Can I do This?

[jkenvere]

I've been making wine for about 10 years but got thirsty for a good beer this summer. A friend turned me on to his Red Ale he had made at Ubrew. I found it to be better than most store bought so I had a batch put on and it's been great,,,too great, burp, it's almost gone! I needed more but the U brew guy was going on holidays so he sent me home with a Brew House red ale Kit and a primary bucket.. This part was easy, But Because I'm taking it camping in August I will have him Carbonate when he returns in a few weeks. He told me follow the instructions but DO NOT add the priming sugar pouch, It's not used if you carbonate with his tanks. I then spot a can of Coopers Real Ale for only $14 in the grocery store, cool. This is gotta be worth a shot. I found the instructions to be kinda crappy, they seem to rush things along to fast. My question to all you folks is can I use the priming sugar pack that came with the Brew House kit in the cooper kit when the time comes? Are thes 2 kits that different and require seperate methods?

 

[kaptain_karma]

you can use dextrose priming sugar to bottle any beer. 3/4 cup for a five gallon batch is pretty standard.

 

[Truble]

Priming sugar that comes with kits is usually just corn sugar, and is identical across kits. all that matters is the quantity. I use between 2/3 cup and almost 1 full cup depending on how much carb I want.

as a side note, regardless of the kit, I would throw out the directions and follow the guidance of John Palmer http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html when starting out.

 

[Truble]

My quantities were also for a 5Gal batch.

 

[jkenvere]

Thanks for the quick responce. The other question? The coopers kit called for 1 kilo sugar I couldn't accually wiegh that out so I guessed and used 1 Litre liquid mes cup. The batch started at 1.045 and on day 3 was 1.025 so I racked it to glass. It's been bubbling steady. One observation is the Brew house kit smells like good beer but the Coopers batch smells a bit sour. Anyone had good luck with them? I see just like my wine making this is going to lead to beond just kits.

 

[Truble]

Did the BrewHouse kit call for sugar too? A lot of kits call for you to add sugar. This is so that they can reduce the amount of ingredients that they need to package and ship, reducing their cost and yours. The problem, though, is that depending on what type of sugars you use, they might not ferment as cleanly. The only actual "sugar" that I add to brews is the corn sugat for priming. Corn sugar ferments cleanly, and will not contribute to off flavors. If a kit calls for sugar, just use malt extract from your brew supply store. This will better contribute to the overall flavor profile of the brew, and will not add to any off flavors.

 

[jkenvere]

Hey Truble Thanks for the link to the John Palmer Stuff, I've just been downloading and reading some for the last hour. To answer your question the brew house kits proudly state " No Sugar to Add " It's good beer for a kit,,. @ 31 bucks CAN. it's better than blowing $24 on a case of LAbattes Blue. it's to late for the Coopers kit as I stupidly followed the instructions added the good old Rogers Cane Sugar and it's well on it's way. Might be why it smells un-beer like. There's always a friend around who'll drink anything so I'm not to worried

 

[Truble]

You will get some off flavors from cane sugar, but don't give up on it. I can't say how it will turn out since I have only been doing recipes with individial ingredients and have never done a can kit. Worst case is that it is an OK home brew which is still good, and you just chill it more to cut any off flavor (which is why all the megabrew stuffis served and recommended ice cold). Live and learn. As for Palmer, that is the only resource I used when I was getting started aside from the forum and a coworker who brewed. I printed the whole thing and laminated the pages that I would need to make my inital brew figuring that they might get splashed in the first session. I was right. I learned a lot from that first session and from palmer.

 

[david_42]

Basic rule: dry hopping with two ounces of cascades for two weeks will mask just about anything!

 

[Truble]

Basic rule: dry hopping with two ounces of cascades for two weeks will mask just about anything!

Roger that!

 

[jkenvere]

You got my attention boy's... Problem is I live in a small town in the middle of no-wear. But Just south of me across the well defended border is the Yakama Valley and someone told me once that the best hops in the world come from there?? Anyhow I guess you can order on line right? THe Cascade Mountains are near Yakima so?? Arnt hops a member of the cannabis family??. Border guys might get weird..