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jcgifford

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After mentioning a few times I'd like to start homebrewing, the wife bought me a kit for Christmas. It is one the Cooper's kits, which seemed fine at the time, but the more I read and research I am realizing it has some limitations. First batch I made didn't turn out real well(it was a Lager recipe that came with the kit) due to the heater in our house crapping out the day the wort went into the fermenter. At least that's what I deduced. After bottling, beer was flat and tasted like Apple cider more than beer.


Anyway here is my issue I'm trying to resolve. the kit came with only the fermenter which acts as the only fermenter and it bottles straight from the fermenter. Is it advisable to add my sugar solution straight to the fermenter when it's time to bottle? I know it's probably best to get a bottling bucket(which I will eventually do) and siphon into that, but is there any undesireable results I could see by adding the sugar solution straight to the fermenter?

The carbonation drops from Cooper's are always an option, but I've read mixed reviews on those.
 
jcgifford said:
After mentioning a few times I'd like to start homebrewing, the wife bought me a kit for Christmas. It is one the Cooper's kits, which seemed fine at the time, but the more I read and research I am realizing it has some limitations. First batch I made didn't turn out real well(it was a Lager recipe that came with the kit) due to the heater in our house crapping out the day the wort went into the fermenter. At least that's what I deduced. After bottling, beer was flat and tasted like Apple cider more than beer.


Anyway here is my issue I'm trying to resolve. the kit came with only the fermenter which acts as the only fermenter and it bottles straight from the fermenter. Is it advisable to add my sugar solution straight to the fermenter when it's time to bottle? I know it's probably best to get a bottling bucket(which I will eventually do) and siphon into that, but is there any undesireable results I could see by adding the sugar solution straight to the fermenter?

The carbonation drops from Cooper's are always an option, but I've read mixed reviews on those.
Click to expand...

Your wife has a really good eye because IMHO, that Coopers kit is an excellent starter. That fermenter they make is the best (plastic) I've ever seen. I too got my start with a Coopers kit.

You're probably right about low temps ruining your first batch. Coopers extracts and ale yeast prefer fermentation temps of at least 70F and as high as 80F.

You'll have no need for a secondary. Just ferment the kits out at proper temp for 10 to 14 days and then bottle right from the fermenter using the bottle filler. It too works very well. The carbonation drops have always worked exceptionally well for me.

The only downside that I personally have seen with Coopers is the fact that they only make three extracts that I like. The Canadian Blonde is my favorite but the Australian Pale Ale and Cerveza are also quite tasty.
 
You tried to make a lager, so low temps are not the issue (assuming you used lager yeast to make this "lager" and not an ale yeast). Lager yeasts actually prefer fermentation temps in the 50s. Lagers are much more difficult than ales, which is why most people encourage beginners to stay away from them.

Your beer may have tasted like apple cider because of the use of sugars other than maltose, which is often the case with these Coopers kits. Table sugar, for instance, imparts a cider-like taste when it is fermented.

In any case, there's nothing wrong with adding your priming sugar solution to the fermenter. There are some disadvantages, though:

1. You'll have to stir the beer to evenly distribute the priming sugar. This can aerate your beer if you're not gentle and can stir the trub back into suspension.
2. You're bottling from the fermenter. It may be difficult to keep the settled trub out of the bottles. You'll end up with a lot more sediment in your bottles.

Neither of those are really deal breakers, though.
 
Oh and BTW.....

Don't add sugar and stir. You'll stir up the yeast cake on the bottom and funk up your beer! That's one of the things you're waiting for during fermentation. All that crap to settle to the bottom of the bucket.

Also, don't move your fermenter around too much after the yeast has settled. It'll get it stirred up again. If you do have to move it, do it slowly and carefully without disturbing the yeast cake.

When bottling, just bottle until the beer stops flowing. You will still have a couple of inches of beer left in there but that's the stuff you don't want. You can tip the fermenter forward and bottle it if you're so inclined but it's just a thick, yeasty sludge.

Hope that helps you out.
 
mojotele said:
You tried to make a lager, so low temps are not the issue. Lager yeasts actually prefer fermentation temps in the 50s. Lagers are much more difficult than ales, which is why most people encourage beginners to stay away from them.

