Brew Day! - Please Advice....

Its brew day again!

I have the following...

2x Coopers Draught Cans (hopped - 3.75lbs/1.7kgs each)
1x 1kg Crystal Grain
50g roughly of NZ Hallertau Alpha 8.6 pellet hops. (4 weeks old).
2x packs Coopers Brewing Yeast 7g
1x Salfale s-04 11.5g
1x Muntons Standard Yeast

Firstly im not sure what yeast to use for this ale, am thinking the Salfale is better then the Coopers yeast that came with the packets?

Iv never used the crystal grain before. I think I was meant to get crystal malt? Is this the same thing, that you put in a stocking for twenty min or so? Also do I use the whole 1kg?

The hops are in the fridge in a jar, was going to add about 1oz @ 45min, 1 oz @ 5min to get more aroma. The pre hopped extract will be v.lightly hopped only I think.

Thanks heaps for any help, especially on the grain!

Is this a kit you bought? I would imagine the grains are malted and crushed but there's no way for us to know based on what you've told us. If it's a kit then I expect that they want you to steep the whole kg of grains. Then again if it's a kit you wouldn't be adding hops to pre-hopped malt.

I don't know what to tell you. If you just have a collection of ingredients, we can't tell you what you have, and if you have a kit it should have come with instructions. Are you just randomly adding things to a can kit? If so, I'd recommend you use one of those cans and add some unhopped light malt extract to get the ABV up. Leave the hops out for now and if the kit is fairly fresh you can use the yeast that came with it.

Fingers said:

Is this a kit you bought? I would imagine the grains are malted and crushed but there's no way for us to know based on what you've told us. If it's a kit then I expect that they want you to steep the whole kg of grains. Then again if it's a kit you wouldn't be adding hops to pre-hopped malt.

I don't know what to tell you. If you just have a collection of ingredients, we can't tell you what you have, and if you have a kit it should have come with instructions. Are you just randomly adding things to a can kit? If so, I'd recommend you use one of those cans and add some unhopped light malt extract to get the ABV up. Leave the hops out for now and if the kit is fairly fresh you can use the yeast that came with it.

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The items have all been brought ie: not part of a kit.

The Crystal Grain says ..."Use as part of a mashing recipe or if using with a beer pack, crush and add o boiling water and let stand then strain, bring to boil and add to fermenter"

Am thinking I got the wrong grain as I was wanting the steeping ones here "http://www.howtobrew.com/section2/chapter13-3.html" ?

I wanted to use the can kit eg Coopers, and add hops to get a stronger hop kick and aroma. I thought the Safale s-04 yeast would be better, as the coopers yeast says 21-27*C. The Safale is 15-24*C, much more normal.

Why not, I say just go ahead with the plan, one thing that I would suggest is to do your hop additions at 15-20 min and 5 min, the bittering should be taken care of. Heat some water to near boiling, take off the heat and steep your lb of crystal, it should turn out fine.
-ander

anderj said:

Why not, I say just go ahead with the plan, one thing that I would suggest is to do your hop additions at 15-20 min and 5 min, the bittering should be taken care of. Heat some water to near boiling, take off the heat and steep your lb of crystal, it should turn out fine.
-ander

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Thanks for the advice. One thing that confuses me is the crushing part? Do I crush the grain somehow? The link I posted said to just put it into a stocking into the hot water.

Will follow your advice too with the hops times

That recipe posted in 'How to Brew' calls for Pale Malt extract. This is an extract equivalent to just two row in an all grain recipe. Your pre-hopped can will contain not only two row malt, but malt from any other grains to make the recipe. All the manufacturer calls for is some dextrose. As I said earlier, I would substitute some unhopped extract for the dextrose but unless you've made this kit before and know your hops and grain really well, I'd stick with the manufacturer's instructions for now.

The grain you have is likely malted, but we don't know how dark it is. Generally, the darker, or higher the Lovibond number, the less fermentable sugars you will get out of it. For instance, basic 2 row malted barley, the backbone of most recipes, is about a 3L but you can get darker roasts up over 100L. The 100L and up grains add flavor and color to the brew. The higher the lovibond number the less you need to get the flavor you're looking for. As well, the lower malts need to be mashed whereas the higher malts can be steeped.

So without knowing what kind of barley you have, you have no way of knowing how much to add and whether or not it needs to be mashed or steeped. Leave it out.

You COULD add some hops to your brew but you'd be stabbing in the dark. There are already hops in the can so you really don't know how much to supplement with. If you're really keen, you could add a little bit, but don't overdo it on the bittering hops (early in the boil). You could wind up with a brew that is undrinkable.

I'd recommend that until you know something about these kits you stick with substituting the dextrose with unhopped malt extract, about the same amount again as what's in your can, and leave the rest out. After you've tried the brew you can tweak it with small amounts of additives.

