A bit of guidance.

[Martyn]

Hi all, currently waiting for my 2nd brew, Canadian Blonde, to finish 2nd fermenterising (next Thursday) and am already thinking ahead to my next batch. The Coopers lager that came with the starter pack went down a treat with friends and family who drank it.

 

Am thinking of adding honey to my next effort, which got nods of approval to people tried the lager. Having read the previous posts about honey and requiring strawberry clover honey and light honey am a bit confused. Having had a look around work (Foodland, Norwood) couldn't find any of either (I did find honey obviously but no 'light honey' as such). The range at work is pretty dam big so am thinking I'm looking for the wrong thing. Is it light in sugar or flavour honey?

 

Also thinking of using the Cooper's draught (though the recipe on here says to use the CB) but open to suggestions, has anyone got any recipes for the draught as not sure on whether to use sugar/malt, how much to use etc. I'm after a nice, clean, crisp, fresh beer with a % of 4 to 5. Have also seen the recipe for Irish ale using golden syrup which sounds interesting but the ferment temp needs to be kept at 20c so will be doing that one when the weather cools a bit.

 

Anyways, any help, suggestions, recipes would be appreciated, ta.

[PB2]

Don't let not being able to ferment at the recommended temp' preclude you from making a brew, particularly if fermenting with ale yeast. As long as you are mindful that a brew, fermented at higher temp', may not present with as clean flavours/aromas - you may find the extra flavour/aroma suits your taste!!

 

Strawberry Clover honey is a light flavoured honey - any honey with subtle flavour and aroma will do.

 

Our Draught beer kit has more flavour (from crystal malt) than Canasdian Blonde but you could use any of our kits and any type of honey!

 

Perhaps marry up stronger flavoured honey with stronger flavoured beer kits - just depends on how much you like your honey and how overt you want the honey character to be in the brew.

[Muddy Waters]

I ended up making a bastardised version of the strawberry blonde. As I couldn't find any strawberry clover, and not knowing which honeys are light flavoured, I ended up using Yellow Box. Big mistake - It tastes pretty rough after 5 weeks in the bottle. Maybe it will get more drinkable in time?!?

[Martyn]

Cheers for the advice gents. Will have to ask someone at work which exactly the lighter honeys are, didn't see any Strawberry Clover but a couple of light ones.

 

Which would you recommend as a good beer to do with honey in? Not keen on doing the Strawberry Blonde as am doing the Canadian Blonde now.

 

Paul, how much sugar/malt do I exchange for the honey? If I did it with Coopers draught+BE1 how much BE1 do I take out for the honey? I'm just after a simple recipe, nothing fancy as I'm new to this and just experimenting with flavours.

[PB2]

325g of honey will yield around the same amount of alcohol as 250g of sugar/dextrose. In 23 litres an extra 250g of sugar/dextrose will increase alcohol by about 0.5%, 500g gives 1.0% and so on.

 

Note: this is a very rough way of estimating potential alcohol and can only be applied to brews below 6%ABV - as the brew gets higher in OG, sugar additions yield less alcohol.

 

 

[Martyn]

Hey Paul, I've gone for the Irish ale recipe that's on here and starting it on Saturday.

One question is the quantity, it says mix to 21 litres but will it have an adverse affect on the brew if I make sneak it upto 23 litres. Obviously the beer will be 10% orso more dilute and I take it the ABV will be a bit lower as well. Is there anything else brewing to 23 litre will do?

[PB2]

Your on the money Martyn.

 

Diluting the wort's colour, bitterness and density will reduce the final brew's colour, bitterness, alcohol, flavour and may slightly reduce the foam stability.

[Martyn]

Not sure if this I should start a new thread with this post.

I'm after clearer/uncloudy ale and after my 1st 2 brews were cloudy (1st try I kept inverting the bottles/2nd I inverted when bottling and left well alone!).

Having started the Irish Ale recipe that I mentioned above I am planning on leaving this in the fermenter until after next weekend due to the fact I am at the Clipsal from Thursday. I was going to take the opportunity to leave it in the fermenter a little longer than usual to see if it clears a bit more than normal. Is there anything else I could do to clear the wort? Am I leaving it 'open' to spoilage by leaving it in the fermenter an extra 3/4 days?

I could see straight through the bottles of my Canadian Blonde but it turns out cloudy in the glass, is that down to disturbing the sediment when pouring.?

[Muddy Waters]

Hi Martyn - I've always found that I have to work hard to get much sediment in my glass from my homebrew. When you say you are inverting the bottles do you mean you are doing this at the bottling stage? Personally I never invert them as I either bulk prime or use carbo drops. If you let your beer age a bit more and make sure you pt them in the fridge at least a couple of days before you drink you shouldn't have a cloudy beer unless you want to include the sediment.