Your beer may have tasted like apple cider because of the use of sugars other than maltose, which is often the case with these Coopers kits. Table sugar, for instance, imparts a cider-like taste when it is fermented.

In any case, there's nothing wrong with adding your priming sugar solution to the fermenter. There are some disadvantages, though:

1. You'll have to stir the beer to evenly distribute the priming sugar. This can aerate your beer if you're not gentle and can stir the trub back into suspension.
2. You're bottling from the fermenter. It may be difficult to keep the settled trub out of the bottles. You'll end up with a lot more sediment in your bottles.

Neither of those are really deal breakers, though.
Click to expand...

The lager that comes with the initial Coopers kit doesn't use lager yeast. It's an ale yeast. I know....why do they call it a lager, right? Beats me.
 
Yeah, I was surprised the kit came with that Lager. I knew little about brewing, but knew lager required cold fermenting. The recipe however recommended a temp of 70-80 degrees.


Anyway, I didn't really word my questioning well. I want to use different recipe kits, not the Cooper's ones. Most of the ones I've seen require a 2nd fermentation(understand it is brewer preference) and priming in a bottling bucket. I was just trying to avoid those steps and work with the equipment I have. I can't get to my LHBS until sometime next week and was anxious to start another batch this weekend. I have a Petite Saison fom Northern Brewer I want to get started.
 
My $.02

I'd say go with the carb tabs if bottling out of the primary. I agree with both of the posts above that you'd have to stir the priming solution (gently) to get it properly mixed and that you generally don't want to stir/mix your beer after the yeast has settled out.

You could totally do it, but you'd just have to be more careful. I've had mixed results with the carb tabs in my experience, but if I was bottling straight from my primary that would probably be the route I would pick myself.
 
jcgifford said:
I can't get to my LHBS until sometime next week and was anxious to start another batch this weekend. I have a Petite Saison fom Northern Brewer I want to get started.
Click to expand...

Go ahead and brew it! It'll have to sit in the fermentor for a few weeks anyway, so you can pick up a bottling bucket while its doing its thing and be all set before you even need to worry about bottling day!
 
Don't worry about secondary and you'll be fine bottling from that Coopers fermenter, but if you do that I would suggest, for several reasons already mentioned, bottle priming with sugar or using the carb drops. It's a pain in the butt to prime each bottle, but if you don't want to transfer to a bottling bucket it's your best option. In which case, I think the carb drops are the easiest way to do that.
 
a lot of people on here (from everything I have read), are moving away from the secondary and just using the primary for the fermentation process, in fact all the my beer this year I have not used a secondary and they have turned out wonderful.

different strokes for different folkes, some feel the secondary is useful to help clear the beer even more, in my experience it does not make one bit of difference to just use the primary
 
Also, my understanding is that the Coopers carb drops actually work fairly well. It's the Muntons carb tabs that seem to get poor reviews.

EDIT: There's a difference between the two. So, be sure which one you are using.
 
jcgifford said:
Yeah, I was surprised the kit came with that Lager. I knew little about brewing, but knew lager required cold fermenting. The recipe however recommended a temp of 70-80 degrees.


Anyway, I didn't really word my questioning well. I want to use different recipe kits, not the Cooper's ones. Most of the ones I've seen require a 2nd fermentation(understand it is brewer preference) and priming in a bottling bucket. I was just trying to avoid those steps and work with the equipment I have. I can't get to my LHBS until sometime next week and was anxious to start another batch this weekend. I have a Petite Saison fom Northern Brewer I want to get started.
Click to expand...

Go ahead and get it started. Your primary is going to last anywhere from 10 to 21 days anyhow. In that amount of time you can get to your LHBS and pick up another bucket or get one via mail order.

Primary in your Coopers bucket....rack to your new bucket that you buy.....and then rack back over to the Coopers bucket for bottling. Easy, Peezy, Japaneezy!!!
 
RedGlass said:
Go ahead and brew it! It'll have to sit in the fermentor for a few weeks anyway, so you can pick up a bottling bucket while its doing its thing and be all set before you even need to worry about bottling day!
Click to expand...

Duh!


Sometimes I out think myself.
 

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