More Noob questions

1. Water. I’ve been using Supermarket Reverse Osmosis drinking water. Is city water ok? (Edmonton City water is ok to drink but I don’t know if it’s hard or soft or alkaline) If I use city water should I boil it and cool it? Does that affect the oxygen levels?

2. I use a food grade bucket with a loose top for a primary and then a glass carboy with airlock for a secondary. Many recipes say they go straight into the glass carboy. Is using a primary and secondary necessary? It stays in my primary for 3-5 days depending on yeast activity. Is it getting oxidized?

3. Lagering and Lager Yeast. I don’t have a Lagering chest. Can I make the lager recipes I see or do I need a Lagering Chest? One of the first recipes I want to make will be an Anchor Steam Beer clone. Most of them use Lager yeast will that be ok at room temp? By fall my basement is consistently in the mid to low teens (Celsius) can I make lager recipes then?

TIA
Rudeboy

1.) I'm assuming extract beer? If so, if it tastes ok, then any water is fine.
2.) What you are doing is fine, but you may want to look into an airlock for you pail. Secondary is not necessary but preferred, especially if your beer is in the primary for only 3 days. (Look up 1-2-3 rule). Some people have kept it in the primary for weeks. Secondary becomes less critical then.
3.) Don't lager if you do not have the means to keep the beer in the proper temperature range. It won't work. If you must have this style, look into a California Common beer (Anchor Steam being the commercial example).

www.howtobrew.com is an excellent free resource.

1. Water. If your water is good for drinking it's good for brewing. As for oxygen levels, if you boil it you boil off the oxygen. That's why you have to aerate.

2. Food grade bucket with a loose top for a primary and then a glass carboy with airlock for a secondary is only one way to brew, not the only way. It will work.

3-5 days in the primary is not nearly long enough. Shoot for at least 1 week. Check your gravity. If its dropped 75% then it's ready to rack. Example: OG 1.040 - FG 1.010, done. Ready to place in the clearing tank (carboy).

3. Using a lager yeast at room temps is (by definition) a Steam beer. Your basement in the winter sounds like a great place to lager. I use my garage. It's insulated, but gets down to the low 40s when it's colder outside.

Thanks all.

Another quick question. I'm trying to start Extract/Grain brewing, alot of recipes say DME or Liquid Malt Extract but alot just say "Light Malt Extract" (for example). Would that be dry or Liquid?

Also with the Liquid, most reciepes call for amounts that aren't whole cans. So I open two tins use one and a half and keep the unused half a tin? How long does it keep once opened? I take it I refrigerate it?

Thanks

Rudeboy

You can get light extract in either dry or liquid form. There are also amber and dark extracts that are also available in either dry or liquid. For example, check out MoreBeer's base ingredients page and you will see what I mean (http://morebeer.com/search/102149).

Liquid extract will keep a long time in the fridge, but you want to try to use it while it is still fresh. I've even seen it written that its ok to use if has mold growing on it because the mold cannot penetrate into the liquid and just stays on top. Don't know if that's really true or not...

ugh...no mold. it may be ok, but i wouldn't use it. LME should be used soon after purchased IMO.

use DME if you can. it ferments out better, won't darken the beer as much and stores for much longer (in a tightly sealed container or bag in a cool, dry place...not the fridge).

brloomis said:

You can get light extract in either dry or liquid form. There are also amber and dark extracts that are also available in either dry or liquid. For example, check out MoreBeer's base ingredients page and you will see what I mean (http://morebeer.com/search/102149).

Liquid extract will keep a long time in the fridge, but you want to try to use it while it is still fresh. I've even seen it written that its ok to use if has mold growing on it because the mold cannot penetrate into the liquid and just stays on top. Don't know if that's really true or not...

Click to expand...

Right. Sorry for my poorly worded question I know there is Liquid and Dry ME, what I ment was is it customary in recipes that they mean DME unless they say Liquid or that they mean Liquid unless they say DME.

I also realize you can substitute the two. But I've read that DME equals plus 15% of Liquid ME. ie. 1 kilo of DME equals 1.15 Kilos of Liquid ME. So I'm wondering so I get portions right for the recipes.

Thanks Again.

Rudeboy

DME seems the way to go. Measuring a powder and putting the rest seems much easier than weigh a syrup and trying to save half a tin.

the recipe should specify. if they don't, they are not being thorough and you should use a different recipe