First time brewing

[Toby92]

Hello all.

First time brewing using the Coopers DiY kit.

Included was the lager kit I followed the instructions and had the temp at 24 degrees but overnight had dropped to 16 degrees will this be to low? 

Should I add a blanket or go get a heating pad to warm it up or just sit and wait at 16 degrees? 

 

Thanks.

Toby.

[Otto Von Blotto]

It'll probably still work at 16, 18-20 is ideal and better than 24 though

[ozdevil]

like  what @Otto Von Blotto  said @Toby92    16°c  is ok but it will be a slower ferment as the yeast will not be working that well for you. 

my advice is to get a doona  and wrap around it for a bit of insulation  you may get the temp to rise a bit   ideally 20°c is what i would be aiming for 

if you can get hold of a temp controller and a heating band or pad   , you could set  the temp controller so that it doesnt go above 21°c  and wont go below 19°c 
then you will be able to control  that temp some what

[Classic Brewing Co]

51 minutes ago, Toby92 said:

Hello all.

First time brewing using the Coopers DiY kit.

Included was the lager kit I followed the instructions and had the temp at 24 degrees but overnight had dropped to 16 degrees will this be to low? 

Should I add a blanket or go get a heating pad to warm it up or just sit and wait at 16 degrees? 

 

Thanks.

Toby.

As Otto says it would be best at 18-20 degrees but if your region temperature drops at night, it would be best to wrap a bedspread/blanket around it to keep it above 16c.

I would favour a Heat Belt than a Heat Pad but of course these are designed to work in conjunction with a temperature controller, best plugged into a spare fridge.

[Back Brewing]

1 hour ago, ozdevil said:

like  what @Otto Von Blotto  said @Toby92    16°c  is ok but it will be a slower ferment as the yeast will not be working that well for you. 

my advice is to get a doona  and wrap around it for a bit of insulation  you may get the temp to rise a bit   ideally 20°c is what i would be aiming for 

if you can get hold of a temp controller and a heating band or pad   , you could set  the temp controller so that it doesnt go above 21°c  and wont go below 19°c 
then you will be able to control  that temp some what

Mate I didn't think of the heat belt and controller I was fixated on that I had to have a fridge first, so I just ordered a heat belt and inkbird 308 from ebay.

1) where do I put the belt? Bottom or middle of fermenter?

2) if I brewed today and it got down to say 16c would it do any harm if I put the belt on set for 19c when I receive them? Is that going to affect the brew?

[Classic Brewing Co]

The Heat Belt is best placed in the middle of the Fermenter, it is always best to keep a constant temperature while you are brewing but a few variations aren't going to hurt that much.

 

Edited May 17, 2023 by Classic Brewing Co

[Back Brewing]

10 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

The Heat Belt is best placed in the middle of the Fermenter, it is always best to keep a constant temperature while you are brewing but a few variations aren't going to hurt that much.

 

Thanks CBC

[ChairmanDrew]

I use a heatpad, does the trick. The temperature around here has dropped the last few weeks, with the heatpad on I'm finding my brew siting at a stable 22 degrees.

Worth investing in if you plan to keep going. Just don't be put off by the Coopers lager. Personally I'm not really liking it (just finishing off my batch).

[Kegory]

I ended up putting two heatbelts, both connected to the same Inkbird, on my fermenter as the night time temperatures dropped mid-fermenting

Then I added a box

[Toby92]

Thanks for the great response everyone.

I had my brew wrapped in a towel all day and was still sitting at the same temp 16-18 degrees. So I went to my local homebrew store, so glad I did they were very helpful. I have since placed a heat belt around the container. 

One question it will drop very cool tonight in country Victoria should I place a blanket around the container overnight with the heat belt or will that be a fire waiting to happen? I noticed someone had a box over the container is this why? 

 

Cheers

[ozdevil]

20 minutes ago, Toby92 said:

Thanks for the great response everyone.

I had my brew wrapped in a towel all day and was still sitting at the same temp 16-18 degrees. So I went to my local homebrew store, so glad I did they were very helpful. I have since placed a heat belt around the container. 

One question it will drop very cool tonight in country Victoria should I place a blanket around the container overnight with the heat belt or will that be a fire waiting to happen? I noticed someone had a box over the container is this why? 

 

Cheers

you will be fine with a blanket around  

 

[Toby92]

[Stickers]

15 minutes ago, Toby92 said:

reminds me a lot of my first batch, same heat belt and all. it's fermenting all right.

if you've got the box it came in still you might get a bit more out of your heatbelt if you cover it all up in the box like @Kegoryhas done. i've found using a heat belt unshielded from the elements doesn't do a lot.

[Kegory]

1 hour ago, Toby92 said:

Thanks for the great response everyone.

I had my brew wrapped in a towel all day and was still sitting at the same temp 16-18 degrees. So I went to my local homebrew store, so glad I did they were very helpful. I have since placed a heat belt around the container. 

