New to brewing - so far so good... A little advice needed on next brew.

[Jimmy78]

Hi all

 

As the subject suggests, I'm new to home brewing. Got a kit on Fathers day and thought I'd give it a whirl.

 

I have started with the Lager that comes with the kits and it is currently fermenting. Pretty easy really, just follow the instructions. About to bottle in the next day or so!

 

My question is this. The wife just bought me a can of the Coopers Draught (Yellow Can). How do I know what to mix with this? Do I add Brew Enhancer 1 like I did with the Lager. How do I learn or where can I go to find out what goes with what, am I missing reciepes? I've searched the site and can't find anything on the Coopers Draught. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place.

 

Anyway thanks for reading this, any advice would be greatly appreciated. It seems to be a great resource here of experienced home brewers.

 

Regards

 

Jimmy.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Welcome to the forum Jimmy!

 

Regarding the Draught, I haven't actually brewed that one yet, but I'd be inclined to ditch the BE1 and just add either a kg of light dry malt, or a tin of light liquid malt to the Draught kit (not both). You can pick these up at your local brew shop. It will probably turn out a nicer beer than using brew enhancers.

 

Also, if you can, try to ferment at a temperature around 18-20C, fermenting at higher temps can produce esters and off flavours in the beer. Leave it sit in the fermenter for about a week after it reaches final gravity (stable gravity readings 24 hours apart) before you bottle it. This gives the yeast a chance to clean up a bit and helps clear the beer.

 

Finally, obviously make sure everything that will come in contact with your brew is clean and sanitised to avoid infection. [rightful]

 

Those few little things should help while you get started and gain some experience. Good luck! [biggrin]

[Gash Slugg]

G'day mate, it really depends on what sort of flavour you are after. BE1 or BE2 will both work well, BE2 has some malt in it so will add a little more malt flavour to the beer. How strong do you want the brew? There are recipes using the Draught can here , Draught may not be in the title but if you look through you will find a few.

 

http://www.coopers.com.au/the-brewers-guild/how-to-brew/lager/fresh-draught

 

Cheerz [biggrin]

[Gash Slugg]

oops didn't see Kelseys reply

[Jimmy78]

Thanks guys for your advice.

 

Gash, can you please advise whether the TC Traditional Draught is the same as the Original Draught? I was told they were different cans?

[King Ruddager]

They are different, but the recipe will work.

 

Tell me though, how much experimenting do you want to do at this stage? Have you thought of adding extra ingredients? Hops? Some grains perhaps?

 

I'm going through all that myself - I go a bit further every time [smile] Started with the kit lager (which is really an ale as it turns out), then I put in some malt, then hops, then coffee (jury's still out on that one) and just now I've tried my first effort with specialty grains.

 

Anyway, you're in good hands here

[Jimmy78]

I'm not sure on the experimenting just yet.. It's only my second brew! I haven't even tasted the fruits of my labour!

 

I just want to know that I can make it and then perhaps I'll start to experiment! I suppose I really need to understand what the different components add to the mix i.e hops, malt etc and then work out whether I like it!

 

I guess there is no right or wrong, it is just up to personal taste and trial and error. I have to say thought, at 23 litres and about a month, if you make something you don't like it could be a massive waste!

[LordEoin]

a good way to test if you like hops or not without affecting the whole batch is to just make up a hop tea and add a bit to your glass.

 

Just grab a handful of hops and throw them into a cafetiere, pour in a half cup of boiling water and leave it sit until it goes cold.

Use the plunger to separate the liquid from the solid.

 

i made a few varieties of hop icecubes like that and it worked really well.

 

regarding fermentables, i usually just use 1kg dry malt (the darker the beer, the darker the malt) and 300g dextrose to boost the ABV a bit. i wouldnt recommend going over 300g though.

And temperature.. ignore the instructions that come in the can.

Aim roughly for 18 degrees like otto said, 12 for lager.

[Jimmy78]

Wow, thanks heap everyone for the responses.

 

Can someone suggest to me a website or a book that I can buy that details the different ways how to hop etc?

 

I'm starting to realise that there is more to this than I first thought [lol].

 

Also, do you buy your supplies online or from a shop? If it is online, can you please refer me to the website?

 

Cheers.

[AdamH1525226084]

Easy there - John Palmers "How to Brew" is a great book, easy to read and not too scientific like some others.

You can read some online here, but it's an old version.

[Hairy]

As for supplies, I either go to my local home brew shop (Absolute Homebrew at St Marys) or online from Craftbrewer (link below):

 

Craftbrewer

 

I find both offer great service.

 

Jimmy, you can uppdate your personal settings to show your location. If you do that then someone may know of, and recommend, a good LHBS near you.

[Jimmy78]

Thanks again for the info gents.

 

Hairy, I have updated my details.

 

 

[Muddy Waters]

Like Hairy, I recommend Craftbrewer Jimmy.

 

They really are the nuck's duts [biggrin] ...and very helpful [rightful]