Coopers Sparkling Ale - Problem

[Ashuk]

Hi All,

I think i made a minor (hopefully) mistake with my sparkling ale. The recipe states: Designed to be brewed with 1.5kg Light Malt Extract
or 300g Brewing Sugar and 500g Light Dry Malt. I mistakenly added both the 1.5kg Light Malt Extract AND the 300g Brewing Sugar. Can anyone
tell me how this might affect my 1st phase fermentation. It's day 4 and i have the temperature controlled using submersible heater however
there hasn't been as much activity in the airlock as i'd have expected. During the first few days there appeared to be small particles falling
to the bottom of the FV, i figured this was yeast or another by product.

Thoughts/ideas?

Thanks in advance.

Ash

 

[RobWalker]

Slightly higher ABV, slightly thinner body meaning slightly more bitter than it would have been. No real dramas, sounds like it'll be a good beer to me.

Is your beer fermenting? Take a gravity sample if you can.

 

[Ashuk]

Thanks for your response Rob. We've just taken another hydrometer reading and it's 0.998. It seems to have fermented quite fast given we had a reading of 1.052 on the 6th....

 

[RobWalker]

That's not right for a beer. Should be around 1.010 - did you temperature correct?

 

[Ashuk]

As the FV is in our garage I used a submersible heater which has kept the heat at a constant 25degrees

 

[jonnymorris]

did you temperature correct?

He means did you account for the temperature of the wort when taking your SG reading. Either way, the wort would have had to be at getting on for 60degC for a reading of 998 to be actually 1010.

p.s. for future reference, 25degC sounds a little too warm to ferment at.

 

[Ashuk]

Can you tell me how I adjust for the increase in temperature, I'm assuming the standard is based on a temperature of 20degC?
It is a Coopers Sparkling Ale and they'd said anything between 21-27 would be ok, I thought we were safe at 25....

Anything I should do or just let it run it's course till we get the same FG a few days in a row?

 

[jonnymorris]

Can you tell me how I adjust for the increase in temperature, I'm assuming the standard is based on a temperature of 20degC?

The calibration temp can vary between hydrometers. It should say what temp it's calibrated to on the label. Use the calculator top left of this page to adjust the reading depending on the temp of the wort at the time.

It is a Coopers Sparkling Ale and they'd said anything between 21-27 would be ok, I thought we were safe at 25....

You should take kit instructions with a pinch of salt. A higher temp will ferment quicker but can also stress the yeast and introduce off flavours. 25 isn't bad but nearer 18 would be better. The instructions will also probably say to bottle it after a week or so. I always leave mine for 2 weeks to ferment and a further week to clear. Patience is key.

Anything I should do or just let it run it's course till we get the same FG a few days in a row?

Let it run. It'll probably be fine. I do agree with RobW that 998 sounds a bit low though.

 

[Ashuk]

Hi Jonny,

Thanks very much for your response. Fingers crossed it survives. I've dropped the temperature down slightly so hopefully that might help and will take your advise and leave it be for a couple of weeks to clear before bottling.

Cheers

 

[Walker]

Coopers Sparkling Ale from the brewmaster selection is designed to be brewed with a 1.5kg can of light Liquid Malt Extract, plus 500g of Light Dry Malt, plus 300g of Dextrose for optimum results

the yeast sachet supplied contains lager yeast and ale yeast

these ingredients and yeasts all combine to create the intended result as described on the can, it's a strong beer with a full malty flavour, fruity esters, and a generously hopped clean finish

i hope this helps

 

[Walker]

having left out the 500g light DME your beer will be slightly less alcoholic, slightly less body and maybe a little less malty

brew at ~19c if possible

it's going to be lovely and not at all far off the intended end product

 

[Ashuk]

Sorry, i might not have been clear earlier in my post. The recipe states: Designed to be brewed with 1.5kg Light Malt Extract OR 300g Brewing Sugar and 500g Light Dry Malt.
I added ALL three to the recipe so hopefully close to the intended flavour, with the exception of the 25C fermenting temperature...

 

[Walker]

sorry but the intructions do not state that at all, no offense but re-read them carefully or i can type them out here for you

it is intended the way i described above, the instructions say so too, with respect i stand by my post :)

looks like you added all 3 quite correctly

 

[Walker]

from Coopers instructions:

"in addition to 1.5kg Coopers Light Extract, the Sparkling Ale recipe requires 500g Light Dry Malt & 300g Dextrose for optimum results"


the coopers website and forum are well worth a read too

anyway i hope you have a good idea of where you stand with this kit in the end! :)

 

[Ashuk]

My apologies, i got that from where i bought it, got thrown off by the word 'or' (http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/aca ... pints.html)

Glad I've got it right though. Thanks for clearing it up for me.

 

[Buzzing]

I did this brew a while ago, and am still enjoying it.

This is a very expensive brew with the addition of all those fermentables, and to be very honest, I thought the Coopers Pale Ale was much better.

I'm not sure if it's meant to be like that, my mine is also a bit overly fizzy with lots more small bubbles than what I normally get. I carbed it to 2.4% and it seems to have alot more active than my other 2.4% carbed.

I know the title implies it should be like this, but If I do decide to brew this one again, I'll carb it to 2%.

 

[Ashuk]

I'm planning on bottling it with a single carb drop so hopefully with the added fizz it should turn out nicely.

Buzzing, do you recall your FG for the brew?

 

[Ashuk]

Looks like the latest reading is about 1.000, with correction that makes it about 1.002. Still a little low but there is also still a lot of gas passing upwards in the FV. We've turned the heater off and it's levelled out at about 19degC

 

[Buzzing]

Ash, I think my Sparkling Ale ended on about 1.009. I did not use the yeast that came with the tin, I used a US 05 yeast, so yours might differ.

Have you checked your hydrometer with some water at 20`C ?

With the amount of unfermentables amongst your ingredients, I dont even know if it's possible to get down to 1.002 with this brew.

If I can achieve 19`C without a heater, I wouldn't use a heater, but then again I prefer cleaner brews to overly fruity & estery brews.