Advice please

Hi all i'm new to the forum.

I bought all the kit 25 litre bin, hydrometer, pressure barrel, airlock, syphon tube etc and I've done my first brew (youngs harvest lager, empty can add water and sugar).

Fermented for 7 days, transferred to barrel and added sugar, secondary fermentation for 4 days and now out in the shed where it will stay for around 1 month before i try it.

The thing is i want to try a real brew like i've been reading on the forums, boiling, mashing an preparing it myself instead of just pouring in a can etc.

Is there a dummy guide to all the lingo (it's all lost on me) and guide?

I want to prepare my own brew from scratch and have a few questions.

I'll use brewimng sugar for my next one, apart from that could someone explain to me what all the stuff is for in comparison to the can i used.

I've been looking at DME, brewing sugar, spraymalt, rice, beer finings and beer improver (i think that's what it's called) and where do i get good quality yeast as i hear the little packet i got with the can aint very good?

This forum seems very good and i'm sure people will help me along.

Could someone also point me in the direction of a good but quite forgiving recipe for a brew until i get a bit better at all this?

Thanks for any help.

Ian

How to Brew - By John Palmer

Have you read this yet?

Isn't there a law against mixing metric with the word "aint"? Shouldn't there be?

First of all, welcome to the obsession and congrats on your first beer!!! here are my 2 cents. Read How to brew! it is an outstanding guide for both new and old brewers. DME (dry male extract) is good stuff, much better shelf life than LME (liquid malt extract). that said FRESH liquid malt extract is a superior product in my opinion. brewing sugar (with the exception of dark candy) is a waste. If it is clear you can just use regular sugar. Spray malt, not sure what that is, sorry. rice, hey that is up to you, when used properly, it is fermentable. finings and improver(?) i dont use either but that is just me. Finally yeast, source yourself some good liquid yeast if you can. both white labs and wyeast are very respected in the community! If you can't get liquid always rehydrate your yeast with plain water prior to pitching. Hope this was helpful.

Hello My Friend,

Have you looked into Partial mashes with Steeping grains (sorry drunk and hard to type with pizza grease on keys... ... SWMBO will be upset)

Peck around on Annapolis Home Brews site for partial mash kits. The Oatmeal stout for $35 is awesome.

If you are smart enough and talented enough to make a better cheese burger than McDonald's then you are good enough to out brew Budweiser.

end of discussion.

Hang around the beginners board for a while and read all you can! There is lots of good info here!

Welcome to brewing. There seems to be so much to learn in the beginning, especially if you haven't done any type of fermentation before. This is also a very addictive hobby! You have been warned...

I had some brewing experience when I started doing beer so I jumped in faster. For someone who hasn't brewed before, I would work on one thing at a time per batch. First thing, make sure you have good sanitation. All your work will be for naught if you get an infection in your batch! Make sure you have good cleanliness and good sanitizing practices and keep doing them each and every batch...

Extract is a great place to start. Some folks stay with extract for their entire brewing careers and make some damn good beer. If you want some more control, add your own hops to some extract recipes. Both liquid malt extract and dry malt extract have their plusses and minuses. Depending on if you have a LHBS close to you and what they stock will make a huge difference. Once you feel like you have the process pretty well figured out, start steeping some grains with the extract. It gets you used to temp controls and helps you step into the all grain. After that, try some partial mashes (there is a great sticky in the all grain and partial mash section.) and then step up to all grain if that is where you want to go. The DIY section of the board has some great projects you can do to save money when you do step up to all grain!

Since you are curious, you will make some really killer beers! There are all sorts of tweaks you can do with extracts, steeping grains and partial mashes too! Most of the things that people don't consider that make or break your beer are things like fermentation temps, yeast starters, sanitation, having patience to let your beer age in your primary and/or secondary fermentation container for a long period of time and giving your beer time to properly condition in a bottle or keg for the right amount of time to let it carbonate.

Have fun and enjoy this hobby! I love brew day, I love bottle day and I love that day that you pop open that beer after it has been in your loving care for the right amount of time and it tastes like heaven in a bottle!

here is a pretty well presented video on all grain


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1Kjo8aE8Q8"]part II[/ame]

Welcome to HBT Ian!

Where are you located? It is harder to give advice if we don't know where you are and from what you described, it sounds like you are not in the U.S.

Firstly thanks for all the replies, i'm sure they'll all come in very handy.

I'm located near Glasgow, Scotland.

I'm off to the nearest homebrew shop today (about 10 miles away in Glasgow City centre) to see what i can pick up and get some advice.

I think i'll try and get some liquid yeast maybe.

