Complete Homebrew Noob!

Hey guys and Gals

I am a 30 year old guy from Labrador Canada and I am a complete Homebrew Noob. I bought my first can of Coopers Canadian Blonde with a Homebrew kit today (Came with the Hydrometer, Airlock thingy, 30l Blastic bucket with lid, a 23l carboy, thermometer, siphon stuff and other things) which I will use as a starting point.

With the Coopers Kit I guess I don't need the Carboy as Secondary fermenting isn't necessary, but I will use it with future batches.

I plan on getting more involved in the brewing after a couple batches of Coopers. Our local Homebrew store is kind of crappy, the only option I had was wine or Coopers. I will update you guys in a few weeks when my first batch is done.

If anyone has any advice that will make my first batch drinkable, let me know. I have read enough to know, to not use Sugar, but to use malt extract. I will have to visit the grocery store to see if I can find that, and if not search for some Corn Sugar instead of table sugar.

Thanks in advance for any advice you will give.

Thanks,
Darren

Welcome to your new obsession....

Best advice is to read the sticky threads in the beginners forum....They will contain all the hints, tips, and advice you'll need...

Including recommended books to help you brew.

Don't load your beer up with corn sugar. If you need to add something more to your Cooper's can kit, hit up one of the online brewshops for some Dried or Liquir malt extract. Corn sugar is ok in small amounts, but if you go adding pounds of it to your brew you will probably not be happy with the results.

Welcome to the board!

I don't think you can find malt extract at any grocery store, or even dextrose (corn sugar). Those are staple items at homebrew stores, but I've never seen them anywhere else.

Welcome to HBT!

Welcome to HBT!

Welcome! Don't skip the secondary clearing step. Your beer will be much mo betta. Check out the beginner area for guidance.

Hey welcome to the board! Always nice to see another canuck on the board. As far as sugar goes, you really need corn sugar or dried malt extract there is lots of threads on how to do this in the begginers forums. If you use regular table sugar you will get odd flavors and your beer might not carbonate properly. You should be able to get either at your local home brew store or on line. Also I would recomend putting the beer in the secondary to get it off the trub and to let it clear. It will make a huge differance. John Plamer's how to brew will give you step by step on what to do. Wellcome to the world of homebrew! It is highly addictive and rewarding.

Good brewing

Wing Nut

With a Coopers Kit, is it necessary to add sugar in the primary? I don't have access to Malt Extract or Dextrin now, I have to wait to order some in since our Homebrew store is more suited to Wine not Beer.

Since I was recommended to do a secondary fermentation, do I just siphon the brew over to the carboy, or should I add something else to the mix once it is in the carboy?

Thanks again guys.

I will start asking my questions in the beginner forum after this one...lol

Welcome to Brewing
you'l love it

After reading the instructions on the coopers web site http://www.coopers.com.au/homebrew/makeBeer.php it would seem that you need to add 1Kg brewers sugar (Dextrose or DME) to the malt extract. I would recomend malt extract because it will add body and flavor to the beer, dextrose will add a bit. In my opinion it will taste bettter. After the krausen has dropped (the white foamy head). Or you can go with the 1-2-3 rule 1 week in the primary, 2 weeks in the secondary for clearing and then three for bottle conditioning. When you transfer to the secondary (rack to the secondary) you do not need to add anything. Just make sure your siphon is steralized. After two weeks in the secondary then it is time to bottle, your hydrometer will read 1008-1010.
if you have any further questions dont hesitate to ask, I would recomend asking in the begginers forums.

Cheers,

Wing Nut