[rossm]

G'day Martyn,

I never have a problem with the cloudy beers, all I do is bottle and store...upright of course...for at least a couple of weeks, I may sample one at that stage, but leave the majority a month or so before consuming. Even the tester at a couple of weeks is OK if you pour gently and don't stir the bottle up before pouring. I use Coopers longnecks, stubbies may need a little more care if decanting but I would have thought the sediment would settle just as well in them as longnecks...although it may take longer for it to pack down sufficiently.

[Tricky]

Leaving it in the fermenter longer may reduce the yeast sediment that you have in the bottle. The cloudiness of the beer you drink will reduce over time by following Ross' advice and store upright for a few weeks. Do not put them in the fridge door as they will swish around every time you open the door.

I have a glass jug that I decant the beer into, leaving a bit of beer in the bottom of the bottle with the yeast sediment. I then serve into the beer glasses from the jug.

[Martyn]

Cheers for the help.

 

Muddy, I use the carbo drops and invert a couple of times at the start to give the drops a helping push with the carbonating but left well alone until drinking, the only movement is into the fridge!

Have re-organised the fridge and stood them on a shelf to see if this makes any difference. Don't mind some sediment but found it strange the beer was crystal clear in the bottle but wasn't after chilling and pouring.

 

Tricky, I took them out of the fridge door after a couple of bottles to see if this made any difference. Will quite happily leave my Irish Ale till Monday before bottling. Can't wait to taste it, had a little sample when taking SG and could taste the Golden Syrup. Yum! Have also managed to keep ferment temp at 20-22c. Does anyone know what this recipe turns out like?

 

Ross, going to put 10 bottles to one side (very difficult to leave perfectly good beer sat there, wanting to be drunk! I can resist everything but temptation) and leave for a few weeks to see if they clear, the sediment packs down a bit, and taste different.

 

On another note, Foodland have the Cooper's homebrew products on special this week. CPA is about the same price as it is at Kmart normally but everything else is cheaper.

[Muddy Waters]

Hi Martyn - I think the inverting is more for when your putting a scoop of sugar in each bottle rather than for the carbo drops. I think the Cooper's DVD actually says to invert the bottles when using carb drops but I can't see it actually doing anything as the drops need time to dissolve.

 

Like Ross said give them time to age. Keep brewing - when you have a stockpile it is easier to age you beers properly. Having said that I generally sample my first bottle of a new batch after only 2 weeks. Some taste fantastic at this stage but most get better and better after the 4 week mark. Sometimes a beer which you didn't like at 3 months comes good when you decide to give it another taste at 6 months.

[PB2]

I think I cut the inverting bottles scene out of the latest version DVD??

 

It serves no purpose if using Carbo Drops as they dissolve over the course of an hour or so.

[Martyn]

One other thing with the Irish Ale, I have had it fermenting since Saturday and have managed to keep the temp at 20-22c after the 1st day. It has been frothing nicely, though not as crazily as my last efforts, have come to check it this morning and it seems to have gone a bit flat, the froth has reduced down and I can see what looks like the outline of the yeast on top of the wort. Is this all normal for the Irish Ale? Does this point to the fermenting slowed/stopped?

 

Note to self-don't invert when using carbo drops. Drop and fill!

[Muddy Waters]

That sounds normal to me Martyn for most brews. You will have different levels of foam and some will leave the fermentor a lot crustier than others.

 

Now is the time to trust you hydrometer. If you have consistent readings over 2-3 days you should be right to go ahead and bottle.

[Martyn]

Cheers mate, main reason I was going to leave it in the fermenter a few days after fermenting has stopped is because a) I'm at the Clipsal and ain't going to have time and b) and this is most important, I only have 45 pet bottles and currently have 22 full with Canadian Blonde. Dam, time to get drinking!

 

The yeast thing, I have been looking through previous topics and posts on here and have seen various different methods. Stir then sprinkle, sprinkle then stir, just sprinkle (which has been my method for my 1st 3 brews) and the re-hydrate in 150mls of boiled room temp water. Might go with the sprinkle and stir method next up.

 

Paul, is there a review section connected to the recipe resource or the how to brew recipe section of the website where people who have made the recipes can add what they thought of it. Just a thought as I'm looking through recipes wondering what the outcome would be and getting other peoples views who have made it would be good. Only a suggestion.

[Muddy Waters]

I've always been advised to sprinkle dry yeast but not to stir. With liquid yeast pitch and stir. I've never had a problem other than an underpitched yeast starter which pooped out early.

 

I haven't tried dehydrating as I haven't really seen the need. But it is a good way to see if the yeast is viable so maybe I'll give it a shot one of these days.

[PB2]

A review section is a good idea - I'll add that to the wishlist for Phase II of the site.

 

Not sure if I mentioned it - we are hoping to have an Aussie Race Car, looking like a mobile beer and carrying the HomeBrew logo, circulating today.

[Martyn]

Will it be handing out free beer? Sorry, day dreaming again.

I saw the Cooper's Clear ute yesterday not as distinctive as the all green Pale Ale one from last season. Will keep my eye out for the homebrew mobile.

[PB2]

Our Aussie race car was very popular today and he kept it off the wall. WIll post some images once I get to grips with technology.