Is DME used instead of sugar or is sugar still added at the start or just for the secondary fermentation?

Also this mash that you make up, i take it this would basically just replace the can of treacle like substance that was in the harvest lager tin?

Still not sure exactly what that treacly type stuff was, malt?

Sorry for all the stupid questions but i am just a learner, give me a few months and hopefully i'll be brewing with the best of them!

I'm just glad i've found a hobby that gives you some real self-satisfaction and gets you drunk at the end of it!

I'll have a look out for those books mentioned.

Thanks again

Ian

I would recommend reading "The Complete Joy Of Homebrewing" by Charlie Papazian. I read the first few chapters before diving in and he explains it really well.

I still reference the book while I'm brewing - I always learn something new.

Hi again guys.

First batch turned out, well, like lager but flat?

The woman in the homebrew shop said that i probably hadn't put enough sugar in before secondary and that i should've added 4 heaped tablespoons.

I injected a bulb of co2 gas into it but all it does is give the lager a head and the actual lager itself is still flat, do you think she was right?

I have a feeling she was.

Anyway i got bottles and started another brew, Australian pale ale, which should be ready for bottling tomorrow or the next day.

How much sugar do i put in each bottle? i don't want it flat again.

500ml bottles.

4g of sugar per bottle sound about right? and do i put the sugar in, then the ale, cap the bottle and kind of rotate the bottle back and forwards once or twice so the sugar mixes in?

Cheers

Ian

Evening! I'm in Edinburgh now, lived in Glasgow a few years ago.

4g per bottle is probably about right, but it much easier to get a bottling bucket with a spigot and put the sugar in that and siphon the beer on top.

Say you have 5 imperial gallons (which is about 6 US Gallons or 24 litres) then you'd boil about 180g-200g of sugar for 10 mins in some water, let it cool a bit, pour into bottling bucket and siphon the beer onto it. It will mix as you siphon, then you just bottle the nice and consistently primed beer from the spigot. No arsing about trying to measure out 4g about 50 times and get it into the bottle neck.

Believe me, so much easier...

Thanks for the advice Dan but i got myself some coopers carbonation drops which i'm going to use 1 1/2 of per bottle, 500ml bottles.

Turns out my valve lid for my pressure barrel is leaky, probably the reason my first brew was flat lager!

I'm a bit pissed off at that, just annoyed wondering if the lid had been fine would the lager have been?

Anyway bottling my Australian pale ale today so fingers crossed then on to my coopers dark ale.

Hi all

Just a quick question to all who knows more than me (everyone else on the site probably!)

I'm fermenting a coopers dark ale, that stuff bubbles away like nothing i've seen!

Couldn't even find my airlock lid when i checked it the next day thanks to the huge pile of brown foam that had blown the lid off and covered half the lid!

Anyway i'm going to syphon it to my keg and this time use dextrose instead of sugar i think.

Is my best bet to boil around 5-6 oz dextrose in a little water, let it cool slightly before adding to the keg and then finally syphoning the ale?

Any suggestions or does this sound right?

Would i be better using normal sugar?

Thanks for any suggestions, great site too, i'me learning all the time.

Cheers

Ian

Can no one give advice on this?

First batch i made was flat, so all i want to do is get it right with a little fizz like normal beer/ale this time.

Will doing as i suggested, secondary for 3-4 days then to the garden shed for a few weeks give me drinkable Ale that won't be flat?

Thanks

I think noone has replied because there is a lot going on with your questions.

It was suggested before, and I'll do it again, to pickup either

How To Brew or
The Complete Joy of Homebrewing

Howtobrew.com is also a good starting point.

The carbing tabs can be used instead of the sugar method suggested by danlad and should carb the bottles for you. I prefer adding the boiled sugar, and is probably much easier if you plan on putting this in a keg.... wait. if you have a keg, you carb with CO2. Do you have a keg?

Thanks for your reply JPicasso.

I used the carbing tabs 1 1/2 per bottle for 500ml bottles.

I do have a keg which i will be syphoning the dark ale into in 1-2 days.
My question was really just in reagrds to this.

Like you mentioned i was going to boil a little water with around 5oz dextose, stick back for secondary fermentation (around 21 degrees C, about 70 F) for around 4 days before moving outside to the cold for around 3 weeks, maybe longer.

Will this carbonate the Ale OK? don't want it flat again or do you have a better suggestion?

I'm always fine untill the carbonation stage but last batch (harvest lager) instructions told me to add 2oz sugar which i have since been informed was no-where near enough.

Just want to get this one right.

