muntons says 6, HBS says 5, huh?

Went to the HBS and the clerk gave me a muntons can of malt+yeastpacket to make a 5 gallon batch. But upon reading the can, it says it makes 6 gallons. What gives, and is this going to be a problem?

The only difference is that if you use 5g it'll be a higher gravity than if you do 6g. Plug it in to a software program (purchased or online) to see what your OG might be.

uh. what's OG?

this is my first batch, maybe it would just be easier to remove 1/6 of the malt? also, i have a second bag of malt as opposed to the bag of sugar. are those usually for 6gal or 5gal batches?

Original gravity= your specific gravity before the yeast is pitched.

Basicly, if you use it in 5g, your beer will be stronger than 6 gal.

marosell said:

uh. what's OG?

this is my first batch, maybe it would just be easier to remove 1/6 of the malt? also, i have a second bag of malt as opposed to the bag of sugar. are those usually for 6gal or 5gal batches?

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Wow! Not to be an EAC but, uh, Wow.

Just use all of the malt, it will be fine.....as for your secong bag of malt opposed to sugar.....not sure what youre talking about exactly.

Post your recipe...

Rick....gotta give him a break....it is the beginners forum.

Tophe said:

Just use all of the malt, it will be fine.....as for your secong bag of malt opposed to sugar.....not sure what youre talking about exactly.

Post your recipe...

Rick....gotta give him a break....it is the beginners forum.

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I realized that after I posted. Was gonna delete it but you replied. Apologies to all involved. Just a grumpy monday. (I didn't realize I was grumpy until just now. More coffee. )

That is understandable....apology accepted. Ive done that too not realizing its the beginners forum when you go to "new posts"

Now back to your regularly scheduled thread.......

Original Gravity is the measure of the specific gravity of your wort, which basically tells us how much dissolved sugar is in it. Yes, please do post your recipe so we can give you more feedback on it. But basically, for any given amount of malt, you can add as little or as much water (with reason) and it'll still make a good beer. One can of Muttons is probably around 3.5-4lbs of extract, which I would think is not that much for a 5g batch. You mentioned sugar also, are you supposed to be adding that to the wort too? Can you give us an idea as to how much sugar and what type it is?

Those Muntons kit-in-a-can are supposed to be supplemented with 1KG of dextrose to make up the remainder of the fermentables. As mentioned, use the malt extract and NOT the dextrose - you will enjoy your beer WAY more without all the dextrose in it.

The Muntons kits are indeed formulated for 23L batches. Making a 19L batch and using one pound of malt extract instead of dextrose should give you a pretty nice beer.

Recipe:

-Muntons Mexican Cerveza Can (malt and yeast)
-Silver bag of liquid Light Malt Extract. heres what it looks like, but it may not be the exact same one: http://www.americanbrewmaster.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=4_23_24&products_id=256

That and a small bag of corn sugar for bottling. Thats it. Thats the recipe. Starting out simple for the first go.

No worries on being an EAC, I imagine you see a lot of these questions many times.

marosell said:

Recipe:

-Muntons Mexican Cerveza Can (malt and yeast)
-Silver bag of liquid Light Malt Extract. heres what it looks like, but it may not be the exact same one: http://www.americanbrewmaster.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=4_23_24&products_id=256

That and a small bag of corn sugar for bottling. Thats it. Thats the recipe. Starting out simple for the first go.

No worries on being an EAC, I imagine you see a lot of these questions many times.

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Thanks for the forgiveness. I followed this thread to make sure I didn't scare you off from seeking help.

Thanks bradsul. I'm not sure my malt extract is 1lb, I'll have to look. If it's more, you suggest just using 1lb of it?

^I've been on many forums before, many for a long time. It take quite a bit for me to get offended/scared off

I would use whatever your LHBS gave you to be safe. I'm sure they've given you what you need to account for the lesser volume of your batch. Good luck and I'm sure it will be great!

I'm still slightly confused. It seems to me that you have 1+ lbs of malt extract, with which to make 5 gallons of beer. I can't see that being right, or that is one LIGHT beer.

The malt extract is in addition to the muntons kit. The muntons kits are designed to be supplemented with 1KG of dextrose but they make 23L batches.

Making a 19L batch with the kit and supplementing with the DME instead of the dextrose should yield a normal beer.

Ah, thanks for the clarification...

RickWG said:

Wow! Not to be an EAC but, uh, Wow.

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uh...WoW, not to be a dick, but you were never a noob yourself were you?


cut him some slack, everyone has got to start somewhere

Chimone said:

uh...WoW, not to be a dick, but you were never a noob yourself were you?


cut him some slack, everyone has got to start somewhere

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Gentlemen, neutral corners please...

Brewing Clamper said:

Gentlemen, neutral corners please...

