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Got a DIY beer kit for Christmas? Welcome!


Soundawake

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I have noticed we have a good group of new members who have been lucky enough to get a brew kit for xmas, so I thought I'd create a thread where you can all share your experiences creating your new brews. And hopefully get any advice you need from some more experienced members!

 

Cheers!

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Good idea. Its like a 'read this first' as the question may have been answered.

 

I just bought a DIY (an upgrade from my old FV) but I'm yet to use it due to insufficient time.

 

I may be on here shortly asking where to add the olive oil - somewhere in the tap??

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Don't quote me on this Hairy but as far as I know, the olive oil goes around the seal of the part that you push into the fermenter, ie *not* the tap part.

 

This is where I've noticed it leaks a bit, but it's never been bad enough to warrant me using the olive oil.

 

For the most part I love the new fermenter design, its great to actually be able to watch the brew ferment a lot easier.

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Don't quote me on this Hairy but as far as I know, the olive oil goes around the seal of the part that you push into the fermenter, ie *not* the tap part.

 

This is where I've noticed it leaks a bit, but it's never been bad enough to warrant me using the olive oil.

 

For the most part I love the new fermenter design, its great to actually be able to watch the brew ferment a lot easier.

Yeah Hairy is aware of this. He is just having a bit of fun as he doesn't get out too often [joyful]

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Thanks Soundawake - I'm a newbie brewer - as I've mentioned in other threads I have some Cerveza fermenting away & hopefully it's doing well.

Picking up some nice tips here re: temperature and also, someone mentioned letting the yeast clean up after itself once the fermentation is done - it's a great resource.

I'm happy to be learning about fermentation, though am very interested in learning to brew from grain soon. Do many members here get into AG brewing?

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Thanks Soundawake - I'm a newbie brewer - as I've mentioned in other threads I have some Cerveza fermenting away & hopefully it's doing well.

Picking up some nice tips here re: temperature and also, someone mentioned letting the yeast clean up after itself once the fermentation is done - it's a great resource.

I'm happy to be learning about fermentation, though am very interested in learning to brew from grain soon. Do many members here get into AG brewing?

Even though we both still do kits, both Yob and myself brew AG. I am not sure of anyone else on here.

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The first thing I would be doing is putting the olive oil on the taps rubber o rings, lubes them, protects them and seals ya beer.

 

All you need is a smear of olive oil, so it looks shinny and wet.

 

Cheers Steve

 

I received mine for Father's Day, put my first brew down on 9th September. I haven't had any sign of leakage yet and haven't had to use olive oil. However the FV has not been empty for more than 30 minutes since I got it [innocent] . No doubt if the seals ever get a chance to dry out I'll have to use the olive oil lubricant/protection.

Cheers

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Hey all, my name is John. I'm from Melbourne. I've been a keen Coopers lover for a while now and I decided to make the step to join the order.

 

My partner gave me a brew kit for Christmas and after finally getting some spare time I've just started my first brew. Brewing the Australian Pale Ale as its my preferred drop, but made a small error at the beginning. I had too much hot water in the fermenter and I couldn't get enough cold water in it before it reached 23 litres to cool it down. So my brew started at 32 degrees, but I've begun cooling it with ice blocks and got it down to 25 now... Looking to stabilise at about 23? Any idea if this will have severely harmed this first batch?

 

Cheers.

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Welcome John.

 

As you indicated, pitching at 32 degrees isn't the best. How long did it take to bring the temp down?

 

The Coopers kit yeast is pretty hardy so it should have survived but if fermentation occured during that temp then it can produce hot fusel alcohol.

 

23 degrees is an OK temp to brew at but not great, still its better than 32 degrees.

 

18-20 degrees would be the best temperature to ferment at but 23 degrees will do the job.

 

You won't really know what effect this has had on your brew until you finish and taste it. You will still drink it though [biggrin]

 

The most important thing is to learn from it and keep improving your beer.

 

Its always good to have 5 litres of chilled water on hand [wink]

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Hi all,

 

I also got a kit for xmas and started brewing right away!

 

Im brewing the Larger, it all seems great so far but I'm not sure if i stuffed up the brew? the OG was 1045.... (the water was a bit warm,,, approx 28c) and I've checked it again today and it was 1015.... I don't quite understand the gravity readings nor what they are supposed to be?

 

any help will be great thanks

 

 

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I wouldn't worry about the readings at this point. Just let the brew do its thing. Leave it for a good 12-14 days. It will likely finish its main fermentation in the first 6-7 days but leaving it longer will produce a better beer.

 

Try to get it down in the low 20's, ie 20-21. 18-19 even better.

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Thanks for that,

 

if anything it will be warmer than cooler as we are going to have a few warm days in melbourne this week, but it is in a cooler part of the house so id be surprised if it goes near or above 24c

 

next time ill put it in the garage where it will stay much cooler.

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I don't quite understand the gravity readings nor what they are supposed to be

The gravity readings measure the density of the liquid. The higher the number the more dense it is.