Thanks again

Ian

PS i'll pick up one of those books.

JPicasso said:

I think noone has replied because there is a lot going on with your questions.

It was suggested before, and I'll do it again, to pickup either

How To Brew or
The Complete Joy of Homebrewing

Howtobrew.com is also a good starting point.

The carbing tabs can be used instead of the sugar method suggested by danlad and should carb the bottles for you. I prefer adding the boiled sugar, and is probably much easier if you plan on putting this in a keg.... wait. if you have a keg, you carb with CO2. Do you have a keg?

Click to expand...

Just had a quick look at howtobrew.com and it suggests adding the the corn sugar boiled in a little water then cooled to the fermenter and stir gently.

Leave for about 30 minutes for sediment to clear a bit before syphoning the beer to the keg.

Am i on the right track now?

Hmmm.

Well, typically, sugar or corn sugar is boiled up and then the beer is racked on top of it, in another vessel, and then put in bottles to carbonate. (What danlad said) However, you state that you have a keg. When I've used a keg, I carbonate by setting the keg's CO2 pressure to 30psi or something, and letting it sit for a couple of days.

If you carbonate your keg, by adding sugar, and letting the cabonation develop "naturally", you will be fine. However after a few beers are taken out, you will start to lose your carbonation becaues the CO2 will come out of solution.

What method do you use (or plan to use) to keep pressure on the keg?

But as far as initially carbing the beer, yes, your method sounds fine.

Sounds like you are, Ian! What that will do is provide the yeast with something to eat over the next few weeks, carbonating the beer in the keg naturally. Then, after 3 weeks or so, you can put the keg in the refrigerator for a few days (usually 3 to 7 days), and finally, add the CO2 to the keg to push the beer out of the tap, and drink.

The natural CO2 that the yeasties produce in the keg will not be enough to push the beer out of the keg on its own, which is why you need to attach CO2 to the keg as well.

Again thanks for your reply, at least it sounds as though everything should work out fine in theory anyway!

"When I've used a keg, I carbonate by setting the keg's CO2 pressure to 30psi or something, and letting it sit for a couple of days"

I've read a lot of comments like this over the last few days but have no idea how to check the kegs psi.

The only way i have of adding co2 is through the small 8g co2 bulbs.

khiddy said:

Sounds like you are, Ian! What that will do is provide the yeast with something to eat over the next few weeks, carbonating the beer in the keg naturally. Then, after 3 weeks or so, you can put the keg in the refrigerator for a few days (usually 3 to 7 days), and finally, add the CO2 to the keg to push the beer out of the tap, and drink.

The natural CO2 that the yeasties produce in the keg will not be enough to push the beer out of the keg on its own, which is why you need to attach CO2 to the keg as well.

Click to expand...

Sorry Khiddy i missed that post at first look there.

I only have the 8g bulbs so have to wait until the pressure stops pushing the beer out naturally, as you say, and then add co2 through 8g bulbs which i'm guesssing i'll go through quite a few of!

I've been reading about forced carbonatio but have no way to check my kegs psi and i don't fancy shaking it for 5 minutes (it would probably finish me off!)

Well, being American, I have no idea how big an "8g" is.

But they sound small and probably not enough to carbonate the keg. However, from what I've heard, they should be fine for pushing the beer out, and holding the carbonation.

I generally use 3/4 cup of sugar for 5 US gallons. (I know, not the best way to measure my carbing sugar) If you are in the ballpark with that, then you'll be fine.

Here across the pond, When we BOTTLE, we usually use sugar (corn sugar or table sugar, or use the carbonation drops) 3-4.5 oz (avoir du pois) boiled, cooled, mixed with the beer, and bottled, capped, left for 2 weeks.

When we KEG, most of us have invested in a CO2 tank (5lb, 10lb 20lb - refilled at your local welding shop), We rack from the secondary into our kegs, refrigerate, and either put under lots of pressure (30psi) and shake it or set it around 10psi and leave it for two weeks. You will need a pressure regulator with that CO2 tank...

hope that helps a bit...

Thanks for the advice guys, i wouldn't even start to know where to look for a co2 tank over here unless maybe my local welders (wherever the hell that is!)

An 8g bulb is probably about the size of a bullet i would guess, i take it you've seen them being an American?

They're really not very big.

We don't really measure in cups over here either so here's the plan.

Boil a little water, add about 5oz corn sugar, cool, stir gently into the Ale and let sit (covered i'd guess) for around 30 minutes before kegging.

Let it sit at room temp for around 3 weeks and then drink!

Wish me luck

Thanks for all the advice again guys.

Ian