Coopers Canadian Blonde

[Anzacpaul]

That's good advice thank you!

 

When you say as long as the Hydrometer reading is where I expect it to be then that's fine...only thing is since this is the first time I ever done it I don't know where to expect it to be. Or should it simply just read the same reading (whatever that may be?) for two days in a row?

 

Cheers again!

 

Two days in a row should confirm that it's good to go, but i'm thinking after 14 days you'll be fine!!

 

If you post your reading on here, most experienced guys will be able to tell you if it's ready to go.

[Beeblebrox]

I'd expect FG to be around 1.008-1.012. Higher than that, then may not be finished. You're unlikely to get much lower though. Testing on consecutive days will tell you if it's stable & finished or not.

As I've done over 30 brews, I tend to just bottle around day 14, unless my reading looks high; though that hasn't happened so far.

[Otto Von Blotto]

I wouldn't expect the FG to get as low as 1.008 with BE1 in the mix. I'd expect more around 1.012-1.014. Maybe 1.010 but that's it.

 

Given the brew has been in there ten days, it's likely finished fermenting but if you can keep it at 18ish somehow, that'll help the yeast stay active and clean up any off flavours that may be present.

 

Agreed also with checking the SG when you get back, if it's stable over 2 or 3 days in that expected range (I prefer 3 days but still only take two readings), then it should be fine to bottle. If it got stuck at 1.020 or something then that wouldn't be finished I don't think and you'd have to try to get it going again, but hopefully that isn't the case here!

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

[talltwits]

Howdy ya'll!!

 

I have returned from my trip! Couple of days away in the beautiful city of Paris!! Ended up getting engaged. Why not eh...she did buy me the home brew it in be first place! Surely she's a keeper!

 

So I've taking my first reading! It's was 12. Which if I'm right actually means 1.012. There were little white "floaters" that came out aswell. (Is that the trub?)

 

I will do another reading tomorrow and if it's 1.012 again I'll bottle along with 2 carbonation drops after rinsing my bottles out (first time in using them).

 

So can anyone actually tell me what exactly the SG and FG actually means??? I know what to look for now but don't actually know what it means. And will different brews give different readings??

 

Anything else I should consider?

 

Cheers

 

Kyle

[talltwits]

Howdy ya'll!!

 

I have returned from my trip! Couple of days away in the beautiful city of Paris!! Ended up getting engaged. Why not eh...she did buy me the home brew it in be first place! Surely she's a keeper!

 

So I've taking my first reading! It's was 12. Which if I'm right actually means 1.012. There were little white "floaters" that came out aswell. (Is that the trub?)

 

I will do another reading tomorrow and if it's 1.012 again I'll bottle along with 2 carbonation drops after rinsing my bottles out (first time in using them).

 

So can anyone actually tell me what exactly the SG and FG actually means??? I know what to look for now but don't actually know what it means. And will different brews give different readings??

 

Anything else I should consider?

 

Cheers

 

Kyle

[talltwits]

Howdy ya'll!!

 

I have returned from my trip! Couple of days away in the beautiful city of Paris!! Ended up getting engaged. Why not eh...she did buy me the home brew it in be first place! Surely she's a keeper!

 

So I've taking my first reading! It's was 12. Which if I'm right actually means 1.012. There were little white "floaters" that came out aswell. (Is that the trub?)

 

I will do another reading tomorrow and if it's 1.012 again I'll bottle along with 2 carbonation drops after rinsing my bottles out (first time in using them).

 

So can anyone actually tell me what exactly the SG and FG actually means??? I know what to look for now but don't actually know what it means. And will different brews give different readings??

 

Anything else I should consider?

 

Cheers

 

Kyle

[Otto Von Blotto]

Triple post, you must be excited. Congrats on the engagement by the way.

 

SG means specific gravity, it's basically a measurement of the density of a liquid. In brewing, it's the dissolved sugars in the wort that increase its density. OG is the original gravity, i.e. the SG before fermentation. FG is final gravity, i.e. the SG after fermentation is complete. These figures are useful for determining the ABV% of the beer. It also serves to provide us with an idea of what is happening in the brew, if it's stalled, or finished or maybe infected (SG drops way further than expected).

 

Different brews will give different readings, based on how many fermentables are in the recipe, how many unfermentables are in there, and the yeast strain that is used to ferment it. In all grain brewing you can influence the FG by way of the temperature of the mash as well. In simple terms, as the mash temperature rises, so does the FG of the beer. But that's not important at this stage.

