Just starting a big batch

[Willy26]

So this will be my 2nd batch and 1st big batch. My first one was a Mr. Beer kit i got for x-mas. I wanted to do something bigger so i went to my local brew store to pick up and extract. I ended up getting a Coopers: Australian Pale Ale. The guy pretty much just told me to mix up 4 pounds of dextrose and throw in the extract, pour it into the bottle and fill it up. Then check it in about a week. Is this all it takes?

I mean how much water should i fill my fermenter up with at first,
how much water does it take to mix up 4 pounds of dextrose.

He really didn't give me any specific measurements. Should there be?

I got a 6.5 Gallon Acid Carboy with no markings on the side so im not really sure how far it should be filled up. My gut feeling tells me to fill it up to just about the bend in the glass, looks to be about 4 or 5 inches from the top.

Any additional help would be great. I just need a good kick start to get this great hobby going.

 

[JoeyFumes]

I'm only on my 2nd brew, but that doesn't sound quite right. 4 lbs dextrose sounds a bit much & from what I've read DME would make a better brew. no mention of hops?? You should be able to find better directions for a Coopers kit on line. If that is really all you were told to do...thats pretty sad.

 

[Willy26]

I'm only on my 2nd brew, but that doesn't sound quite right. 4 lbs dextrose sounds a bit much & from what I've read DME would make a better brew. no mention of hops?? You should be able to find better directions for a Coopers kit on line. If that is really all you were told to do...thats pretty sad.

Thank you i actually did find something better on the coopers page. I thought they would just have what i found under the cap of the extract, which wasn't very helpful...

 

[Willy26]

Looks like im heading to the brewing store tomorrow to get 2 1/2 cups of light dry malt and i have 1 1/4 cups of dextrose. (I have plenty of that...) Im not sure what DME is though. im sure i can look it up though.

 

[Willy26]

looks like DME is dry malt extract.... lol!

 

[JoeyFumes]

YEP...DME.
so your coopers is probably pre-hopped then?
My Pale Ale kit came with 1 can unhopped malt, 1 pound DME, 1 Lb crystal grains + grain bag, hops & yeast. thats all i needed. YES, an extra LB of detrose will boost the alcohol (so will Xtra DME) but more than 1 LB of dextros & i would GUESS that wiould start to change the beer profile.
....the xtra crystal grains are to inprove the overall beer profile, but are not neccesary...
I tried 2 of my brews so far (10 days in the bottle)....NICE!! trying to let them sit a couple more weeks

 

[Justibone]

By measuring the height and circumference of your carboy, you can *estimate* the volume of it using calculators on the Internet. Honestly, though, you should really just use a milk jug or soda bottle and just pour water into your carboy so you can mark off the different volumes with a permanent marker.

Beer is simple. It really can be as simple as, "Add sugar and water then yeast and you get beer." It might even be pretty good beer... but in general more sophistication of technique will produce better quality brew.

Enjoy the process!

 

[JoeyFumes]

...I might have left out 1 thing. Is coopers a NO-boil kit? I think you will have to boil the DME to dissolve it? or at the least some hot water. Not 100% sure tho, you may want to double check.
a fill line on your carboy?...maybe an inch below the "lower" bend (not the bend for the nozzle) you can probably go a little lower ( don't want watered down beer now )...and it will leave some room for foam, etc...

 

[Willy26]

Thank you guys for your input it has really helped me. Im sure i would love to get technical and daring as time goes on. Just for now im trying to keep it simple until i get the whole process down. Once i have that i can start to tweak things.

 

[Willy26]

...I might have left out 1 thing. Is coopers a NO-boil kit? I think you will have to boil the DME to dissolve it? or at the least some hot water. Not 100% sure tho, you may want to double check.
a fill line on your carboy?...maybe an inch below the "lower" bend (not the bend for the nozzle) you can probably go a little lower ( don't want watered down beer now )...and it will leave some room for foam, etc...

it is actually no boil. It says to put dry ingredients into the carboy with so many liters of water and twirl and swish it around for about 30 seconds. This would be 2 1/2 cups of DME and 1 1/4 cups of dextrose. "Not sure on the Temp of water though" I kinda deleted my partition on my computer last night so... ill have to look when i make a new one lol...

 

[JoeyFumes]

I would still double check on the DME boiling. the sugar will dissolve EASY. either way start out w/ HOT water. the can of LME will be like glue so you will need to get it softened up. you can add cold after that if you need to. the end temp should be about 80 degrees for pitching your yeast. HAVE FUN ( I did )

 

[Willy26]

Haha i finally got all my stuff i need to get my brew going. Heres what i did.
first off i boiled up some water in a 3qt pan took it off the burner and mixed in the 2 1/2 cups of DME then along with the 1 1/4 cups of dextrose. I poured that into my carboy added some water then dumped the extract in upon filling it to about the half way mark i noticed that most of the extract was at the bottom in a half inch thick, i tried rolling it around on the floor to try and get it to mix up but i had nothing that would fit down inside, at the time... later i was pondering i looked over at the vinecian blind and grabbed the plastic rod that turns the blinds, disinfected it and mixed that crap up really good. Got it to about 74' and threw in the yeast. That looked so pretty last night.

I came home to find a nice surprise in my closet. My bubbler is full of wort and its just bubbling over... I seem to have found a fix for this thx to this thread. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/airlock-bubbling-over-95581/ I think ill get right on this as soon as i make it back from the store. I just had one question. If i were to do this i still believe that it will bubble up the tube and into the jug. Should i just leave it then and wait for it to calm down? Then clean it out again...?

P.S. My closet smells great..