First time Home brew

Well ill keep it simple...
I Have No idea what im doing, im still doing lots of reading so bear with me please!!

i normally would have the local brew house make a batch for me and id bring them my keg when its done, but since they ran into legal issues they are no longer around so ive decided to take a stab at making my own beer!

This is what i have currently have (just picked up today) i still need to get my self a hydrometer and a temp guage. Pic enclosed

if im missing anything else Please let me know!!

Any tips tricks directions anything like that please chime in

Thank you for taking the time to read

I don't see a kettle or source of heat -- I assume you have those.

Is the Coopers a hopped extract? If not, you need some hops.

Looks like you might also be missing some hoses for siphoning/transferring your beer. You've only got one bucket -- even though you are kegging, you might want to get another 5 gal bucket.

Oh, and the most important thing -- where is the homebrew you are going to drink while making your first batch?

Welcome to the forum and the obcession! (that's probably spelled wrong)

You will need a pot big enough to boil at least 3 gallons. This may be able to boil on your stove or an outside burner like a turkey frier. I assume you have hops just not in the picture? Did you get an ingredient kit or just the extracts?

What is the bag of white stuff in the middle?

I assume you will be kegging this since you apparently have kegs.

thats probably enough questions for right now....

no home brew to drink while im doing this.. i know my bad!!!

Its the standard coopers kit.. add water and yeast etc... (didnt buy the full kit with the bottles and container)

i have the hose to transfer.. its sitting behind the bucket..
do i need another bucket? i have a huge pot 30q or so that i was going to use for my hot water....

one question i do have is.. do i add the entire bag of the Dme (Spray malt) and 500g of the sugar i have??

I was trying to ask the guy at the store but his boss kept pulling him away from me as a shipment came in. so i just bought the stuff and got out of the store as they didnt seem to want to help me very much

i thought i knew what i was doing until i got to the store then somehow got confused. so im back to reading!


@jtsims21
White stuff is Sugar

Its the standard coopers kit.. add water and yeast etc... (didnt buy the full kit with the bottles and container) no problem don't need it

do i need another bucket? not unless you want to secondary ferment or bottle

i have a huge pot 30q or so that i was going to use for my hot water....this will work perfectly

one question i do have is.. do i add the entire bag of the Dme (Spray malt) and 500g of the sugar i have?? yes everything in the kit goes in the boil except the yeast. The instructions probably tell you to keep X amount of the sugar out that is for bottling and since you wont be doing that you can throw it in with the rest

ok cool...
that helps.. thanks Jtsims21..
should i culture my yeast in a measuring cup before hand or directly add it to the batch when im done???

Soundwav said:

ok cool...
that helps.. thanks Jtsims21..
should i culture my yeast in a measuring cup before hand or directly add it to the batch when im done???

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opinions vary, but I recommend rehydrating if you can. It will certainly work to sprinkle the yeast on top once the beer has been cooled down to 65 degrees F.

I like to rehydrate with spring water. There is a small risk of infection, but IMO it's so light as to not worth worrying about.

Otherwise, you will want to boil some water in a pan, then cool down in an ice bath before pouring into a sanitized glass and sprinkling your yeast on top. I usually put a sanitized piece of foil on the glass and after 10-15 minutes shake it a bit to integrate the yeast into the water. Do this until the yeast is completely mixed in.

BTW - Do you have any sanitizer? You WILL need it.

I was thinking with a giant bag of cocaine like he's got, he won't need a homebrew to drink while making his first batch...

Good start!

read how to brew, the older first version is online - www.howtobrew.com and you'll get some understanding of what's going on.

consider some kind of temperature control during the ferment process. As it's getting cooler now, see if you can find a 60F space to keep it in.

Sanitize, sanitize. Get some StarSan, or Iodophor (they're concentrates) and mix up some sanitizer to use. Everything that touches beer must be sanitized.

didn't see an answer about the hops - does the can say "pre-hopped?" if not, you must get some hops in there...

Can of standard coopers malt, add water and yeast. Assume it's hopped? (well, it's a mexican cerveza, so take that for what it's worth...)

tyrtruion said:

I was thinking with a giant bag of cocaine like he's got, he won't need a homebrew to drink while making his first batch...

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That's awesome!!
Funny as hell!

I don't have sanatizer yet! Still gathering everything!