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I can take my lumps. I appologized. Not gonna let it ruin my day.

Tophe said:

That is understandable....apology accepted. Ive done that too not realizing its the beginners forum when you go to "new posts"

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The new posts button is on of my favorite features but it can be dangerous. I usually check my User CP for responses to threads I post in then hit new posts

marosell said:

Recipe:

-Muntons Mexican Cerveza Can (malt and yeast)
-Silver bag of liquid Light Malt Extract. heres what it looks like, but it may not be the exact same one: http://www.americanbrewmaster.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=4_23_24&products_id=256

That and a small bag of corn sugar for bottling. Thats it. Thats the recipe. Starting out simple for the first go.

No worries on being an EAC, I imagine you see a lot of these questions many times.

Click to expand...

With a little research, it looks like the Muntons kit is 1.5kg or 3.3lbs of hopped LME (liquid malt extract). The link for the malt extract you pointed is 1.65# of DME (dry malt extract). In 5gal that should have an OG (original gravity) of 1.037 and an ABV of about 3.6%
1KG of dextrose would be closer to 2.2# of DME, so it looks like the LHBS already adjusted for 5 vs 6 gal and improved the end product by using malt extract instead of sugar.
It is still going to be a lite lager style of beer but probably with an ale yeast, which gives a different flavor, so the results may not be what you expect.

Craig

I don't know what kind of yeast comes in the muntons mexican cerveza pack. I imagine it isn't an ale yeast, but I don't know. It sits atop this can: http://www.muntons.com/homebeer/countries/uk/prem_cerveza.htm

But if DME stands for DRY malt extract, thats not what I have, I have liquid. Liquid Muntons can and liquid malt extract. Thats what the guy in the store gave me, saying the beer would come out much better then using the sugar it suggests.

Seems you guys agree with that as well. Can't wait to get a brewin'

marosell said:

Went to the HBS and the clerk gave me a muntons can of malt+yeastpacket to make a 5 gallon batch. But upon reading the can, it says it makes 6 gallons. What gives, and is this going to be a problem?

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Don't worry, it will be fine. Did the HBS give you directions? You'll want to follow their directions and not the directions on the can. In a nutshell, you'll want to put 2 gallons of water into your "kettle" (stainless steel, aluminum or enameled pot) add in the dried malt extract, stir, heat to a near boil, take off the heat, add the liquid malt, stir, stir some more, return to heat, bring to a boil, stirring often. With those ingredients a 20 min boil will be enough. Stick the pot (covered) into an ice water bath or sink full of cold water. Get the temp down to under 90 deg as quickly as possible. Once cooled you can transfer to your fermenter then add cold water to bring the total to 5 gallons. Let the water splash, aeration is a good thing at this point. Open the packet of yeast and pitch it on the surface. Put on the lid/stopper and airlock and start waiting.

Most important of all, Welcome to the wonderful world of homebrewing!

marosell said:

I don't know what kind of yeast comes in the muntons mexican cerveza pack. I imagine it isn't an ale yeast, but I don't know. It sits atop this can: http://www.muntons.com/homebeer/countries/uk/prem_cerveza.htm

But if DME stands for DRY malt extract, thats not what I have, I have liquid. Liquid Muntons can and liquid malt extract. Thats what the guy in the store gave me, saying the beer would come out much better then using the sugar it suggests.

Seems you guys agree with that as well. Can't wait to get a brewin'

Click to expand...

Are you sure it isn't LIGHT Malt Extract and not liquid? Normally liquid is in a can or plastic jug (bottle), not a packet, but I guess anything is possible.
If it is a lager type yeast then make certain to keep the temperature down during fermentation. Lager yeast likes it cold.

The package says "Light Malt Extract", but squeezing the package it feels like liquid inside, but REALLY thick stuff, almost like molasses.

To be perfectly honest, it feels like the liquid cheese packets in Velvetta Mac&Cheese haha. :cross:

It doesn't feel like a powder.... which is what I assume everyone means when they say not the liquid that comes in a can?

ThomasRau: I don't have a pot that big! The only thing I have is an aluminum pot, prob 3 gallons, but EVERYwhere I look says "do not use aluminum".

marosell said:

The package says "Light Malt Extract", but squeezing the package it feels like liquid inside, but REALLY thick stuff, almost like molasses.

To be perfectly honest, it feels like the liquid cheese packets in Velvetta Mac&Cheese haha. :cross:

It doesn't feel like a powder.... which is what I assume everyone means when they say not the liquid that comes in a can?

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Thick like molasses describes LME very well, I'll be though, I have never seen liquid sold in foil packets. Cans yes, plastic jugs yes, but never in foil packs. Keep us informed of what it is when you finally do the brewing. I'm still betting on it being DME, although for the purpose of boiling and brewing it really is 6 of one and half dozen of the other.

