Freestyler Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Hi guys, This is only my second batch, after brewing the kit that came with the whole system I thought I'd try the Draught kit as I drink a lot of beer on tap down here (even though it is an ale I thought I'd give it a go). After reading a few reviews online it seemed a lot of the people said it was good but lacked something and possibly adding in some malt would help so I bought the BE2 which has LDM in it and then bought another box of LDM. So I followed the instructions, added the full 1kg of BE2 and then thought maybe a bit more would help so I added a further 120g of LDM. Everything seemed fine but by the time I added the yeast there was no foam at all in the fermenter and the colour is almost completely black like almost stout like. Is this normal? The OG also seemed a bit low at 1038 considering I added an extra 120g of LDM. So I guess my question is, is this normal, the OG reading, the colour and almost complete lack of foam a few minutes after mixing it up? Oh and the mix was still quite warm when adding the yeast, pushing a little over 30 degrees, maybe 31. I know its high but I've read getting the yeast in quickly is more important than temp if it comes down to it. Thanks guys, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 I wouldn't worry about a lack of foam before pitching the yeast. The foam doesn't really mean anything. But I don't think the draught kit should be that dark. It should be a bit darker than the lager kit but not black. How old was the can? The longer the malt is stored, the darker it gets. But I don't think it would go as black as a stout. I would try to get the temp down further before piching the yeast; at least in the low 20's. Mid 20's at the very most (if you had to). You may shock or kill the yeast by pitching at 31 degrees. The coopers yeast is prettty hardy though. What temperature do you ferment at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freestyler Posted October 3, 2011 Author Share Posted October 3, 2011 Hi Hairy, Yep, it is pretty dark. Doesn't seem to be right, the tin expires Sept 2012. I boiled up the water this morning to use for the brew but it hadnt quite cooled in time, I also didnt have enough chilled water to bring it down. Schoolboy mistake [annoyed] ! It usually ferments at 22 degrees, just checked now and its on 26-27 degrees. It should be on 22 tomorrow morning. The mixture does smell sickly sweet though, is that normal for using BE2 and 120g LDM only? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 The kit is well within date; don't know the answer to that one [crying] It should still taste fine though. Your OG of 1038 is a bit low but not by a huge amount. I would expect around 1042 give or take a bit. More than likely the wort wasn't fully mixed resulting in a lower OG reading. But your real OG would be higher and it will still ferment properly. No dramas there. As for the sickly sweet smell, that would be the malt. Before it ferments it is very sweet but as the yeast eats the sugar it will reduce. Just one bit of advice; Relax! It takes a fair bit of effort to stuff your brew. As long as you have good sanitation and temperature control it generally works out fine. Don't worry about colour, smell etc at the start of the brew. It is very different by the end. Good luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewie Rivers Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Gday Freestyler. The OS Draught is my brew of choice with some extra hops. Have three in storage at the moment and each brew was different in the FV. One of them was very dark, another had no Krausen,and the last had a 75mm Krausen and was very cloudy. The first time I brewed the draught it was cloudy even into the bottle but cleared up in a day. After 3 months it was a great golden colour and holds the head all the way through the glass. I would say you will be happy with the end result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freestyler Posted October 3, 2011 Author Share Posted October 3, 2011 Thanks guys, I think paranoia was striking earlier. Was just very surprised with the colour and the smell. I didn't use malt in the first one and wasn't expecting that smell to be so sweet. The temp is now down to 23-24 degrees and it will settle on 21-22 later on. Learning mistake with regards the temp when pitching yeast. I boiled all the water to avoid buying bottled water (which adds about an extra R80 or $12AUD to each batch). Its easy, I can do 25L in about 15 mins at home. I left it for about 5 or 6 hours and thought it would be cool enough. I also only had about 4L in the fridge cooling. From now on I will either boil the night before or the morning to brew up in the afternoon. There is already a nice krausen 12 hours after pitching and the smell is already not as sweet. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoptimus Maximus Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Have you thought of getting a good water filter and that would eliminate the need to boil the tap water? There has been some concern about mercury from Inanda Dam getting into Durban's water supply and boiling it will not remove that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freestyler Posted October 4, 2011 Author Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hey Hoptimus, The water purifier is definitely on the cards. My mate also home brews and he has a purifier, much easier, he pours directly into the container. I haven't hear about the water at Inanda, is this recent? I was actually fishing up there last weekend. Are you from the area? Thanks, Damien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hey Hoptimus, The water purifier is definitely on the cards. My mate also home brews and he has a purifier, much easier, he pours directly into the container. I haven't hear about the water at Inanda, is this recent? I was actually fishing up there last weekend. Are you from the area? Thanks, Damien This is fairly old now so not sure how relevant it is today... Inanda Dam may be contaminated with mercury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoptimus Maximus Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Are you from the area? Thanks, Damien No Mate I am an Aussie and live in Adelaide these days. But I married in Rhodesia and spent 10 years working all over Africa(mostly Zambia, Rhodesia, Malawi, Sth Africa and Kenya) including at the Lion Match Co in Durban and the Paper from sugar cane plant at Empangeni. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyR1525228508 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 The OG also seemed a bit low at 1038 considering I added an extra 120g of LDM. Starting from 1000, a can of goo gives you 20 points, and a kilo of sugar about 16. 120G is 1/8 of a kilo so I reckon 1038 is about spot on for your mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freestyler Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 hey Hoptimus, That's interesting, what exactly were you doing bouncing around southern Africa all of those years? I'm actually not far from the Lion match factory now. Small world.. Thanks Anthony, always reassuring to know things are on track from the start! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShakeyD Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Hi Freestyler, if you look at this temp adjustment calculator, you'll find your OG is actually 1.0418 as your OG should be taken at 20 C. I'm currently doing a Mexican Cerveza and mine is also a much darker brown than the Coopers Lager I did last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.