Corksniffer Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Hey guys I've just received my first ever order from the Coopers online store and I'm a bit worried because the three brew enhancer 2 I received are hard as set concrete. They're bricks. I've used these very recently and they're powders so I'm guessing these are very old. This isn't right is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeakedRiot Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 I don't have any experience with this, but I do remember seeing some forum posts online where people have had this same issue (and even emailed coopers customer service about it). The advice they got from coopers and others was to not worry about it. Maybe give it a quick stir/break it up a bit but it will dissolve eventually (with help from the yeast). I just put my first brew on today so take this with a grain of salt but this is what I have read about this issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark D Pirate Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Throwing it in as a brick wouldn't do you any favours so take the advice from the world's hottest ginger yes indeedy ..... Marko :-) Welcome to home brewing ...more addictive than chai tea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corksniffer Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 They're like.. 100 years old! What am I supposed to take to them with a hammer and hope for the best.. I'll contact Coopers (by phone, they don't seem to answer my emails) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
botanical Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Hey BrotherBoy, this happened to me with my first be2. I think it loses its seal and air gets in. I just threw the whole lot into a bowl added water, came back 1/2 an hour later and it had all dissolved, threw it into fv and brewed as per normal, no problems and beer was normal. Cheers Greenie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corksniffer Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 Thanks fellas I'd like to use boiling water on it to sanitize (preferably) but is this ok on the BE 2? I'm not sure if I'll kill the sugars or anything or stuff the malto dextrin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not so newb now Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Throwing it in as a brick wouldn't do you any favours so take the advice from the world's hottest ginger yes indeedy ..... Marko :-) Welcome to home brewing ...more addictive than chai tea mmmmm ginger. Florence rocks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Had a couple of bricks like this. Produced beer as good as any other I had with BE2 that were not bricks. Its just that the powder is very hygroscopic and with that it will brick if there is a hole somewhere. I wouldn't worry about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 You can't kill sugars, they aren't alive in the first place. Nothing wrong with using boiling water on it, or even actually boiling it in some water for a few minutes. When I make yeast starters I don't bother dissolving the dry malt completely (just enough to be able to pour the mix into the flask) because the resultant boil on the stove takes care of that for me anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corksniffer Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 Legendary advice as always Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 You can't kill sugars' date=' they aren't alive in the first place. [/quote']Really? Damn, I gave up sugar when I became a vegan. Now, where are those Easter eggs? Only joking, you guys know that I am not a vegan because I don't mention it every second post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beeblebrox Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 In my experience, you can boil it, tip hot or boiled water on it, let it soak in cold water, or just bung it into the FV as is. Whatever way you go, the yeast will find it, & will ferment it. The only drawback if you choose to bung it in as is, is that your OG reading will be out. That's not really a major issue if you've made the same style before, or have a reference to go to, (like Ian H's spreadsheet), & obviously you'll still know when the brew's finished by checking the SG a couple of days in a row, provided it's in the expected range. By far, it's better to do any of the above than try to mix a solid brick of fermentables into a brew. By doing that you'll end up with too much oxygen, will leave the lid off the FV a bit longer than you should, & risk a higher chance of infection. Realistically (& I may do this experiment myself one day), you could theoretically throw all your ingredients in the FV, make sure it's correct temp, then throw in your yeast without any mixing at all, & the yeast would still find all the sugars, mix them through & turn them into beer just as well as it would with all the mixing. If you've seen how vigorously the yeast can move about in the first few days, you know what I'm talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Hey BrotherBoy, this topic comes up from time to time. I did a search on "brick" and found a few old threads... At the risk of appearing self indulgent, I shall quote myself from one of those threads We have received the odd report of BE2 going hard in AUS' date=' USA, and other countries. It seems to happen once Dextrose is blended with our Light Dry Malt (our LDM is extremely hygroscopic) and my theory is that our LDM "somehow" manages to draw water molecules, which aren't bound up, out of the Dextrose. I've also seen our 100% LDM (packaged in 500g amounts) go hard after 7 or more years - in this case I'm guessing it's related to the bag barrier. [img']unsure[/img] Fortunately this is not detrimental to the final outcome of the brew. If your'e not so fussed about measuring the OG, don't worry about breaking it up. It will do its best at impersonating an iceberg and finally dissolve in a few hours or so. Zaphod, yep our basic CraftBrew instructions are no stir. However, there's nothing wrong with giving the brew a good stir - when yeast are first added to the brew they appreciate a well Oxygenated environment. I'll contact Coopers (by phone' date=' they don't seem to answer my emails)[/quote']I can pass this on to Customer Service and the Store. When did you send the email and what address did you use? Usually, emails to store@coopers.com.au or customerservice@coopers.com.au will get a response in a timely manner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 You won't end up with too much oxygen by stirring a brick of fermentables into a brew. Air is only 20% oxygen anyway, the temperature also plays a part, with it being less soluble at room temp or higher, and also there's a limit on how much oxygen can actually be dissolved into wort by simply stirring or shaking the hell out of the fermenter. You can add more by use of an airstone or pure O2, which a fair number of guys doing AG on other forums actually do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corksniffer Posted June 12, 2016 Author Share Posted June 12, 2016 Thanks Paul, just to add a little more experience to the table: I had a few bags of 500g LDM I bought sealed at my local brew store sitting around and they were going hard also. Not as rock solid as the brew enhancer does but still. I attribute this one to high humidity here in Darwin. It only took a week or so but it also makes sense what you say about the malt drawing moisture from the dex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.