So...where should I go next

[Speakeasy 3548]

my question is simple, I am still quite new to brewing and have only used coopers kits following the instructions on the cans. I have been quite happy with the results but would like some suggestions on what i could do next to improve my brewing experience and branch out a bit more. whatwould be worthwile trying without being too tricky? [roll]

[LordEoin]

Get your favourite kit and brew it with just 1kg DME or 1.5kg can of LME.

 

Once the krausen dies down and airlock stops bubbling, throw in 30g of Cascade pellets (if you want to be fancy, use a muslin bag weighed down with glass marbles)

Bottle and prime as normal after another week.

 

Gratz. You've just dryhopped your first brew. It's all-malt and it will be amazing.

[LordEoin]

Yeah, that'd be no problem. Just make sure they're hop pellets because they'll eventually just sink into the trub, whereas leaf will float a lot longer then probably just sit on the botto and block your tap on bottling.

 

If you use a mulsin bag, sterilize it by boiling it in water for a few minutes.

[King Ruddager]

I always think there are two things people can try when they ask this question:

1 - experiment with hops

2 - experiment with grains

 

Using malt instead of other sugars is also good, but not experimental enough to be on my list [wink]

 

I always float the idea of experimenting with both though. I mean ... why not? Might seem a little much, but it's really not and you'll do it one day anyway. Also, mistakes are fun and it's actually harder to bugger up than you think. Learning by doing! I'll spell out some easy steps for Dr. Smurto's Golden Ale if you'd like. It's a great recipe.

[Beerlust]

Hi Grante1, & welcome to the forum. [smile]

 

As you have been primarily using the "coopers kits following the instructions on the cans", I would highly recommend you taking a look in the How To Brew section of the Coopers website.

 

There are some fantastic recipes in there for almost all styles of beer with most offering extensions on top of the base kit tin flavours to produce some lovely tasting beers. [love]

 

With each of the recipes listed, there is an easy to follow set of instructions to guide you through the processes involved.

 

I would look at brewing quite a few of them, as the diversity of procedures & ingredients used across the recipes will fast-track your knowledge whilst still being able to produce great tasting beer.

 

Outside that, there is a great bunch of blokes here on the forum with a wealth of knowledge you can tap into also if you need answers to specific questions.

 

Good luck with your future brewing.

 

Cheers,

 

Anthony.

[AdamH1525226084]

Even just using a different yeast - dry or liquid - with the kits can make a difference to the flavour

 

But the easiest way to change a tiny bit is to add some grains. Mabe the Nut Brown Ale?

 

Or just add hops in the Fruit Salad Ale or Hop Slam IPA

 

Once you add hops for the first time you will think "AMAZEBALLS". Mine was the Fruit Salad Ale - the first homebrew I ever had that didn't taste like "homebrew"

[Speakeasy 3548]

Thanks a lot for that info. I've had a chance to read more of the forum info and have a much better idea of where i want to go with my brewing. I went with the simplest option of "just chucking in some hops" (into a coopers pale ale kit) i can taste / smell the difference that makes and i am excited as i now have a better point of rerference. i am not into changing everything all at once but this simple act, as well as reading lots more in the forum has made me realise that brewing is a world of contradiction and that i just have to go for it.

My inventory is a bit low but I have a pale ale and spakling ale kit so will experiment a bit with these and see how i go. some different yeast and some grain....i cant wait [biggrin]

[King Ruddager]

If you've got a Sparkling Ale kit then do yourself a favour and make it into a golden ale. Do you like James Squire's Golden Ale?

[Speakeasy 3548]

A golden ale sounds just like what im after. any recipe suggestions?

Dr. Smurtos?

[King Ruddager]

Start with Dr. Smurtos why not [smile]

 

1.7kg Thomas Cooper's Sparkling Ale kit

1.5kg Coopers wheat liquid malt extract

250g Caramalt (grain)

45g Amarillo hops

 

I'm going to give you a very simple version and skip a lot of the technical that you'll learn later. It's not that much harder to do everything properly, but it might be a bit too much to digest for now and you'll still get excellent results with what I describe below.

 

Okie dokie, the grains are up first. They will need to be cracked - the store you get them from will probably do this for you but if you don't you'll just have to do it yourself. There's a few different techniques (I think the FAQ section of this web site has pointers) but one common approach is to put them in a zip-lock bag and roll a rolling pin over them a few times. 250g is a bit much to do in one hit, so you'll have to divide it up to make sure you crack them all.

 

Now you need to bring ... let's say 5L of water up to 70 degrees. I've got a little barista's thermometer to help with this - not sure how other people measure the temperature. Throw in the grains, take it off the heat (so that the grains don't stick or anything) and pop the lid on the keep the temperature as constant as you can. Leave them in there for 30-45 minutes and then get rid of the grains by straining out the liquid.

 

Ok, now you need to bring your liquid to the boil. Done? Good! Throw in the first lot (15g) of hops. Just chuck them in there and watch them roll around. Oh, also, start a timer - these guys need to be in there for 15 minutes. The next lot of 15g need to be in the boil for 5 minutes, so throw them in when the first lot has been boiling for 10 so that they all finish at the same time. You'll usually see this written as follows:

15g Amarillo @15

15g Amarillo @5

 

Easy. Strain (to get rid of the hop matter) the liquid into your fermenter now and mix in the kit and the liquid wheat malt extract. That's it! Top it up to 23L (I think) and pitch the yeast. You know about yeast temperatures and stuff by now, right? Good.

 

Last thing - you should still have 15g of Amarillo for a dry hop. Some people say that this should be done after the krausen has collapsed, others (myself included) say "bugger it" and do it straight away. In fact, I even do it before pitching the yeast. You can throw these straight in, but most (I think) people prefer to contain them somehow so that you don't get bits of hops floating around. One easy way of doing this is to wrap them in a clean (clean - straight out of a new packet) chux cloth.

 

That's it - you're all done [biggrin] Leave it in the fermenter for two weeks and then bottle it. Try one after two weeks, then another in another two weeks why not, then just try your best to restrain yourself from downing the whole lot.