One question it will drop very cool tonight in country Victoria should I place a blanket around the container overnight with the heat belt or will that be a fire waiting to happen? I noticed someone had a box over the container is this why? 

 

Cheers

One heatbelt on an uncovered 23L batch gave me 11 degrees C. So, when the temperature dropped to 7 degrees overnight the fermenter only dropped to 18 degrees (according to my In/Out thermometer with the probe taped to the side, it's got a margin of error of 1 degree).

I was aiming for 21 degrees so I whacked the second heatbelt on. The box is added insulation. I'd rather not have the heatbelt running flat out all night, and the nights are getting even colder, too.

Edited May 17, 2023 by Kegory
The box

[Tone boy]

Hey guys, you need one of these!

My lovely partner crocheted a woolen beer cozy

[kmar92]

13 minutes ago, Tone boy said:

Hey guys, you need one of these!

My lovely partner crocheted a woolen beer cozy

That is amazing Toner!

[Kegory]

12 minutes ago, Tone boy said:

Hey guys, you need one of these!

My lovely partner crocheted a woolen beer cozy

I need both: a lovely partner and a warm, woolen beer cozy.

[Popo the Reprobate]

2 hours ago, Tone boy said:

Hey guys, you need one of these!

My lovely partner crocheted a woolen beer cozy

That is really cool. I'm impressed.

[ozdevil]

9 hours ago, Tone boy said:

Hey guys, you need one of these!

My lovely partner crocheted a woolen beer cozy

ya know ya on a winner there and i reckon ya wife could make here 1st million  selling these  

[Toby92]

On 5/17/2023 at 12:12 PM, ChairmanDrew said:

I use a heatpad, does the trick. The temperature around here has dropped the last few weeks, with the heatpad on I'm finding my brew siting at a stable 22 degrees.

Worth investing in if you plan to keep going. Just don't be put off by the Coopers lager. Personally I'm not really liking it (just finishing off my batch).

I have had it averaging 18 degrees now but I did leave the belt on yesterday and get got to about 26 degrees when I got home rookie error.

I tested the gravity and had a taste not to sure if I will be a fan tastes a bit fruity I'm a draught or bitter kind of guy.

[Shamus O'Sean]

31 minutes ago, Toby92 said:

I have had it averaging 18 degrees now but I did leave the belt on yesterday and get got to about 26 degrees when I got home rookie error.

I tested the gravity and had a taste not to sure if I will be a fan tastes a bit fruity I'm a draught or bitter kind of guy.

I am sure it will be fine.  You will still have made beer.

Maybe try the Real Ale for your next brew.  It is more bitter and more beer-like.

[ChairmanDrew]

6 hours ago, Toby92 said:

I tested the gravity and had a taste not to sure if I will be a fan tastes a bit fruity I'm a draught or bitter kind of guy.

My problem with the lager was that it turned out too bitter for my tastes. I made basically an identical brew to my previous one with the Real Ale. The lager I actually boiled slightly less hops, but it had a sharper taste to the bitterness. The Real Ale was more balanced to my mind.

I've just been tasting my recent brew I did with the Coopers Draught kit. That seems to have more fruitiness to it, but I dont know if it was the bag of enhancer I used for the first time or the can itself.

Edited May 19, 2023 by ChairmanDrew

[Classic Brewing Co]

2 hours ago, ChairmanDrew said:

My problem with the lager was that it turned out too bitter for my tastes. I made basically an identical brew to my previous one with the Real Ale. The lager I actually boiled slightly less hops, but it had a sharper taste to the bitterness. The Real Ale was more balanced to my mind.

I've just been tasting my recent brew I did with the Coopers Draught kit. That seems to have more fruitiness to it, but I dont know if it was the bag of enhancer I used for the first time or the can itself.

It would depend on the type of hops as some are for bittering & others for aroma/taste, maybe try a steep instead of boiling them. It wouldn't be the brew enhancers as these are made up of various percentages of malt/maltodextrin/dextrose. The cans come pre-hopped, but they are never overpowering.

[Aussiekraut]

10 hours ago, Toby92 said:

I tested the gravity and had a taste not to sure if I will be a fan tastes a bit fruity I'm a draught or bitter kind of guy.

Don't worry. Once it's been in the bottle for a few weeks, it will taste completely different to what you get now.

[ChairmanDrew]

3 hours ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

It would depend on the type of hops as some are for bittering & others for aroma/taste, maybe try a steep instead of boiling them. It wouldn't be the brew enhancers as these are made up of various percentages of malt/maltodextrin/dextrose. The cans come pre-hopped, but they are never overpowering.

Oh yeah, I should clarify. The draught was done with the same hops as the other two before it (real ale, lager), but much less and no boil, just steep. So it could be the flavour of the hops coming out without bitterness, but I really don't know.

At first I wasn't too sure about the flavour, but after a few sips it started to get that kind of tropical hazy taste to it which is big these days. That's only after a couple of weeks in the bottle, so should only get better.