Kiwi_Jonno said:

Thanks for the advice. One thing that confuses me is the crushing part? Do I crush the grain somehow? The link I posted said to just put it into a stocking into the hot water.

Will follow your advice too with the hops times

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Yes, the grain needs to be crushed before you don't use it. If you don't have a grinder, you can use a rolling pin and a cutting board.

The crystal grain says "caramelized mal

Have a good read here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Crystal_malt

and here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Malts_Chart

The crystal grain says "caramelized malted grain" if this means anything at all?

If you wanted to add a little more complexity to your Coopers kits, check out this website.

There's a recipe for an AMBER DELIGHT PREMIUM PILSNER that calls for a can of Coopers Draught, cracker crystal grain and a couple other ingredients you'll need to pick up.

Fingers said:

Yes, the grain needs to be crushed before you don't use it. If you don't have a grinder, you can use a rolling pin and a cutting board.

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Is it easy to use a rolling pin? Whats a cutting board, sorry I don't know much about grain! Do ya crush them completely with the rolling pin?

If at all possible, Id like to use the grains, as have no other use for them. They are in a sealed bag though. I'll have a read of those links ya posted too.

Kiwi_Jonno said:

Is it easy to use a rolling pin? Whats a cutting board, sorry I don't know much about grain!

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a picture's worth a thousand words...

If at all possible, Id like to use the grains, as have no other use for them. They are in a sealed bag though. I'll have a read of those links ya posted too.

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see my first response above.

Kiwi_Jonno said:

Is it easy to use a rolling pin? Whats a cutting board, sorry I don't know much about grain! Do ya crush them completely with the rolling pin?

If at all possible, Id like to use the grains, as have no other use for them. They are in a sealed bag though. I'll have a read of those links ya posted too.

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I'm pretty sure he means a cutting board that you use a knife on while chopping food up. I'm gonna guess you use the cutting board as a way to distribute pressure over all the grains while you use the rolling pin to apply said pressure. At least that is what I would do.

I read this on one of the links....

"Because the stewing process essentially mashes the grain, crystal and caramel malts are some of the few steeping grains that can be used in extract brewing without needing to be mashed,"

At a guess Id say its 60L or 80 L. Its a caramel colour, and also says "gives beer a toffee nutty flavour".

Still do ya think it is too risky using it?

Thanks for the photo I see what ya mean now. I visited the coopers link ya gave me. Most of the recipes only use 200g or less of the cracked crystal malt. Hard to know if I should use it or not....

Am thinking after reading and hearing everyones advice....

I might just "go for it", crush the grain with a rolling pin, and use less hops and play it safe not too make it too bitter.

Would this recipe be pretty "safe", mide you I like a hoppy bear.

Coopers Draught Can x2
200-220g Crystal grain crushed (0.5lbs I think)
.75 oz 8.6 alpha @ 15min and 5min

Either 2x coopers yeast or 1x Safale s-04 yeast. Has anyone used/recommended the coopers? Its fresh etc but says to use 21-27*C, which is really high for ale...

The above beer wont be any style in particular, I guess almost IPA? Comments ? I know iv gone against what some have said...

EDIT: From this link ... "https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Malts_Chart"

The grain is probably SRM 9 or 10 from the colour chart if this helps?

Is anyone still online? Only 8pm NZ time! Does the above post look ok? What yeast would be best to use? Thanks

I don't know if you finished that brewing up or not- but if you did, hope it went well for you!

Any neutral ale yeast will work fine. I don't know what you have, but if you can use a dry yeast like Nottingham, that will be fine.

I went ahead with the 2x coopers hopped cans, 0.5 lbs of the crystal grain for 30min, and 3/4oz of the hop at both 15min and 5min. I used the Coopers yeast. I read 21*C is best for this yeast, I think mines on 20*C.

Iv been having trouble getting Saflager s23 yeast to form a hard yeast cake in the PET bottles, even after 8weeks so hopefully the coopers will be ok.

Am outa bottles at the moment, would leaving this beer in primary for 4-5 weeks be ok with ale yeast?

YooperBrew said:

I don't know if you finished that brewing up or not- but if you did, hope it went well for you!

Any neutral ale yeast will work fine. I don't know what you have, but if you can use a dry yeast like Nottingham, that will be fine.

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Oh by the way, the OG was 1040, so its not a high gravity beer I spose, if I leave it for 4-5 weeks?

Wow this is really weird.... just checked the gravity... its 1008! OG was 1040. Its been exactly 3 days since pitched the yeast. Am wondering how its going to turn out now as it fermented kinda high temp. The ice cooler didn't even have time to drop the temp down. Im sure it fermented completely within 2 days.

Am guessing its no point dropping the temp now? Its currently 20*C which is apparently good for this yeast (coopers). Will just leave the beer alone at room temp in chilli-bin to keep constant temp?

Nope, just leave it be for at least two weeks. It's good to keep it cool anyways.