First brew - looking for some advice!

[kaisah16]

Hey all,

Started my first brew off last night. I got a "starter" kit for my birthday, which came with the following;

brewing/fermentation bucket, with lid and air lock
beer "kit"
2KG of brewing sugar
hydrometer & trial jar
25L pressure keg with c02 injector cap and c02 bulbs.
siphon kit
sanitising powder

So, I pretty much followed the instructions on the kit as advised on most forums. I washed and sanitised all of the kit I would be using before hand.

The kit said to add 1.3KG of brewing sugar to some "warm water", which I did. Then to add the malt kit, stir, then top up to 23L with cold water.

I boiled the kettle and let it cool while I was sanitising the kit. This was still quite warm when I added the sugar etc. I topped it up as requested and let it settle at around 25°C as advised on the kit. I then added the yeast, and stirred it in. I took my first reading with the hydrometer, which measured around 1.04.

The kit then said to attach the lid and leave for 10 days. This is where im at now, I have the FV in my understairs cupboard, lid on, and airlock in place (filled with a little water).

There are no further instructions on the kit, which is a little weird. I intend to transfer this into a keg, as opposed to bottling. From what I have read on various forums, I "think" this is what I need to do next;

Allow mixture to ferment for the 10 days in a "warm place" (under the stairs seems warm and constant). Take a hydrometer reading which should be in the region of 1.01 and steady for a day or so. Also no bubbles. Then, transfer into my keg via the siphon. Add some "priming sugar", then attach the lid, making sure it is sealed correctly with a little Vaseline. Store the keg in cold place. Wait for approx. 2 weeks until the lager has cleared. Then it should be ready to drink! Maybe having to add some C02 with the injector at this point to ensure it pours well.

A few questions;

A) is the above correct?
B) how much priming sugar will I need to add to approx. 23L of lager? Can I use the same brewing sugar I used in the initial mix as priming sugar? Do I just drop this in, or do I need to stir it in?
C) When do I add the CO2 via the injector? Straight away, or at the end?
D) Do I need to keep the keg warm for a few days after adding the priming sugar? OR straight into the "cold" place?


Any advice would be appreciated :)

 

[Mjgclutch]

Not brewed a lager (one for the winter!) when you say keg, do you mean a pressure barrel. If so, I would assume that it is far better to use bottles, than a pressure barrel for lager, though I will defer to the experts who have brewed them.

 

[clibit]

"In a warm place" is not great advice. English ale yeasts are best between 18-21C generally speaking, you don't want it much warmer than that, if it's an English or American style ale. Ah, it's a lager, but with an ale yeast. In which case, 16-18 is better.

About 150g priming sugar for 23 litres of lager. I would stir it in carefully, or dissolve it in a little boiled water.

Add CO2 straight away. You want a layer of CO2 sitting on the beer to protect it from air.

Keep the keg warm for a week after priming to enable the priming sugar to ferment.

 

[Leon103]

First thing you want to check is did it come with ale or lager yeast

 

[clibit]

It must be ale yeast if it advised to put in a warm place.

 

[kaisah16]

Hello guys,
Thanks for the quick replies.

When it says warm place it states 20-25deg c. My house is normally around 18deg c, hence putting it away in the cupboard.

I have a pressure keg yes. It has the co2 attachment on the top (s30 valve?) with the 8gram gas bulbs.

I dug out the packet again and it does actually say to add 120g of sugar if kegging and to keep warm for 2 weeks. Then transfer to a cold environment to clear. It doesn't specify a timeframe for this however. How long does the clearing normally take?

The yeast just says 'beer yeast' on the packet with a BBF date.

Thanks

 

[clibit]

18 would be better.

120g would be on the lower side of the carbonation range for a lager.

 

[Mjgclutch]

I'm intrigued to try a lager kit using ale yeast. You never get the same carbonation from a pressure barrel as you would from bottle or keg, so how does that work. Is it like cask lager?