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Dronnybrewer

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Hello there. I am about to start my first ever brew. Purchased all my kit and the Hoppy Copper Bitter from Wilkinsons. Thought I would start with something that looked easy to follow first. Just one problem I purchased my carbonation drops for the bottling stage but forgot the brewing sugar! Would it be ok to use ordinary granulated sugar or would I be better off waiting until I purchase some brewing sugar tomorrow? Will there be a lot of difference in taste or quality?
 
Hi Dronny (dronfield area?)
Just looked in my brewing book and here's what I did
Wilko kit
500g of medium dried malt extract
800g of brewing sugar -- you can use granulated in its place
180g of Aldi Grandessa honey. Costs about £1.49 for about 380g in a plastic squeezy bottle
Brewed with 19 litres of water
Came out lovely
If you are just going with the kit as is then granulated sugar in place of brewing is fine
Happy Hoppy brewing :lol:
 
I agree with Beersphere here.

Sugar from cane or beet is chemically identical to sugar from maize and the yeast will sort it out all the same.

The best thing you could add is 500g of dry malt extract (DME). That really does make a difference to a one can kit.

Since it's a first brew, I suggest getting it on, being patient, and seeing how it goes.

If in doubt, just ask here!
 
Thanks for the advice both. Yes I am in Dronfield area. I think I will just give it a go with the granulated sugar seeing as its a first try and a one can kit. The honey sounds like a good idea though and there is an Aldi just down the road. I will try that with the malt extract on my second go.
 
I took my first reading on the day of the brew last Friday and it was 1042. After 2 days I took a 2nd reading and it was down to 1025. On Tuesday it was down to 1020 but today it is still 1020 and all the froth has gone off the top. Is this bad? Should it be down to somewhere like 1010 by now? Will it go down any further or has it stabalised? I thought the reading would be lower by now.
 
Judging by your time line it's only been in about 6 days at that point 08/01? Plenty of time , keep it in a warm room so temp does not vary too much and leave alone for about 3 weeks and then check ....resist the temptation to keep having a look as you risk infection by constantly popping the lid
I always leave mine a good 3-4 weeks before thinking about bottling or kegging and that's after seeing readings level for a couple of days
 
Sorry Beersphere only just read your post after I have just taken another hydrometer reading. I am pleased to report though I have not touched the brew for the last 6 days and my patience has paid off with a reading of 1010 today:-D Would the overall opinion be to leave for another week before bottling or check for a similar readking again tomorrow?
 
If you have the same reading over 2-3 days at that low level then it's time to start a bottling!, :drink:
 
Got down to the magical 1008 for 3 days running so have bottled my beer up tonight. It says on the instructions keep bottles in a warm place for 2 days then at least 14 days in a cool dark place. Should it be in a warm place for the first couple of days?:hmm:
 
Yes, needs to be warm for the yeast to eat your priming sugar to carb up your beer. I would say more like 4 days though.
 
The length in the warm varies, after 2 or 4 days your beer may well not be properly carbonated. It can take two weeks, or even longer sometimes. I would certainly allow two weeks in the warm, or you risk beer with very little carbonation, and having to move back to the warm for a while. Some people fill a plastic pop bottle so they can test carbonation by squeezing it. I just fill a few small bottles and use these as weekly samplers until I'm happy that the rest of the beer is ready to drink.
 
Thanks all. I am going to go for the 2 2 2 rule and leave it in the warm for 2 weeks and cool for 2 weeks.
 
Thanks all. I am going to go for the 2 2 2 rule and leave it in the warm for 2 weeks and cool for 2 weeks.
That's my rule of thumb and sometimes 3 weeks before into cool
Look forward to hearing how it turns out ---- does get better the longer it's left so get another brew on the go to build your stocks and variety up
 
Had a look at the bottles yesterday, should I be giving them a shake every now and then or just leave them?
 
LEAVE !! Do not shake or you will be generating bottle bombs and also not giving it a chance to start clearing. Do not shake. Just leave in warm for 2 weeks away from direct sunlight and then 2 weeks in cool. And after that you could start drinking but as said before gets better with age so another good 2-4 weeks and you should have a good brew there
 
Left in warm for 2 weeks and been in cool since Monday. Tried one from warm last Friday and was fizzy enough, still cloudy but had potential. However, tried one from cool tonight and flat as a pancake! Would you suggest back in the warm for a bit? It has been particularly "cool" this week.
 
Had this back in the warm for a few days. Had a couple more bottles and they have been fizzy enough. I need to excercise a bit more patience to letit clear though!! Cant complain atwhatI have tasted so far though. I would definately try this again, bewing a bit shorterto 20 litres and adding some varients like honey and using spraymalt.
 
Just an update on this. I bottled 37 bottles. Got through about 15 of them now. For a first go it was a decent effort. Pretty clear, good fizz and a decent taste to it. If I brewed it again I would add a few extras to it to give it a bit more body. All I used was the kit and 1kg of granulated sugar. Left it a bit light bodied but thats not a total loss because if I chill it it drinks a bit like a lager if I fancy a bit of a pallet cleanser. All in all a decent effort, I am still amazed that I have brewed my own beer when I drink it and I have certainly drunk worse from some bottled beers especially the "novelty" variety.:drink:
 

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