 

I would imagine that your "12" reading is indeed 1.012. Most hydrometers have a 1.000 number, then 10, 20, 30 etc. all the way down to wherever it ends. At least, all the ones I've used have been marked that way.

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

[talltwits]

Haha whoops! Have no idea what happened there!

 

Thanks very much.

 

Cool that does explain it, I'm sure over time it will start to make more sense to me. But that's awesome cheers! I tasted the beer from the hydrometer this morning an it tasted good. So I think all is going to plan. Getting excited for it now!

 

Your right the hydrometer does have the 1.000 at the top and then the other numbers after that. It's the original coopers hydrometer that came with the brew kit. ????

[talltwits]

Hello again guys!

 

A wee update for ya's and some questions.

 

I've bottled my brew. Went well enough I think. Here goes he few questions.

 

I'm using the PET bottles. I filled them until about an inch below the lid (used all bottles with none spare - seemed the correct amount). And I tightened the bottle lids as tight as I could until I couldn't tighten no more! Is this right?

 

I tasted the beer, it was good. Maybe slightly bitter but only just. Less bitter as I filled the last bottle. The last bottle is very cloudy? Is this correct?

 

My final Gravity was 1.012. Which was consistent with yesterday's reading. My OG was 1.036. So if I'm correct my ABV% is 3.2. Is this correct?

 

And my final question - I left the KRAUSEN coller in place during the full brew. There was a think gooey yeasty like substance all the way round it. Is that ok? And also at the bottom the same suntan a althoigh slightly more yellow yoghurt like? Is that ok?

 

Overall it tastes nice and I'm excited! Currently sterilising everything!

 

Cheers again!

[Otto Von Blotto]

I'm not gonna answer each question individually, because it all sounds completely normal to me mate.

 

Only thing is, your ABV will be about 3.5%. You need to add 0.4% to it, to account for the priming sugar in the bottles being fermented (yes it does contribute alcohol as well as CO2).

[talltwits]

That's grand mate. I'm obviously over thinking things. But if it sounds all ok to you then I'm happy. Your mind starts to wonder a bit, so the reassurance is More than welcome!

 

Bring on he next two weeks!

 

Cheers,

 

Kyle

 

 

[Beeblebrox]

Absolutely normal.

The last few bottles will typically have slightly less bitterness evident, as they tend to have more yeast in them as you get to the bottom of the FV - it's a balancing act between the flavours of the malt, hops & yeast, & the ratios get thrown out a little towards the end of emptying the FV into your bottles.

 

In my experience, the bottle conditioning phase, coupled with a week or so in the fridge prior to consumption will remedy this to some extent, though you may still find the last few bottles are weaker in hop flavour/aroma, due to the extra yeast.

It's not really a problem, just a quirk of home brewing.

 

The only thing I can think of that's simple to remedy this would be a week of cold conditioning of your FV prior to bottling; usually at 5c or lower.

That should help the yeast & trub settle towards the bottom of your FV, & be less likely to be disturbed as you fill your bottles, so your bottles should be more consistent.

cold conditioning may mean you need to leave your bottles a few weeks longer to carbonate though, it's always a game of compromise & balance when making a brew though.

 

That & if you're ready to branch out into more complex methods, some sort of finings to help the trub settle, though I haven't seen the need for this so far.

[talltwits]

Absolutely normal.

The last few bottles will typically have slightly less bitterness evident' date=' as they tend to have more yeast in them as you get to the bottom of the FV - it's a balancing act between the flavours of the malt, hops & yeast, & the ratios get thrown out a little towards the end of emptying the FV into your bottles.

 

In my experience, the bottle conditioning phase, coupled with a week or so in the fridge prior to consumption will remedy this to some extent, though you may still find the last few bottles are weaker in hop flavour/aroma, due to the extra yeast.

It's not really a problem, just a quirk of home brewing.

 

The only thing I can think of that's simple to remedy this would be a week of cold conditioning of your FV prior to bottling; usually at 5c or lower.

That should help the yeast & trub settle towards the bottom of your FV, & be less likely to be disturbed as you fill your bottles, so your bottles should be more consistent.

cold conditioning may mean you need to leave your bottles a few weeks longer to carbonate though, it's always a game of compromise & balance when making a brew though.

 

That & if you're ready to branch out into more complex methods, some sort of finings to help the trub settle, though I haven't seen the need for this so far.[/quote']

 

Brilliant that's great thanks.

 

Yeah as I got to the bottom the bitterness faded a bit. Although, the first bottle wasn't overly bitter. So hopefully that will disappear during the secondary.

