Typical Newbie Questions

[westcountry hopper]

Afternoon All

I'm planning on doing my first brew in a few years this weekend and this being a Coopers European Lager.

Basically i did 3 or 4 brews a few years ago and for one reason or another stopped and have forgotten everything from then so wanting to get back into it now and having to start from scratch.

I have a couple of questions if anyone is able to help.

1,Forgive me if this is obvious but thought id check, instead of making up to 23L if i made it to say 21L would this affect it too much or just make it slightly stronger ?

2, Once this has finished in the FV i was going to batch prime into a keg before bottling. Is it best to just put the sugar in first (was going to use approx. 160 kg) and then as i syphon the larger into the keg this should be sufficient to mix as i don't really want to stir it ?

3, Lastly i promise, once bottled is it best to leave at room temp for a couple of days before moving to a cooler spot ?

Thanks in advance

 

[terrym]

1,Forgive me if this is obvious but thought id check, instead of making up to 23L if i made it to say 21L would this affect it too much or just make it slightly stronger ?

First you are suggesting that you 'brew short' which is what many kit brewers do. I rarely brew kits to 23 litres. It could be anywhere between 19 to 22 litres. Sometimes I do it to keep the beer in the FV due to a vigorous fermentation, mostly its to concentrate the flavours more. If you use all the recommended ingredients and brew short you will make stronger beer. If you are concerned about that just use slightly less of the other stuff like DME or sugar but losing 2 litres off 23 litres will only increase the ABV by a bit under 10% so its not really worth bothering about

2, Once this has finished in the FV i was going to batch prime into a keg before bottling. Is it best to just put the sugar in first (was going to use approx. 160 kg) and then as i syphon the larger into the keg this should be sufficient to mix as i don't really want to stir it ?

What you are proposing is fine, although you might be better adding the sugar as a concentrated syrup using boiled water. We all do things differently however. I go straight from the FV into bottles and then prime directly into bottles using the granulated sugar. Others use a bottling bucket like you are suggesting. In the end its what suits you best. And its 160g of sugar not 160kg!!

3, Lastly i promise, once bottled is it best to leave at room temp for a couple of days before moving to a cooler spot ?

You will need to leave your beer longer than 2 days in a warm place before you move to a cooler place to condition At least one week, better two. Then two weeks to condition. Note that Coopers recommend that that this kit is best left for three months or so before you drink it. However I have done this kit and although it it does improve with time, it can be drunk early.

Finally you may find this useful as reminder on a few basics
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...de-to-brewing-your-own-beer-from-a-kit.57526/

 

[westcountry hopper]

Thanks very much for the reply terrym and appreciate the advice.

With regards to the batch priming and the '160g' of sugar if i did add this to boiling water to make a syrup what sort of amount of water should i use as i'm unsure of how much this would affect the lager when mixing in and should i leave it to cool before adding to the lager ?

 

[terrym]

I would make the syrup as concentrated as possible. I don't use this method but there are methods on tinterweb for making 'simple syrup' which is used in cocktails with the suggestion that 1:1 sugar:water is fine or even 2:1. If you are not sure I suggest you have a trial run with 100g sugar and 50ml boiling water to start with, increasing water as necessary. The only thing you really need is no sugar crystals and the ability to flow. I would certainly allow the syrup to cool before I used it , and would transfer the lager onto the top of it in your bottling bucket so that it properly mixes in, rather than the other way round.

 

[xozzx]

I use around 200mL water to dissolve the sugar, the watering down will be very minimal in 20L of beer. I also just pour it in hot (tho I used a bottling bucket, I think kegs are rated to 40C?) as this is an extra small sanitation to the bottom of the bottling bucket. I then siphoned the beer (cold crashed to near 0C) ontop of the sugar/water mix which I guess kills off the yeast in the first few 100 mL of beer until the mix has cooled to a reasonable temp. Never had any issues with doing it this way

 

[DavidDetroit]

1. Yes, just slightly stronger. Do you have a hydrometer?
2. With the sugar, a half liter with the sugar is fine. It will mix more easily but it is added water. You could boil a cup or two of wort with the sugar instead of water and eliminate all added water.
3. A couple of weeks at room temperature usually does it. You can try a beer after four or five days and see what you think of the carbonation level and go from there.

 

[terrym]

3. A couple of weeks at room temperature usually does it. You can try a beer after four or five days and see what you think of the carbonation level and go from there.

Unless you have bottles on top of the boiler it isn't likely to have finished carbing at 5 days, less so 4 days. So how will you even know if its finished carbing or not? At 5 days it will also still be cloudy and the beer will not be conditioned very much. If you really really need to test it why not just leave it in the warm place until the two weeks is up when there is every chance it will have finished carbing, the beer almost clear, and conditioning is a little further on? Better still give it another week in a cool place before you sample. Patience is the friend of the homebrewer.

 

[westcountry hopper]

Cheers Guys

Very much appreciate the advise

 

[DavidDetroit]

Unless you have bottles on top of the boiler it isn't likely to have finished carbing at 5 days, less so 4 days. So how will you even know if its finished carbing or not? At 5 days it will also still be cloudy and the beer will not be conditioned very much. If you really really need to test it why not just leave it in the warm place until the two weeks is up when there is every chance it will have finished carbing, the beer almost clear, and conditioning is a little further on? Better still give it another week in a cool place before you sample. Patience is the friend of the homebrewer.

I don't know what you believe my level of skill to be (I'm not new) but your advice/lecture was unnecessary and not entirely accurate and partially based on your own opinion.

Did you miss my saying "A couple of weeks at room temperature usually does it"? OP was only talking about carbonation.

The advice given by me is directed specifically to the questions asked and geared toward a new brewer (not an advanced brewer). Instead of spilling out all that I know, I focused on what would be most helpful, as a stepping stone, and not everything at once, for someone who's trying to get their basics down.

Do you really think a new brewer isn't going to try their first few brews sooner than they should in spite of being warned not to or being told "Patience is the friend of the home brewer"? Why not give them the go ahead to "try a beer after four or five days and see what you think of the carbonation"? Good learning experience, could catch an error early, more hands on than always taking everyone's word.

By the way, I have beers that carb that fast at room temperature and without using a boiler. I didn't say they were finished. I said they were carbed.

 

[terrym]

@davidfromUS
Irrespective of whether you are experienced or not I still don't agree with aspects of what you have said above, and you have clearly got the hump about my comments directed at your earlier advice. So much the sensible way forward is to agree to disagree, and on that basis I'm done.