Aluminum is just fine (I use it), don't worry about that. For those munton kits 3 gallons is plenty, I started with those as well.

marosell said:

ThomasRau: I don't have a pot that big! The only thing I have is an aluminum pot, prob 3 gallons, but EVERYwhere I look says "do not use aluminum".

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A three gallon pot is fine. With extract brewing like this you'll only need to heat up 1-2 gallons of water. Do not let aluminum scare you, it can (and is) safely used all the time. In a perfect world stainless is the way to go, but it is not the only solution. My first three brews I didn't use a pot at all, I used a two Quart measuring cup to heat water in the microwave. Those first brews were all LME "no-boil" kits, and with aging were all surprisingly good.

Just remember the famous words, RELAX

The whole idea is to have some fun, and a nice reward a few weeks down the road.

marosell said:

The package says "Light Malt Extract", but squeezing the package it feels like liquid inside, but REALLY thick stuff, almost like molasses.

To be perfectly honest, it feels like the liquid cheese packets in Velvetta Mac&Cheese haha. :cross:

It doesn't feel like a powder.... which is what I assume everyone means when they say not the liquid that comes in a can?

Click to expand...

I guess it is possible that it is liquid but in my experience DME almost flows like a liquid when dry so your packet may still be DME. Either way is fine as the sugar content only differs by 20% between the 2.
LME (liquid malt extract) is a sticky syrupy liquid very similar to molasses. It is usually sold in cans like your Muntons or jugs like milk. DME is a very fine powder like powdered sugar. It is usually sold in sealed plastic bags.

An aluminum pot is just fine for a brew kettle. Lot of people use them without a problem. Its what I have myself.

Craig

I did see LME in a plastic pack once. It was in a how to brew beer photo on a website. He placed the bag in some hot water to soften the extract then cut the corner of the bag and dumped it into the kettle.

I've never actually seen it sold like that though.

Not sure if they mentioned this but take the muntons can and stick it in a sink or bucket with hot water. This will soften the extract, making it much easier to pour. Take a spatula to get the last bits out of the can.

The reason you take the kettle off of the burner when adding the liquid malt extract is to prevent scorching when you add the LME. Before it is stirred into the water it sinks to the bottom. If it's on the burner then that malt will likely scorch.

The kind of kit you are using has extract with hop oils added, thats why the short boil time. In fact boiling for to long may boil out the flavor oils with this kind of kit.

A more advanced kit will contain unhopped extract. You would then add hops at various times to add bitterness, flavor and aroma. Bittering would be a 60+ min boil, with flavor and aroma additions at around 15 min and 5 min before end of boil.

Let us know how youy first one turns out,and above all RDWHAHB (or craft beer since you won't have any home brew yet).

Good luck!

Denny's Evil Concoctions said:

I did see LME in a plastic pack once. It was in a how to brew beer photo on a website. He placed the bag in some hot water to soften the extract then cut the corner of the bag and dumped it into the kettle.

I've never actually seen it sold like that though.

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IIRC, Williams brewing's advertisement in BYO uses a picture of their bagged LME.

Yeah, it's bagged liquid. Instructions say cut corner and push liquid out. I think it's made by the HBS because it has their logo on it. Either that, or they order some company, take it's logo off, and put on their own

How much corn sugar for bottling after primary? I've read about bottles exploding, and I'm pretty sure thats not a good thing. I think the bag the HBS gave me was 3/4 cup, and I think I was told to use the whole thing, but wanted to double check with some of you guys.

3/4 cup for priming seems to be pretty standard. I go by weight as measuring powders by volume goes against my grain (has to do with my day job). I think I usually use 120G for priming the bottles at 73F.

This should help you figure it out.

http://byo.com/referenceguide/primingchart/


"temp" is the temperature the fermented at (or now if the temp has been raised). This determines how much co2 should be left in the beer from fermentation. There are probably easier charts.

Promash and beersmith and some online calculators are good for this as well.

So tonight we boiled up the brew. It's in the fermentation bucket, how long until I should see some serious bubbling action?

It can vary between a few hours and a few days. I wouldn't worry until at least 48 hours has gone by. Most likely though by tonight you will see some action. The key is patience!

you were right, later this afternoon it was bubbling, maybe once every 10 seconds, but it's seemed to stop this evening. is that common?

as absurd as this sounds, do yeasties sleep?

I had some strange experiences with those Muntons kits. They never gave me that great explosive fermentation everyone always talked about. But they all did finish up properly and were decent beers in their own right; just be patient!

It could be as simple as the seal on your fermenter, the pressure built up just enough that it found another exit besides the airlock. Give it a week and then check the gravity, that is the best way to tell.