a few questions before I start my first brew....

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

RMS

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2012
Messages
125
Reaction score
5
Location
New Bedford
Hey guys,

I have my first beer brewing kit on the way and I am excited! But I have a few questions, and here they are:

How many cups in 1Kg of corn sugar, is it 4 or 5?

Should I substitute the 1Kg of sugar and go with DME instead? If so how much and what color?

I would like a ABV of 4.0 - 5, 6 max.

Craig on you tube says if you double the LME to still add 2 cups of sugar, if not then use 4-6 cups of the sugar. What do you guys think? Here is the kit:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/review/product/list/id/2992/category/90/
 
Welcome to the craft! Glad you're excited to brew!

Dry weights are difficult to accurately measure in terms of cups or other volume based measurements, which is why you'll commonly see them measured as weights in a recipe. When something calls for "16 ounces"...they're not talking about 2 cups, but rather an actual pound of whatever it is. It'll probably be closer to 5 cups, though.

I found I wasn't a fan of adding sugar to increase alcohol, rather LME or DME. Your taste may be different, so I'd probably suggest you find out. If you're intent on adding DME, I believe it's pretty close to pound for pound. (Someone check me, going from my faulty memory.) If I remember correctly, both sugar and DME are both pretty close to 1.045-1.050/lb per gallon. Generally, depending on style of course, pale extract is the preferred approach. When modifying a recipe, you want to try to keep the color and gravity fairly close to the original.

I can't make any suggestions on how to handle that kit specifically. I generally recommend trying the recipe as intended and only modify it if you feel you can make it better.

Good luck with your brew day!
 
DME is 1.044 and sugar 1.046 per lb per gallon. I haven't done much with extract or kits so not sure what to tell you there. I suspect the sugar is to help dry it out and give a lower FG as DME (from what Ive read of others experiences) tends to finish closer to 1.020, the style you're making to fit guidelines, would finish 1.007 to 1.011
 
Yeah I hear you on the weight to volume conversions its not always so simple to convert and why my web search gets mixed results. I do agree an feel it is closer to 5 maybe 5+ cups. I ask because I bought 4lbs of the corn sugar and I don't have a scale to properly weigh the correct amount.
 
If the can is 1.7kg,that'll be about 3.7434 pounds. I use a 3lb bag of plain DME for Cooper's cans,the light one. Comes out around 1.050OG. Amber orange color. Add maybe 2oz of English flavor hops to balance out the added DME. Should be around 5.3%.
 
My local hardware store has some brewing supplies so I will pick up some DME.

I may just stick to the stock recipe for my first batch just so I can get a taste of it that way first, then plan the next one a little better. It's going to be interesting for me to see how this turns out!! I should get my KIT today.........
 
I've done the first one as is before. The Cooper's English bitter was one. That one was darn good as is. Especially with pit bbq's smokey rich flavors. Blends real well.
 
I finally started my first brew earlier today. I think I made a few mistakes like the wort was at 80 degrees when I pitched in the yeast and that was like after waiting 3 hours for it to cool down enough first. So I just hope I did not contaminate it by letting it stay partial exposed for so long.

I ended up using:

(1.8KG LME) + (3 cups of light DME) + (3 cups of corn sugar) to 5.5 to 6 US gallons approx.

......and about 5 hours later a bit of activity in the air lock.
 
Were you reading through the meniscus or on top of it? That's where the liquid curves up the side of the hydrometer. You read straight through it,not on top of it. That is to say,straight through that lil; curve in line with the top level of the fluid.:drunk:
 
Well not sure what to think here but my air lock stop showing activity after about 2.5 days approximately and its been at a constant range of 65-70 degree range.

Is this normal?
 
Yep. Normal. Let it sit for another week and a half and take another gravity reading.

I could not wait......before I saw your post I just figured it was done and I bottled it up. My reading was 1.014........not sure but did I just make 2% ABV beer? If so then I need to have my head checked out. :eek:
 
I finally started my first brew earlier today. I think I made a few mistakes like the wort was at 80 degrees when I pitched in the yeast and that was like after waiting 3 hours for it to cool down enough first. So I just hope I did not contaminate it by letting it stay partial exposed for so long.

I ended up using:

(1.8KG LME) + (3 cups of light DME) + (3 cups of corn sugar) to 6 US gallons.

......and about 5 hours later a bit of activity in the air lock.

This is still kind of new to me and one area I made a mistake on because I pitched my yeast before I took my reading. My reading was 30 so I am thinking this means 1.030?

I think you had a failure to mix. This is common when you top up that the heavier wort is on the bottom and the thinner watery wort on the top. I once had a 1.070 of a 1.045 extract grain bill. Failed to mix well (I draw off the bottom for my gravity readings)
1.8KG of LME at about 37pppg works out to about 145 to 150 point in 5 gallons is 1.030 from the LME. The 3 cups of DME and corn sugar in this, and without having a good lb to cup conversion, I'll conservativily say 1lb of each for another about 15 to 20 points of og - bringing og possibly up to 1.050 at the 1/4 rule of fermentation, that brings us to an expected FG of 1.012 or 1.013.

So 1.014 is probably ok. Expecially since my 3cups =1 lb is a WAG at this point, (I may measure and check at home.)
 
So then the one darn thing that's not in the directions is to MIX after top off holy cow......oh well.