 

All going well and I've been able to store the bottles consistently at 18 degrees so hopefully this will help. Other than that I will just have to be patient and wait the fortnight or so.

Thanks again

[BeerPig1525229696]

Hi everyone. This is a great thread as I will be starting the very same kit shortly. It will be here today. Thank you everyone for all the tips. And thanks talltwits sounds like your doing a great job.

[talltwits]

Hi everyone. This is a great thread as I will be starting the very same kit shortly. It will be here today. Thank you everyone for all the tips. And thanks talltwits sounds like your doing a great job.

 

Keep us posted as to how you get on. Would be good to compare!

[BeerPig1525229696]

Hi everyone. This is a great thread as I will be starting the very same kit shortly. It will be here today. Thank you everyone for all the tips. And thanks talltwits sounds like your doing a great job.

 

Keep us posted as to how you get on. Would be good to compare!

 

OK I will let You know how it's going.

[BeerPig1525229696]

Update....I started my first ever kit today same as yours talltwits.

!-Coopers Canadian Blond

2-800g Dextrose

3-250g Spray DME

4-SG+-132

5-Fermenter@ 21degrees

6- Sit and wait?

[talltwits]

Update....I started my first ever kit today same as yours talltwits.

!-Coopers Canadian Blond

2-800g Dextrose

3-250g Spray DME

4-SG+-132

5-Fermenter@ 21degrees

6- Sit and wait?

 

Woohoo brilliant!! Bet you can't take your eyes off it! That's what I've found so far!

[Otto Von Blotto]

4-SG+-132

 

You probably mean 1.032. IN any case' date=' it's out, unless you mixed it up to 26 litres or something. Those ingredients in 23 litres would give an OG of about 1.038-1.040.

 

Also I hope it doesn't turn out too crappy due to the 800g dextrose...[img']unsure[/img] the amounts of that and the dry malt would be better reversed, to be honest.

[BeerPig1525229696]

4-SG+-132

 

You probably mean 1.032. IN any case' date=' it's out, unless you mixed it up to 26 litres or something. Those ingredients in 23 litres would give an OG of about 1.038-1.040.

 

Also I hope it doesn't turn out too crappy due to the 800g dextrose...[img']unsure[/img] the amounts of that and the dry malt would be better reversed, to be honest.

 

Ooops.....Yes that should be 1.032 Not sure why I got that reading I simply filled it to the 23 ltr. line on my primary fermentor. Also my old eyes are not that great anymore. Thanks.. I will post my final SG and see how far out I am.

[talltwits]

4-SG+-132

 

You probably mean 1.032. IN any case' date=' it's out, unless you mixed it up to 26 litres or something. Those ingredients in 23 litres would give an OG of about 1.038-1.040.

 

Also I hope it doesn't turn out too crappy due to the 800g dextrose...[img']unsure[/img] the amounts of that and the dry malt would be better reversed, to be honest.

 

Ooops.....Yes that should be 1.032 Not sure why I got that reading I simply filled it to the 23 ltr. line on my primary fermentor. Also my old eyes are not that great anymore. Thanks.. I will post my final SG and see how far out I am.

 

 

This is interesting. My OG was 1.036 as stated in an earlier post. I followed the instructions as close I could. What can affect the OG so that it can produce different results??

 

Ta.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Temperature, the hydrometer itself may be out (mine actually reads 2 points lower than the real SG), how well or not the ingredients are mixed (no issue for me doing AG though).

 

You can test the hydrometer in water, preferably distilled water, at whatever temp the hydrometer is calibrated to (usually 20C), and it should read 1.000. The Coopers ones can be calibrated by snipping bits of the end off until it reads properly, I believe. Mine reads .998 and can't be done like a Coopers one as it's glass . So I just add two points to every reading. The reading should be taken from the bottom of the meniscus as well, not the top of it, as per this diagram that is on the storage container for my hydrometer (in the example the reading is 1.000, not .998):

 

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

 

 

[talltwits]

Smashing! I'll Defo check that one out!

 

By the way, thanks again for all the advice! Learned so much so quickly!

[Otto Von Blotto]

NO worries mate. Glad to be able to help.

 

Funnily enough, my hydrometer is a Scottish made one by Stevenson Reeves. Bloody good quality, aside from it being out for some reason I am really happy with it.

[BeerPig1525229696]

Thanks for that explanation Otto. I used my thief to extract my sample and dropped the hydrometer into it. There was a small amount of foam at the line and was hard to read. (DOPE) I will defiantly use a little more diligence when recording this number the next time!!