Brewing newbie with some questions

[BobbyBoy]

Good evening all, my lovely wife has given me one of the coopers craft brew kits as an early Father’s Day gift.

I realise there are probably better kits out there, but, this small kit is going to do nicely as we lack room in our current home.

Looking at the Mr Beer range on this site there definitely are some nice sounding ales that I would like to try brew; including the winter ale and the brown ale.

My main question is, once I have brewed the beers from the Mr Beer range is there an easy way to keep brewing from the can using this kit and the other coopers products? I’m particularly interested in the 86 day Pilsner.

Alternatively, is there any other brands that make products for this size kits?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Tömmy8888]

Hey mate,

Welcome to the forum. I got the same kit last year to supplement my 23litre fermenter. 

It makes a good beer and i really like the Long Play IPA from the Mr Beer series. I usually add 500 grams of DME or one of these Liquid malts you can order here. The fermenter supplements my big fermenter really well over winter whete its colder and i can brew more lagers and just do smaller batches of ale in the craft one.

The other Coopers extracts are made to brew 20 - 23 liters of beer and you will get the best benefit from the big fermenter ( i think coopers sell it individually here for 40 something dollars). I guess you can always reduce the amount of extract you put in but you will end up wasting a lot.

Hope it helps

[BobbyBoy]

Thanks for the response and the suggestion regarding the Long Play IPA. Regarding the malts, was there a particular one you would suggest with that IPA and would you use all of the malt or about the same as you would for the dextrose?

[Otto Von Blotto]

You can make the full size kits in the small fermenter too, just halve the ingredients e.g. half a kit and 500g dry malt instead of a kit and kilo, mix it to 11 litres and use the krausen kollar.

 

[BobbyBoy]

Awesome! Thanks Mr Von Blotto! I’m super glad it as easy as halving everything for the smaller fermenter.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Yep it is that easy. Only thing I wouldn't halve is the kit yeast, just pitch the whole thing in as it doesn't store well once opened. You can always scoop some out after bottling the brew to use for the second batch from the kit.

[Tömmy8888]

10 hours ago, BobbyBoy said:

Thanks for the response and the suggestion regarding the Long Play IPA. Regarding the malts, was there a particular one you would suggest with that IPA and would you use all of the malt or about the same as you would for the dextrose?

I only used malt previously. You can buy the Dry malt here on Coopers website or in any homebrew store. The liquid one from the Mr Beer range are on coopers website too in the craft section. 

[BobbyBoy]

16 minutes ago, Tommy1525230200 said:

I only used malt previously. You can buy the Dry malt here on Coopers website or in any homebrew store. The liquid one from the Mr Beer range are on coopers website too in the craft section. 

Thanks Tommy. I didn’t even see the Mr Beer Malts. Thanks for letting me know!

[Popo the Reprobate]

There are a number of brewers here who have brewed half batches successfully in the smaller FV. There are a couple of threads around about it but I'm having trouble finding them at the moment (on phone). 

You can use part of the can, cover and seal, store in fridge and use the remainder for the next brew.

 

[BobbyBoy]

36 minutes ago, Popo said:

There are a number of brewers here who have brewed half batches successfully in the smaller FV. There are a couple of threads around about it but I'm having trouble finding them at the moment (on phone). 

You can use part of the can, cover and seal, store in fridge and use the remainder for the next brew.

 

Thanks Popo. I tried to search as well. But, I was searching for ‘craft kit’ I might try searching for ‘half batch’ and see how I go.

[Popo the Reprobate]

No worries BOBBYBOY.

Here's a few I found. I'm sitting in transit at the moment so have a bit of time haha

 

 

 

 

[BobbyBoy]

Cheers mate. Love your work!

[Popo the Reprobate]

No worries. It has given me something to do while I wait 

I reckon I'd be doing something similar. I bought a small fermenter a couple of years back for smaller batches every now and then. I'm not a huge drinker so don't need to produce heaps every time I brew. It's good for variety and experimentation. Do one half one way, another half a different way. Different hops, yeasts and grain additions are interesting to muck around with.

If you get a bit more adventurous, that sized fermenter is good for small stovetop extract or all grain batches as well.

Enjoy!

[bennysbrew]

Can do your own bittering yourself and just use extracts without having to mess around with half kits . Have a play around with ianH spreadsheet, world's your oyster 

[BobbyBoy]

19 minutes ago, bennysbrew said:

Can do your own bittering yourself and just use extracts without having to mess around with half kits . Have a play around with ianH spreadsheet, world's your oyster 

Probably a bit beyond me at this stage. I’m going to get some of the Mr Beer kits under my hat before I branch out. Thanks for the info!