 

When you add all the ingredients to water it will make the liquid more dense and result in a higher reading.

 

As the yeast converts the fermentables into alcohol it will result in a lower reading.

 

So, gravity readings give you an indication of what has been fermented and allows you to calculate an estimated alcohol content.

 

The above probably isn't scientifically correct but it will give you an idea of what it does.

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Quick question about the DIY beer kits that I didn't think warranted a new thread: If I wanted to decant the beer from my fermenter into a secondary fermenter, I assume I don't want to aerate it, and should use a length of hose for this - can anyone tell me what size hose? I'd measure the tap's diameter but the fermenter is full.

 

thanks guys

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Go for the clear food-grade tubing. Take the white portion of the bottling valve (use it as an adapter between the tap and the hose) along with you to the hardware store to find the correct hose diameter for a snug fit.

 

When transferring, try to minimise aeration, splashing and stirring.

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Got a kit for Christmas and started my first brew yesterday. Picked up a Coopers IPA kit and followed the instructions as stated. Didn't want to vary for my first brew. I thought everything was going well, but when I checked in last night it looked like there was quite a bit of sediment on the bottom. I didn't notice it there when I was mixing it, so I'm not sure if I didn't mix it up enough or if this is normal sediment.

 

I took a pic, but it looks like you can't attach them here. Does anyone know how much sediment is expected this early in the brewing process? Not sure if I should discard it and start over or leave it be.

 

Any help would be appreciated!!

 

Jamie

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Hey, new to brewing and going for the lawnmower lager because i'll be doing a lot of it now that summer has arrived in the ACT.[happy]

 

Question: Is there a brew that blends the australian Pale ale with the lager brew?

 

Probably a noobie question but i've noticed blending in the recipes section.

 

Question: I cannot find somewhere in my house that maintains a consistent 18-21C. What do i do? (fridge is not an option)And it's canberra so the temp fluctuates - hot days/cool nights.

 

All advice welcome!!! want to get this batch on a soon as possible.

 

Thanks

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Hi All, Sean here in the burbs of Melbourne, treated myself to a DIY kit for Christmas (hints failed). Been reading here for a few weeks, been enjoying Coopers from the shop for a few years, and beer in general for a long time. New to home brew.

 

Started 5 days ago with the basic lager from the box, wort was 28C when pitched (tap water fairly warm then around 20C, has reached 45C today). Been struggling to keep the temp down, naturally cooled to 24 day one, heatwave since then so I have deployed a large inflatable yellow duck (kids bath, has battery powered beak that quacks when prodded). Duck is larger than fermenter footprint and holds water to about 40% of 23L level. I have kept this at 8 to 16C for the last couple of days using ice in water. OG 1036, falling steadily, now 1010. Krausen removed with appropriate ring at day 4. Foam started deep now very thin and covering about 30% of surface. Beer tastes and smells fine (if warm and flat) during readings. Couple of questions...

 

I have noticed that the cooling effect of the duck bath seems out of line with the effect on the stick-on thermometer. The thermometer is out of the cold water and fully against the brew, but with an accurate floating thermometer in the ice water, the brew will not budge below 24C. Is it giving off heat? Something I'm missing? Air temp in the house is 28 right now, very low humidity.

 

Also, this afternoon I noticed the top 15mm / half inch of brew is clear. Is that OK? Does this kind of beer clear in a noticeable line? I just thought it would get less cloudy over time, after reading here..

 

Help and advice appreciated. Sorry for long post!

 

 

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Welcome Dene & Sean!

 

Dene, when you say 'blending' do you mean making two different brews and then mixing them or using two cans in the one brew (ie. toucan)?

 

As for temp control you will just have to keep monitoring it and adjusting accordingly eg. sit FV in cool water to cool or heat pad to warm. A fridge & temp controller is easier; turn it on and forget about it.

 

Sean, the fermentation process is exothermic(?) and produces some heat.

 

Also, the stick-on thermometer is supposed to indicate the temperature of the wort. The floating thermometer gives you a reading for the temp of the water in the Duck ([biggrin] ). It takes a while for a change in external temps to change the temperature of 23 litres of liquid.

 

The temp of the wort is what you are really concerned about [rightful]

 

I haven't really noticed the beer clearing in a line down the FV but I assume if yeast is dropping out of suspension it would start dropping from the top.

 

Hope you enjoy your first homebrew.

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Do many members here get into AG brewing?

 

As bill says, there are.at least a few of us about who do mash brewing, one of the things you need to decide early on is which sort of equipment will suit you and your space, Bill does BIAB where i brew 3V.. Same result, much different equipment (mines much more bling)

 

Available space is one of the larger defining points.

 

Going to grain brewing allows ultimate control over the resultant beer and is easier than you think as long as the basic principles are understood.

 

I wish you all the best in following this, let it be understood though that ..

 

There is no turning back now, you are gone for life.. lol

 

Yob

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