so we started a stout today and after adding the water sugar and malt and stirring there was a large amount of foam on the top. so not thinking any more about it, I scooped the foam off and took the OG reading then added yeast, would this cause an effect? also we used plain dextrose our other two beerkits we have used muntons beerkit enhancer. would that have an effect on it
Question about starting fermenting
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The foam is just protein from the malts building up on top. Those proteins help with head stabilization later on, so by scooping them off, you may have weakened your head retention a bit, but still, RDWHAHB.
As for the dextrose bit, not sure what you're asking, you need some punctuation to make your statements a bit clearer. Can you elaborate?
As for the dextrose bit, not sure what you're asking, you need some punctuation to make your statements a bit clearer. Can you elaborate?
Captain Damage
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Leave the foam. Don't take your OG reading in your fermenter. Take a sample out to fill the tube your hydrometer came in. Drink it or discard it, but don't add it back to the fermenter.
Also not sure what you're asking about dextrose. Are these kit-n-kilo kits you're doing?
Also not sure what you're asking about dextrose. Are these kit-n-kilo kits you're doing?
ummmmm, did you notice the OP's GIGANTIC sigline? i think he's brewing cooper's kits.
OP, yeah, you wanna leave that foam there after aerating. next time just pull a small sample, put it in the tube your hydro came in and take the reading there. then you can taste the sample, or dump it, just don't put it back in the fermenter.
the beer kit enhancer is a dextrose/maltose blend. if anything, it'll make for a bit more flavor than just plain dex would.
**** okay, and as for the sig, woops shouldn't be that big. what i was talking about the dextrose is in our past two beerkits we have used munton's beerkit enhancer. and within 3 hours theres about 4 inches of foam and **** in the bucket stuck to the top of the lid. but this time we used plain dextrose and it was 12 hrs + before we seen a result of any fermentation. would the dextrose and beerkit enhancer have an effect on it?
nah, i liked your sig line, i was just wondering how dude missed that you were fermenting cooper's kits.
as far as your question, yes, the yeast will be more aggressive going after the more complex sugars. totally normal, and IMO, the maltose/dextrose blend you used this time is a far better choice than the plain dextrose.
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Idk about the Munton's enhancer,but the Cooper's enhancer is a mixture of dextrose & maltodextrin. Maltodextrin only ferments out a max of 5%. It gives more mouth feel,being a long chain more complex sugar than the simple sugars in the malts.
it's possible, but not the best idea. personally, i'd leave this batch as is and get it ready to drink. if you wanna make a higher ABV beer, look for a higher OG in the next recipe/kit you brew.
how do i get a higher OG out of a batch. keep in mind these are canned brews, and pre hopped
you either add more extract, one of the boosters, or pick a style with a higher OG. maybe look into some extract with steeping grains kits. they're no hard than the cans, i'm about to pitch an Alt from a kit, albeit low gravity. very easy to put together. try Midwest supply or Northern Brewer, they both have some very nice kits of all gravities.
are the Prices any different. we are a bunch of college students looking for cheap methods lol
Of course the prices are different, the kits have more malt extract to get the higher alcohol. Then that has to be balanced by more hops and maybe more specialty grains too.
If you want more alcohol cheap look for everclear and just dump some of that in. Instant high alcohol. It will taste like S*** but it will get you drunk.
If you want good beer you have to use good ingredients with a good recipe. No real shortcuts to good beer.
were not looking only to get drunk, we would like a good tasting high alcohol beer, so can these hop kit things be bought in winestores
you can get kits pretty cheap. or find recipes and buy the ingredients separately. extract is the expensive thing, but both of those stores have good prices and quality ingredients. if you reuse yeast or even just use dry, you can do a lot of brews for under $20.
what i would suggest if you're trying to save some cash, is to look into BIAB (brew in a bag). there's a great sticky in the beginners forum by DeathBrewer on the subject. it's a very easy, stovetop method of brewing, and you can eliminate a good portion of the malt extract and replace it with grains which are way cheaper <$2 a lb most of the time, cheaper if you buy in bulk. reusing yeast, i regularly brew BIAB batches for ~$15 or so. so check out the sticky if you're interested. it's a good read.
you can get kits pretty cheap. or find recipes and buy the ingredients separately. extract is the expensive thing, but both of those stores have good prices and quality ingredients. if you reuse yeast or even just use dry, you can do a lot of brews for under $20.
what i would suggest if you're trying to save some cash, is to look into BIAB (brew in a bag). there's a great sticky in the beginners forum by DeathBrewer on the subject. it's a very easy, stovetop method of brewing, and you can eliminate a good portion of the malt extract and replace it with grains which are way cheaper <$2 a lb most of the time, cheaper if you buy in bulk. reusing yeast, i regularly brew BIAB batches for ~$15 or so. so check out the sticky if you're interested. it's a good read.
Will do, Thanks a lot!
