Cooper's Kit

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cancerboy

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Cooper's has always been one of my favorite beers so i decided when I got a homebrewing kit for my birthday to give it a whirl... I suck. I just smashed my hydrometer (not that it matters because I could never get a reading anyway) I had some confusion about the second carbonation and had to add another portion a week later... after 14 days I'm trying the first batch without the proposed (2nd) carbonation and can't tell wether it's good or not, I guess I like it... it has quite the head on it and still smells like yeast. I dunno, I guess if I never post again I've died. Then again I just had to try it before I leave for the holidays...any advice against leaving the bottles in the bathtub while I'm gone in case of an exsplosion? Regardless it tastes fine, unfortunately I can't check any of the readings but it seems like it's worth a day of the sh*ts. Flame me, I don't care. I guess I want some reasurance that someones done it worse their first time. any takers?
 
cancerboy said:
Cooper's has always been one of my favorite beers so i decided when I got a homebrewing kit for my birthday to give it a whirl... I suck. I just smashed my hydrometer (not that it matters because I could never get a reading anyway) I had some confusion about the second carbonation and had to add another portion a week later... after 14 days I'm trying the first batch without the proposed (2nd) carbonation and can't tell wether it's good or not, I guess I like it... it has quite the head on it and still smells like yeast. I dunno, I guess if I never post again I've died. Then again I just had to try it before I leave for the holidays...any advice against leaving the bottles in the bathtub while I'm gone in case of an exsplosion? Regardless it tastes fine, unfortunately I can't check any of the readings but it seems like it's worth a day of the sh*ts. Flame me, I don't care. I guess I want some reasurance that someones done it worse their first time. any takers?


Dont worry about the hydrometer, I smash at least 2 or 3 a month and ive been brewing for about 4 years now. Now if you already bottled your beer, the beer has to bottle condition for a week, but if your going to be gone for the holiday's then i advise you to make sure your beer is not in the direct light. Keep a towel on the brew in the bath tub to keep it dark, but its ok to leave it. Just make sure you take them out before taking a bath or just make sure its a cold bath, warm beer taste's like crap.
 
That's good to know, thanks. I'll cover those up right away. I'm just gonna follow the book with this one... well as far as I can at this stage. But I'm wondering if I can reuse this kit for others recipies?
 
If by kit you mean the fermenting bucket, etc. you can re-use them. Just take the time to clean everything well and sanitize before brewing.

The bathtub with towels over them is probably the best place to leave your bottles.
 
I'm back with no explosions, just wondering if I were to dip into this batch now how would refrigeration effect the process? I just want to try a cold one and let the rest sit for another month...
 
I say go for it. Refridgerate one and see how it tastes. I almost always try one of my brews after 7-10 days just to get an idea of how they turned out and then let the rest age. As a new brewer you need to learn as much as you can. Go and buy any books you can find. I have been brewing for about 8 years and still learn stuff all of the time. I am new to this forum and it seems to be a great place to get input from other brewers. Don't get discouraged, the rewards are worth it. Goodluck, Coldknife:)
 
I got a home brew set for christmas, got a coopers IPA bitter can of syrup. I have followed my book and my beer is now fermenting. I need two run to the store and get corn sugar before I bottle. I did not and any sugar to the boil, is this going to be a problem?
 
mxchris said:
I got a home brew set for christmas, got a coopers IPA bitter can of syrup. I have followed my book and my beer is now fermenting. I need two run to the store and get corn sugar before I bottle. I did not and any sugar to the boil, is this going to be a problem?


Your fine, the corn sugar is for priming right? If so then 1 oz per gallon is a good amount. You can add sugar at any time during the fermentation process. If your adding sugar as an adjunct then i recommend no more than one pound per 5 gallons to avoid cider flavors.
 
I tried a cool one I bottled on the 17th... it got both carbonation drops, it smelled a little off, maybe not offf just alot of yeast smell in the head. Today I had one that I bottled on the 10th it only got one carbonation drop, it tastes more like the Traditional Coopers I'm used to, it even has that sediment they have in the stubbies. Regardless I guess I NEED another hydrometer if I'm going to do this again... what about used Grolsh bottles, can I use & reuse them?
 
You should take a look at: http://www.howtobrew.com/sitemap.html

It's a good learning source and it's free.

Glad your beer turned out. Be careful to poor slowly and avoid the last bit of yeast.

Feel free to ask any questions on here, even the one's you may think are dumb. People on this forum are pretty friendly and helpful.

Happy Brewing!
 
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