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2nd brew Down... TC IPA Kit, LME & Cascade Dry-Hop


josht4

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Well, the bugs well and truly bitten and I successfully put down my second batch on Saturday night. Foamed like a b!tch too! [biggrin]

 

First batch was the Coopers European Lager kit made to 22-ish litres with BE2, spring water and dry-hopped with 30g of Hallertauer plugs in the 2nd week (more hops next time I think). Seems to have gone well, ie smells and tastes like beer, maybe Becks, although still green. Had a small scare halfway through and nearly lost the full FV off the table! I bottled Saturday night and it looked clear as a bell going in with no clouding whatsoever except in the first and last bottles which look like pond water because of rookie mistakes... I'll crack one of this batch at about 6 weeks and see how it's fairing. 12 weeks is recommended by Coopers.

 

2nd batch is a Thomas Coopers IPA kit made to 23L with a LHBS 1.7kg can of liquid LME, spring water and dry-hopped with 70g of Cascade plugs. Smells awesome, very similar to Little Creatures Pale Ale which I'm very happy about! I've got a couple extra plugs and might just chuck in another soon as its super tempting to boost that awesome aroma. Can't wait to taste this one! [joyful] Though I'm a bit scared that I used only LME and no dex or sugar...

 

Man I LOVE this new hobby!!! [love]

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Thanks! And yeah, I figured dry hopping is easy so why mess about without it and possibly waste my time. I'm going to let the lager batch sit at least 6 weeks before sampling. 12 seems so far away but if it's worth the wait...

 

Any idea what a good period of time in the bottle for my new ale would be?

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You can taste the ale after 2 weeks as it should be carbonated by then.

 

But it will taste better after 4 weeks, and better still after 6 weeks and so on. But sometimes they don't last that long.

 

If you do get stuck into them, leave a few aside for a while and come back to it after a few months. You will notice the difference.

 

I like to taste them along the way to see how they progress.

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The room air is just the ambient temperature but the FV temp is the temperature of your wort.

 

Even though the outside air is cooler, it takes some time to effect 23 litres of wort.

 

Also, the fermentation process generates its own heat (so to speak).

 

The temperature you need to monitor is that of the wort.

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Oh' date=' and a rookie question... My room temp is hovering between 18-19*C but my fermentor says the brew is somewhere between 21-23*C. What's happening there??[/quote']

 

Suggest you buy a cheap digital thermometer like this one as only a couple of bucks.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Digital-Indoor-Outdoor-Car-Thermometer-Temperature-C-/220814141134?pt=AU_Gadgets&hash=item33698c66ce

 

Attach it to the FV with insulation over it.

I have a Dead Guy clone in the fermenter at present in the cellar which sits at 16\xb0C steady. Wort temperature has slowly dropped from 22\xb0C at Pitch to 19.2\xb0C over 2 days even though FV is out in the air. Aiming for 18\xb0C but not sure how long it will take to get there. Those little yeasties generate some heat when in action.

I cannot use my temp control fridge at the moment as it has another job on the go.

 

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I should probably get one of those, I'm relying on the stick-on that came with the kit. Does the job but it only has 2*C increments.

 

Another question... My krausen's subsided and I've removed the 'kollar' (coopers kit) at day 3, so fermentation is probably on the decline. Now, the brew is still very cloudy especially compared to the lager I've just bottled. When will this typically die down and is it okay to bottle if still cloudy even though the FG is steady?

 

TIA!

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I should probably get one of those, I'm relying on the stick-on that came with the kit. Does the job but it only has 2*C increments.

 

Another question... My krausen's subsided and I've removed the 'kollar' (coopers kit) at day 3, so fermentation is probably on the decline. Now, the brew is still very cloudy especially compared to the lager I've just bottled. When will this typically die down and is it okay to bottle if still cloudy even though the FG is steady?

 

TIA!

 

The time it takes will depend on a few factors, but temperature being a pretty big one. The warmer the temperature, the quicker fermentation will complete, however also the warmer it is, the more likely the yeast will be stressed and produce off flavours.

 

The cloudiness you are seeing there is yeast still suspended in the beer. It will probably be beneficial to let it go another few days to let it settle down a bit and give the yeast time to clean up any crap they may have produced, though I have bottled a couple of batches of mexican cerv before in eagerness to build a stockpile whilst it has still been a bit cloudy but FG stable, which turned out ok. It will generally settle out in the bottle during secondary fermentation and clear up anyway, though I have used some cheaper brew kits (not coopers) which have come with a very nasty/dirty yeast and left alot of excess yeast sediment. The coopers kit yeast seems to be quite good in this respect.

 

I would probably recommend waiting the extra few days though

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I was going to wait until Saturday or Sunday anyhow, so I'll see how it looks then. Might even let it go until the following weekend, but I'm worried if I do that it may get infected...

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I'm worried if I do that it may get infected...

