First attempt

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Pivzavod

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so i brewed my first batch of beer using the coopers micro brewery + european lager kit. i read a lot on the site about the brewing process and a lot of posts about how not to use kits instructions. with all the stuff i learned this is what i did:


i sanitized everything using the coopers sanitizer

i boiled 2 gallons of water and added malt extract and lowered the heat a little bit and waited 15 mins

i added brew enhancer 2 (sugar) that came with the kit and let it nearly boil for 15 mins while mixing everything.

i ran out of ice trying to cool down my primary which had 2 gallons of water (long story but i basically learned that if you try to get a few gallons from a fridge, which is filtered, it becomes warm so i had to put my wort into the fridge to cool it down (that took longer then i expected like 30 mins)

at the same time i got a cup of warm water (around 80F) and i added dry yeast into it. i was going to wait for 15 mins before adding wort to the primary with 2 gallons of water and pitching yeast but it was still too warm so i waited around 30 mins.

when the wort was warm to touch i added it primary and mixed temp was 82F and i aded the yeast and mixed it a lot to aerorate.

i took my hydrometer and the reading was 1.028 and i closed it up and added airlock.

the instructions that came with it said their yeast would work from 18-32C (64-90F) with optimum temperature being between 21-27C (70-80F)

my starting temperature was 28C (82F) so i wanted to cool it down to lower it. i used the new technique that i learned from this forum which was to use a few wet tshirts which i also put in the freezer for 10 mins. when i woke up in the morning the temperature is between 22-24C (71-75F) and i guess it will remain at this temperature from now on.

i noticed that the water bubble was pushed out a little bit when i got home tonight (23 hours or so from fermentation).

so what do you guys think?
 
here is an update, i am home today and decided to move the primary a little bit (maybe a few inches on the counter), i also pushed airlock all the way in (1/2 an inch or so further) and that caused the monster to wakeup :)

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa5dfIXw-9c]YouTube - i've awaken a monster[/ame]

:ban:
 
here is an update, i am home today and decided to move the primary a little bit (maybe a few inches on the counter), i also pushed airlock all the way in (1/2 an inch or so further) and that caused the monster to wakeup :)

YouTube - i've awaken a monster

:ban:

Next time... if you can get the primary fermenting under 20C / 68F you'll have a much more tasty beer than a beer brewing at higher temps, especially for a lager.

Not to worry, it should still work out fine for you, but you'll notice a cidery/green apple taste when brewing at higher temps.

Cheers. :mug:
Tony.
 
Its at around 75F now and I moved it upto my fridge. Should I try to keep it a little bit colder using ice tshirts? I can try to lower it to 72F or so, would that make a big difference?
 
when the wort was warm to touch i added it primary and mixed temp was 82F and i aded the yeast and mixed it a lot to aerorate.

i took my hydrometer and the reading was 1.028 and i closed it up and added airlock.


I was under the impression that you were to take the SG reading prior to pitching.
 
I was under the impression that you were to take the SG reading prior to pitching.

You can do either. I always recommend taking the OG reading before pitching, just in case you find you need to do something. Besides, there's usually a bit of wait-around time while the bitter wort is cooling; you can fill that time nicely by taking a reading. Plus it gets wicked Mad Scientist XP for using a scientific instrument! +10 XP if you're wearing a lab coat.

;)

Bob
 
Great start!

Now wait three weeks. Then bottle!

Wait two weeks. Refrigerate. Drink after a day a so.

Put a couple of those 740ml bottles in a cool closet or basement and forget about them for a year.

Those bottles that you forget will be the best beer you have ever tasted.


Michael
 
What I did overnight was to move the primary from my kitchen to my balcony. It is now at 70F and over the next few days should go down to 66-68F. Hopefully moving the primary did not do anything harmful to the wort. I still able to hear the activity in the airlock. I hope that having first 3 days at 75F and the remainder of 2 weeks at lower temperature will help the lager more.

ps. I took the cardboard box in which the brewery came in and now I am reusing it on my balcony. I cut a whole in it so that I can see a thermometer and the primary fits in it just fine. Talk about recycling :)
 
Next time... if you can get the primary fermenting under 20C / 68F you'll have a much more tasty beer than a beer brewing at higher temps, especially for a lager.

Not to worry, it should still work out fine for you, but you'll notice a cidery/green apple taste when brewing at higher temps.

I can't emphasize this enough and I wish Coopers change their instructions to say that you should keep ferment temps at 68F.

Pivzavod said:
Hopefully moving the primary did not do anything harmful to the wort. I still able to hear the activity in the airlock. I hope that having first 3 days at 75F and the remainder of 2 weeks at lower temperature will help the lager more.
Your mileage may vary, but my fermentation was done in 3 days and I would wager that the higher temps sped up the process and you're probably pretty close to being done too, but it won't hurt it to drop the temps and definitely keep in primary for another 2-3 weeks.
 
I can't emphasize this enough and I wish Coopers change their instructions to say that you should keep ferment temps at 68F.


Your mileage may vary, but my fermentation was done in 3 days and I would wager that the higher temps sped up the process and you're probably pretty close to being done too, but it won't hurt it to drop the temps and definitely keep in primary for another 2-3 weeks.

I do believe that the Coopers European Lager kit comes with a true lager yeast that can be fermented as low as 13C. I mainly use the Coopers Brewmaster Pilsner kit and I've got this fermenting at 13C using the yeast provided as we speak. I leave it in the fermenting bucket at 13-15C for 2 weeks, transfer to a secondary (room temp) for 1 week, bottle to tap-a-draft for 2 weeks, and it's ready to go.

Cheers.
Tony.
 
Thanks T!

I am looking at the forecast and the lowest temperature will be next Friday (10/03) and it will be 48F (9C). I think I should be ok since it will be 8 days since I brewed on 09/24, high of that day is 63F (17C).
 
Here is an update:

So I brewed on 09/24 and its been 9 days most of which I kept the fermenter outside on my balcony to cool it down. It seems that the airlock activity stopped around day 7 and the temperature outside has been coming down in the last few days. It is now within the range of 50-65F (10-18C) with the coldest being for a few hours at night, most of the time its probably around 60F (15C). My question is since I am making a lager should I continue keeping it outside to "lager" it since I am assuming the primary fermentation should be pretty much over? I know that the yeast I have supposed to work as low as 13C (55F) and my fermenter did stay within the recommended temperature for over 7 days. Will some changes in the temperature put any remaining yeast to sleep? (lets say if it drops to 50F (10C)
 
I noticed that you boiled your Coopers kit. This should not be done. As well as some off flavours, you can expect a very dark looking 'lager'.
 
I can't emphasize this enough and I wish Coopers change their instructions to say that you should keep ferment temps at 68F.

Their instructions regarding the temperature for their lager yeast is explicitly and clearly stated in the instructions.
 
My brew was done more then 3 years ago. It's long gone, so let it go man :)

I no longer use Cooper kits and only did 2 that came with my Coopers brewery kit. I do mostly partial mash and hoping to switch to BIAB all grain in the near future. I still use my Coopers bucket.

I learned a lot about home brewing and beer and general because of my new hobby and participation in this forum.
 
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