Kit O' Beer #5 - Lager

[Glass]

KoB #5 is underway. I put this one down yesterday. Sunday

This is the Coopers Lager can that I picked with the 2nd hand gear I purchases recently. This can was only a couple of months from being out of code. I think it had 3 months left on it. When I bought the gear, it was clear it had been stored out on a metal garage. Not sure for how long but I'm guessing the whole time.

Not sure how well the extract will perform because of this.

The recipe:
1 x 1.7kg Coopers Lager extract
1.25 kg Brew booster - from the preferred LHBS
1 pkt Safale s-04 yeast - 11gms
Zest of 1 fresh lemon

Changes:
The brew booster is something new as in brand. Not used this one before. Cost nearly double the Coopers Brew enhancers. This would be BE #2 equivalent. Lemon zest.

OG 1.042

Brew temp: 30C - ambient
Pitch temp: 23C - wort
Current temp: 21C - wort

Notes: I bought another brand of yeast - would be the 3rd variety I have tried BUT I forgot it in another fridge so had to choose between regular coopers 7gm or Safale 11gm. More is better. SafAle wins.

The malty aroma of the dry extract was very strong. I was pretty surprised. It did not look that malty but I guess it was. I have been adding an extra 200-250gm ~ 1/2 pound extra fermentables up from 1Kg/2 pound, so when I saw a 1.25kg pack I grabbed that.

This is the highest OG I've had so far.

I did some lemon zest to this one. I boiled 3.5L water to dissolve the dry malts and I had a lemon laying around so I thought, why not. I added it to the boiling water for about 3 minutes. Can't detect it in the smell or the taste I had from the hydrometer sample. Will be interesting to see if it has any effect.

This beer was very dark once I was done. Interestingly I visited a friend at the weekend who is getting back into home brewing and he had just done a lager as well and I thought he had done a dark beer. Nope was a lager. I think he bought some gear 2nd hand and scored the can of extract into the deal.

So we're brewing the same thing at the moment. Will be interesting to see how we both get on.

I also took some KoB #2 with me to a couple people to try. Canadian Blonde. They were all impressed and immediately picked that it could be used as a base for a little creatures beer. Now I picked that as well and I've looked to see how to use it as a base and what needs adding.

I'm going to do that very soon but next will be a dark beer. Aiming for next weekend. I think its easter this weekend isn't it? Plenty of time to get one going on.

[Libertytree]

I'm a little confused...are you using a Coopers DME that comes in a can? I always thought it came in bags. How does using the dry vs the liquid vary? oh and is this your 1st go round with the dry?

Little creatures?

[Glass]

I'm using a can of pre-hopped lager malt extract. Same as KoB #1 basically.

The fermentables are a mix of maltodextrin and dextrose? A brew enhancer in Cooper language. Not coopers brand and is a bit more malty than the coopers one is. It did not look that is was but it smelt more malty.

So still kit and kilo method.

The ferments been going along ok. It has been fairly cool here so the ferment temps are around 19C. Bit on the cool side. I hope to get KoB #6 on the go tomorrow. I have a lot of cleaning to get through today. A lot of bottles and I need to take some time with one of these new (to me) fermenters. I'm going to steep some grains and trying to decide if I want to do it as a boil or cold steep them.

Little creatures is a local boutique/craft brewer. Make popular stuff.

[Glass]

Day 7. Took the first reading today.

Original Gravity was 1.040.
1st reading was 1.020 (@20C Day 7). Corrected.

Ambient today was 24C/72F Fermenter ran at 21C. Outside it was 25C. Cool clear days. Nights are about 15C

Not much to report. It's cool so things are going fairly slow. I can probably warm things up a bit. I'll make a few changes and monitor it.

Beer is very cloudy. Lots of suspended yeast still and the reading confirms this. The maltiness is not as strong as before. Just about the right amount I'd say. The colour has lightened a little bit and it has a nice light amber colour to it. It really tastes pretty good. It should become less sweet. I cant really detect an outright lemon flavour but the lightness in taste might be from what I added. Looking forward to finishing this one off and bottling it.

[Glass]

I took the krausen collar out yesterday. There is definately a light fruit type aroma coming from the fermenter. It does not stand out as lemon but it's like a summer smell. With both hands full I got the inside lid of the fermenter tangled up on the end of a broom stick. I lifted the lid and gave the spot a wipe with a sanitized sponge today. Got another wiff of the aroma. If it stays like that it will be very good. Its a pretty mouth watering smell.

corrected 1st reading.