[BobbyBoy]

One more question you guys might be able to help with: Brewing temp.

I live on the sunny Gold Coast, days at the moment are tops of early 20s and overnight low of about 8-11c. Houses here aren’t really built for the cold and I would say in home temps will be about 13-16c. Any suggestions on how to cheaply or easily regulate the brewing temp? I really want to bring it to bed with me .

[Beer Baron]

1 minute ago, BobbyBoy said:

One more question you guys might be able to help with: Brewing temp.

I live on the sunny Gold Coast, days at the moment are tops of early 20s and overnight low of about 8-11c. Houses here aren’t really built for the cold and I would say in home temps will be about 13-16c. Any suggestions on how to cheaply or easily regulate the brewing temp? I really want to bring it to bed with me .

If you can afford it and have the room get a second hand fridge from Gumtree for about  $50 and a temperature controller $10-$50 depending if you can wire it or want a pre wired one. Easy!!

[BobbyBoy]

1 hour ago, Beer Baron said:

If you can afford it and have the room get a second hand fridge from Gumtree for about  $50 and a temperature controller $10-$50 depending if you can wire it or want a pre wired one. Easy!!

I’m not sure if I’m far enough down the rabbit hole for this hobby to get a fridge yet. Is there more simple things I can do for my first batch? Or should I not be too worried about it yet?

[The Captain!!]

10 minutes ago, BobbyBoy said:

I’m not sure if I’m far enough down the rabbit hole for this hobby to get a fridge yet. Is there more simple things I can do for my first batch? Or should I not be too worried about it yet?

Mmmmwahahahaha 

Im not giving you too long if your venturing onto forums for advice on how to make better beer. 

Ill give you a few batches in, especially when it gets warmer when your past fermentation temps in your house. 

Welcome to the journey.

Captain

[JoeB7]

19 minutes ago, BobbyBoy said:

I’m not sure if I’m far enough down the rabbit hole for this hobby to get a fridge yet. Is there more simple things I can do for my first batch? Or should I not be too worried about it yet?

Bobby I'm up to my 3rd brew down now & have just followed the basic rules listed on the Coopers can. Best investment was a temp controller for my heat pad. I ferment under the house (large laundry area) that remains around 14-16C so no need for a fridge. However. I do have a 2nd fridge down there that just chills beer for consumption (at this point). As a newb I focus on 3 main things;

1) Maintain correct FV temp for the batch

2) Ensure complete primary fermentation achieved

3) Sterilise & sanitise like you have OCD

[Popo the Reprobate]

1 hour ago, BobbyBoy said:

I’m not sure if I’m far enough down the rabbit hole for this hobby to get a fridge yet. Is there more simple things I can do for my first batch? Or should I not be too worried about it yet?

Temp control is one of the easy things you can do to make a big difference to your beer.

A fridge/freezer and temp controller would be your best bet.

Without a fridge, you could try sitting your fermenter in a tub of water for a greater thermal mass to keep the temperature in the right zone for longer. Consistent temperature is probably more important than getting it bang on fermenting temps. You don't want big swings. I used this method a lot before I got a fridge - I used it to keep it cooler with ice blocks and water though. I'm guessing you could do the same with warm bottles of water if it looks like it's getting too cold. Fermentation generates its own heat. You may find you don't need to heat it up.

Make sure to thoroughly sanitise the tap before bottling if you go down this route. Actually, you should do that anyway.

You can always just give this one a crack and see how it goes. It's only beer in the end. If it doesn't work so well, you know how you can change it up for next time.

[BobbyBoy]

Great advice. Thanks everyone! I’m going to do what the Popo tell me and just try this one out and see how it goes.

I’m under no illusions that I won’t have to spend money on temp control at a later date.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Most of the houses down there aren't built for the heat either, my missus mum's place turns into an oven in summer if the AC isn't on

You will want a fridge by then, much easier for keeping the temp down than constantly changing out frozen ice bricks or bottles etc.

[BobbyBoy]

28 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

Most of the houses down there aren't built for the heat either, my missus mum's place turns into an oven in summer if the AC isn't on

You will want a fridge by then, much easier for keeping the temp down than constantly changing out frozen ice bricks or bottles etc.

Haha, True enough about the houses. Typical Gold Coast; all show and no go.

[Otto Von Blotto]

They're the same up here in Brisbane, at least the newer ones are. Brick and tile is about the worst design possible for hot climates, but it's cheap to build so... We are in an old Qlder style house at the moment, it has an AC unit but we never need to use it, the house stays quite comfortable with all the doors and windows open.