I don't have sanatizer yet! Still gathering everything!

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Star san or iodophor is best, but I can understand if you don't want to go back to that homebrew shop. I wouldn't. If not, then get some common household chlorine-based, unscented (that's important) bleach. Put one capful (not a cupful, a capful) in your fermenting bucket and fill all the way to the top with water. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes, then drain and let it dry by itself. It will be fine.

I like to have a second bucket because I like to keep transfer hoses and so forth in sanitizer until the last second. However, you can sanitize those in your fermenter and dry the same way.

As for the sugar, I probably wouldn't add any of it -- I don't like sugar in my beer because it just thins it out. I suspect it is corn sugar for priming. Save some for your keg if you want to naturally carbonate. If you want to force carbonate (like I do), then you don't need to set some aside.

So you don't have homebrew, then get yourself a 6 pack of a good high quality commercial brew. It just makes the day more fun.

If I may make one more suggestion: I have found that some of the folks on this site are really knowledgeable, and eager to share that knowledge. When you have everything, and are ready to brew, post everything you have in this thread, and describe in detail your brewing process. I'll bet a nickel some people will have some really good suggestions to improve your beer!

No sugar Eh? Just straight dme?

Is a hydrometer a necessity??
I need to run out and get a temp gauge
Also this will be fermenting in my laundry room opposite side of the room roughly 15 or so feet from the furnace! Think that will be ok temp wise??

Soundwav said:

No sugar Eh? Just straight dme?

Is a hydrometer a necessity??
I need to run out and get a temp gauge
Also this will be fermenting in my laundry room opposite side of the room roughly 15 or so feet from the furnace! Think that will be ok temp wise??

Click to expand...

Correct on the sugar. I don't know how much malt extract you have, between the coopers and the dme, but as long as it is at least 6-8 lbs, there's no need for the sugar. Sugar has the effect of making your beer taste and feel thinner, while boosting the alcohol. The amount you use for priming is small enough that it really doesn't affect the beer significantly, but that looks like a pretty good size bag (at least a pound).

At least, we are all assuming it is sugar....

Hydrometer is redamend u get 1 it makes life easierand more accurate

Although I done my first few batchs of wine witou it.I'm still new at this aswell bt dats my 2 cents

Oh, and for your fermenting space, it probably is fine. If you have an indoor/outdoor thermometer system, put the indoor unit in there. It can record the daily highs and lows. You'd like for it to be in the 60's consistently. If it gets up into the 70's, you may detect some fruity flavors in your beer. If it gets below the 60's, your fermentation will be a little slower.

The dme is 1.1 pounds
Sugar is 2 pounds I think! It was cheap!!

how much LME liquid malt extract? I was assuming the kit came with LME, DME, and sugar to make a "light beer" I also assume this is for a 5 gallon batch. if your LME is 2.2 lbs which I assume it is... without the sugar you have 2.5%ABV with the sugar you should have 5.5% ABV... Like I said to make what the kit is aiming for you will need the sugar in it, you could replace the sugar with LME or DME if you got some more of that or you could do a smaller batch

The coopers can which is the LME (liquid malt extract) correct? Is 1.7kg or 3.75lbs
The sugar is 2 pounds
And the Spray malt (dry malt extract) correct? Is 500g or 1.1lbs
Or am I missing something all together?? I've got TONS of reading to do Tommrow

well... we are assuming the LME is pre hopped if it does not say that you will want some hops

with those updated numbers... no sugar 3.7%, with sugar 6.6%

If you get a hydrometer your readings should be: pre fermentation (OG) 1.056 and when fermentation is complete (FG) 1.006 and stable.

Just checked on the can it says hopped malt concentrate

perfect!!

boil water add your ingredients (all 3), cool it down, add more clean water, add yeast (after cooled), put in bucket with airlock, wait a few weeks, put in keg, wait a few more weeks, enjoy!

Ok just to be clear!
The full bag of the DME?
500g of the sugar?
Yeast

Drink in a month or so!

yes..

boil water
add DME, LME, and sugar
cool to about 65
pour in bucket
add water to get to 5 gallons
add yeast
put lid on bucket with airlock (water in airlock)
wait ~2 weeks
put in keg and chill with CO2 pressure about 11-15 psi depending on how carbonated you want it
wait ~2 more weeks
enjoy