Actually they are in a plastic tote with a good lid and its in my living room. If these things start going off and blow the lid off I am screwed.

:)
 
IT is a well known problem with extract brews that they need a good mixing to get a good reading on the hydrometer. With that said, I weighed out a cup of sugar - it came in at 7 oz, so 3 cups is 21oz, or about 1.25 (given the vaguries of your measure and mine, I'll go with 1.25lb) I expect the same with DME for weight, this means that combined, you have about another 20 points to gravity (as I guessed before) or a little more. The 1.014 seems like a good FG, not to high.

Did you try the beer at bottling? Did it taste like flat beer? or flat sweet weak alcohol beer? IF it was the former, I'd not worry about bottle bombs, but if like the latter, there might have been more to ferment.
 
.....I weighed out a cup of sugar - it came in at 7 oz....

Thank you! I been working on a VB.net conversion program so this will come in very handy.

I did not notice a sweet taste, I did notice the bitter though!
 
Some caution on 1 cup=7 oz. That assumes that we are talking same cup - I wasn't trying to be particuarly acurate, but just for this, so I didn't do a pefect level 1 cup measure.

As long as we are talking 1 2 or maybe even 3 cups, the 7oz is probably close enough, but going for 10 cups I'd recommend getting a scale. Actually I recomend a scale anyway.
 
Well guys according to my directions its says after (bottling) 2 days in a warm place next is 14 days in a cool place. So this being my day 2, the tote is now making its way down stairs and onto my cellar floor.

I will keep you posted because I have a feeling that an early taste test is coming in about a week from now. I am crossing my finger, that I will not get sick and that it will taste OK and Hope it has at least a 3.5%ABV :D
 
Moving carbonating beer to a cold place after only 2 days in awarm one isn't a very good idea. It takes at least 3 weeks for an average gravity beer at 70F to carb.
 
Moving carbonating beer to a cold place after only 2 days in awarm one isn't a very good idea. It takes at least 3 weeks for an average gravity beer at 70F to carb.

Just carried 24 of them back up stairs; Thanks for the advice.
 
This time of year,I have sort of the same problem. My man cave is in front of the house with a southerly exposer. On the cool side,so great for fermenting. But I have to take the boxed bottled beers upstairs to the rather warm master bedroom to carb & condition. They sleep near me on my side of the room which is sort of a sitting room area. The bottles are room temp warm by fridge time. Can't wait for turkey day to try my 1st pm pale I did this way.
 
My cellar floor is about 63 degrees right now......so I got all 54 bottles in my living room off to one side and its been 11 days now but I will keep them their for the full 3 weeks.

What was your recipe you used for the pm pale?
 
Being my 1st partial mash,I used the midwest PM cascade pale ale kit. 5lbs of grains-4lb American 2 row,8oz carapils,& 8oz caramel 10L with 3.3lb Breisse gold LME.
I mashed the grains at 156F for 60 minutes in 1.5 gallons disstilled water. Sparged at 155F with another 1.5G of distilled water. Should've sparged at 165F. Used the resulting 3G of wort after hot break for hop additions,all cascade. 60 minutes,10 or 15,& 2. Re-hydrated US-05 at 72. Couldn't get it any lower wit the heat on. But the room was rather cool much of the time.
Wish I'd have brewed it a week or two sooner though. as of now,2 weeks & 1 day conditioning,5 days tommorow fridge time in time for thanksgiving. 3 or 4 weeks conditioning would've been more to my liking.
 
These kits seem really cool, and I like the bar charts they use on the side of the box!

Happy Thanks Giving!


:mug:

bar-chart.PNG
 
Big News!

I just got a new can of LME in the mail! And this time I am pitching at 68 degrees and using SafaleUS-05 and (no corn sugar this time) just the can of the LME and 6cups of light DME. This time though I also chilled 5 gallons of spring water.

My OG = 1.042 (approximately since I don't have a Hydrometer test jar yet) then I just sprinkled in my yeasts with a light stir on the surface.

.....and 24hrs later Activity in the air lock is a bubble a second.

In the mean time I been enjoying some Lowenbrau and just collecting my next batch of bottles, though I just noticed these bottles are only 11.2 Fl.Oz and its 5.2% ABV..........
 
Yeah,Euro bottles like Paulaner are generally 11.2oz,or something like 330ml. I also use Fransiskaner bottles,but they're 12oz. But the German bottles always seem to work the best for me for some reason.
I like how midwest kits list all the ingredients,including grains used & amounts. Makes it easier to tweak on later batches.
 
Well it seems that my second batch came out much better than my first; It's still early yet but I think my first batch ended up having the dreaded twang to it. Been mixing a few in with commercial Ale.

My second batch has no twang but its a tad bit sweet so my third batch will be using some hops. I am thinking its time to get the Midwest kit now that comes with the whole deal.
 
If it's a bit sweet,it might not'ev attenuated fully. Malty beers with little or no hops will also taste that way to the uninitiated.
 
Update.....Its been about 3 months since my fist brew and maybe 2 on my my second batch. Both need improvements but the first one the English bitter seems to mix well with other ales so I been doing half with the (Samuel Adams Boston Ale + my English bitter); my 2nd batch with some Budweiser ......sad I know; and to me it seems the Bud quality is a bit poor lately not sure why. But when I think about it I have really never found a commercial beer I could say was great so I can justify this as saying this mix of beers is all in all not bad.
 
Back
Top