If you have followed a strict sanitation regime there should be nothing to worry about in that regard and no mad rush to bottle. I now never bottle until it has both finished fermenting and has been in the FV for at least 2 weeks. Some additional time in primary fermentation will usually produce a better product in my opinion.

 

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I agree John. I follow a similar pattern but I wait until FG is reached and leave it for only a week.

 

Josh, leave it for an extra week after fermentation is finished so wait that extra week like you were saying and you will be rewarded for your patience. Patience is the key while brewing.

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yep as matty said, if you leave it a little longer, it will settle out. I bought finings when I first started out and have never used them, haven't had any need to really, that and also im not willing to take the risk of potentially spoiling an otherwise good batch by putting something in that I dont really need.

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I too have just made a TC IPA to 23lt and used 1kg LDM tho and will dry hop with sazz B maybe or cascade. I was interested to know your OG at the start of your brew.I had 1038 and was thinking it would be higher.

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Hi Gilg.

 

My OG was 1046 and I just took an FG of 1009. Makes it about 5% before bottling.

 

Some comments on my sample after a week in the FV...

 

HOLY SHI..........! YUM!!! The taste is freakin AWESOME! Still a little cloudy at the bottom so I'll give it til this coming Friday or Saturday before I bottle, but geez, this brew is tasting fantastic already! I put some in a glass, chilled it for a while and drank it pretending it was carbed and all I can say is wow! Loving the cascade flavour and aroma as-is so I hope it doesn't fall away too much. I'm planning to leave the 'dry' hops in until I bottle too so hopefully that'll help retain things a bit.

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after my post I checked the recipe and see I should of made it to 21Ltr instead of 23Ltr. old habits I think, need to check recipes more. this may have thined the mix out abit. the taste @ OG was good the best yet @ that stage. The foam is huge like a massive ball of cotton.cool to watch.

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  • 4 weeks later...

It was 2 weeks and 1 day and I couldn't wait any longer! I cracked one last night after fridging it for 24hrs. I'm no beer tasting expert but I'll have my first ever crack at it...

 

Poured the whole 740ml (minus the sludge) into huge Belgian style glass. First thing I notice is how dark it is! Probably a jarrah honey colour with a hint of coppery redness. It's good for the true style I suppose (a less alcoholic AIPA) but for some reason I was thinking it'd come out a bit more on the Pale Ale colour scale as I'm sure it was lighter at bottling. Moving on, I notice how good the head is! With a fairly rough pour it starts out thick and creamy in an off-white colour. I did dissipate as I drank, but a good swirl brought it back nicely. Forgot to take note of any lacing though. Carbing was good. Felt nice in my gob and it stayed there all the way through til I started being a bit wanky and swirled too much! smile.gif Clarity was excellent also! I was a little concerned as they went into the bottle with some cloudiness but this has settled out perfectly. I won't ever need to use finings if this the end product I get consistently.

 

Now for the aroma... Excellent hops on the nose that have mellowed from the original full on passionfruit I was sure I smelled in the FV. More subdued but still pungently delightful! I was also detecting the hops that are in the kit as there was a pleasant accompanying hop aroma that I couldn't put my finger on but knew it wasn't something I had added. There was also a hint of caramel, I suppose that is maltiness?

 

Flavour is beautiful! I can't beleive that I've been able to produce a beer so good from a kit and some bits!!! First up I get the hops in the same order as the nose. I'm struggling to find a good example to describe it. next time I'll spend a bit more effort trying to pin it down, but it's not what I would call citrus like cascade is usually associated with, but it definitely has the same character as commercial beers I've tasted that use cascade. Make sense? There is also a mid-palate hint of that malty/caramel character I got in the nose, but then it quickly switches to a fantastic bitterness that really balances the whole experience. So refreshing! Defintely not a session beer though, I had just the one drunk fairly quickly due to time constraints and it's got a good kick. My estimates where for about 5.6% alc. but is it possible that it's gone higher in the bottles?

 

Anyway, that sums up my first homebrew experience. It was such a relief to drink such a good beer after all the paranoia I've experienced reading about infections and carbing problems. I don't think I will buy commercial beer again unless I have to!

 

Josh.

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Nice work Josh! It's an awesome feeling when you crack open the first beer of the batch and it tastes great.[love]

 

Especially making a great beer on your second attempt. I think my second one was worse than my first.

 

There is also a mid-palate hint of that malty/caramel character I got in the nose

Be careful when you drink from large glasses; it is supposed to go in your mouth.[biggrin]

 

I don't think I will buy commercial beer again unless I have to!

It is still good to drink commercial beers to taste different styles and see what is out there. You just won't buy very much any more.

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Cheers hairy! The glass is big enough to get an actual nose full if you're not careful... [biggrin]

 

Yeah, I will still buy commercials occasionally, but I am just so stoked I made a beer that's really really good!

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