar for priming before bottling
Method

1.Cover liquid malt extract (LME) can in hot water in a sink. To soften the LME and make it easier later to remove the contents of the can.
2.Place dry ingredients into a cleaned and sanitized 6.5 gal. or larger bucket fermenter and add 2 quarts of hot water.
3.Stir the mixture immediately until dissolved with a sanitized stirring spoon. 30 secs.
4.Empty the contents of the can in to the fermenter. Fill the can with ¾ full with hot water stir with a sanitized spoon and dissolve the residual LME in the can.
5.Top up with cold water to the 6 Gal. mark on the bucket.
6.Stir vigorously for 5 minutes to aerate the wort then sprinkle the yeast on the surface and seal and place a sanitized airlock filled ½ full of water into the grommeted hole on the top of the bucket.
! Please note sanitized is in bold lettering because the single most reason for bad tasting beer is poor cleaning and sanitization.


Fermenting

Ale yeast strains are generally the most reliable for home brewers, fermenting quickly and effectively. Ale yeast is supplied with this brew kit.

Although Ale yeast can ferment at very high temperatures (as high as 104°F), the closer the brew is to 70° F. the cleaner the flavor and aroma will be.

The wort will begin to bubble from the airlock within 24 hours.

Once the bubbling slows (4-7 days) transfer the beer to a secondary fermentation vessel glass or plastic. This will make your beer more clear. Use a sanitized racking can and tubing. Be sure to transfer gently. Run the beer down the side of the sanitized secondary vessel to avoid adding air to the beer. Oxygen at this stage can cause oxidization and off flavors in your beer.

After 3-4 weeks the fermentation should be complete and you can proceed to bottling. However it is not absolutely necessary to bottle at this time. Your beer will condition and clarify if left longer.

Bottling

The fermented wort needs to be primed so that secondary fermentation (producing the gas in the bottle) can take place.

1.Add 8 ounces of corn sugar to 1 cup boiling water and boil for 5 minutes.
2.Add mixture to a sanitized bottling bucket. The bucket with the spigot.
3.Gently transfer the be one more time.
4.Gently stir to be sure the corn sugar is evenly mixed with the beer.
5.Attach the hose to the bottling spigot, and add a bottle filler to the end.
6.Fill the sanitized bottles.
7.Cap with sanitized caps.
Your beer can be consumed after 2 weeks.

Bottles may be stored (conditioned) for long periods of time (3 months or more). Conditioning should improve flavor, reduce the size of the bubbles and make the yeast sediment more compacted.
------------------------------------------------

P.S. - switching to AG after this - homemade Mash Tun and Wort Chiller almost done.

As I read it, the intention was to add the 8oz along with the dme as one of the dry ingredients. But as Rev2010 said, that amount would have made very little difference to abv anyway, so no worries.

Well definitely don't use 8oz of dextrose for priming, use the 5oz. I'd think you stand a risk of bottle bombs with the 8oz as it's more than 50% more sugar.

Edit - I forgot about that larger volume. I'd use 6oz sugar.


Rev.

I have never actually seen a Cooper's Kit nor the instructions, thanks for posting so I understand it better!

The instructions do indeed seem a bit confusing, but for priming a 5 gallon batch you need 5oz corn sugar. Nice that it is 1oz per gallon, aye? If you were using DME it would be 8oz, just as an example of other priming methods. The 8oz corn sugar was probably meant for the wort, but if this was done differently it should not matter.

Are you getting any activity yet? See any krausen forming or bubbles occurring?

I haven't looked to see if Krausen is forming (plastic bucket), but it is fermenting quite nicely - bubbles every couple of seconds. This is probably my first and last kit - wanted to get an understanding of the process before I dig in deeper

MRD