[Glass]

Day 11. Second reading from this batch

1st reading was 1.020 (@20C Day 7). Corrected.
2nd reading was 1.015 (@21C Day 11).

Ambient today was 23C Fermenter ran at 21C. Outside it was 24C. Cloudy days. Past few nights have been cold around 8C. but before that 25C - 16C daily range.

There is not much going on in the fermenter. I moved it from the water bath and have it sitting on a low table. The temp seems pretty stable over a 24hr period. It has increased 2C to 21C since move.

Flavor is lighter than color implies. Tasty. Still plenty of floaties but smaller size. Should clear up over the next few days. 3 days until a cold snap. I think heat needs thinking about. Time to see how the heat belt works. Think about warming the 2nd fermenter.

[Glass]

Day 13. I thought more time had past. I took a reading yesterday

1st reading was 1.020 (@20C Day 7). Corrected.
2nd reading was 1.015 (@21C Day 11).
3rd reading was 1.014 (@21C Day 13).

Ambient today was 22.2C Fermenter ran at 21C. Outside it was 23C. Rain finally arrived in the afternoon. Steady drizzle for the day. Temps are steady.

Not much going on. We're just waiting now. Cleaning more bottles. I have about 8 cases cleaned and ready to use. About 3 of them are regular type bottles to take crowns and you need a bottle opener. The others are screw off crown types. I have been testing a few to see how it seals. I had some small bottles of soda I poured in and then capped. Left them for a week to see how well they retained their gas. I'd say it was a success. I did find that taking is slow and steady seems the best way to make sure they seal. The process might take a bit longer to do but the result works.

I've also been soaking the bottles I scored with the extra gear I bought. There are some very solid bottles and some interesting ones. There are some painted ones from Mauritious. The label is painted on. Only 1 color on amber glass but looks cool and a bit olds kool. Phoenix Beer is the brand. I will need to bulk prime for these because they are all different sizes.

I have one that I am trying to work out what brand it is. It is an old style Aussie stubbie but it is over size. It also has these cupid like creatures embossed in the glass. I might have to test cap this one because of the very short neck the cap might foul the body of the stubbie. This style usually has a ring pull and not a crown.

This is the style https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSg0RFdeli1M1MpU5HIize-DSKvvrPt2gWTREoMU4ixEwi97Tft

[Libertytree]

That ring pull one looks to be a challenge! They don't sell them anymore in the states, that I know of anyway. Does it have the standard sized opening?

[Glass]

Day 18. Now time is moving but the SG is taking its time but it's been cold in there. Averaging 19C

1st reading was 1.020 (@20C Day 7). Corrected.
2nd reading was 1.015 (@21C Day 11).
3rd reading was 1.014 (@21C Day 13).
4th reading was 1.012 (@19C Day 18)

Day 18? Long ferment. Nights have been cold. Setup a fan heater on a timer. 15mins every hour after midnight. Didn't work last night. Heater has a knock over safety switch and if the floor is uneven it doesn't fire. So over the past 4 or so days the temps have been edging lower. It's nudging 19C.

I'm ready to bottle this one. I'm posting this on Day 19.

OG was 1.042 so technically we are in the zone.

I won't be doing it until at least tomorrow night so it may be closer to 1.010. Taste is lighter than KoB #1. It's juicy. I'm drinking the hydro samples and wanting more. Need to think about KoB #7. Want to get another one going ASAP. I got something in mind. Kinda hoppy redux.

[Glass]

Bottled today. Day 20.

FG was 1.011

There was still some yeast in solution so I think it could have gone longer but we're pushing 3 weeks ferment. A bit cool for ale yeast. The temp had been hanging around 18C.

Maybe we will get a better carbonation because of it. Let's see. Still thinking the lemon zest makes it a bit lighter in flavour. It tastes good.

We got
15 PET bottles
32 Stubbies - 330ml or ~12Oz

First time bottling in glass. Thought half an half would be a safe bet. Using non twist top glass so the seal should be no risk. Decided to stick with carb drops for this one. Tweaked the bottling process by hooking up a hose to the filling wand. That meant I could crate the bottles and fill them without bringing each one to the fermenter. Worked well for the most part. The hose did come loose from the spigot at one point so still had some spillage to clean up but the process was faster. Still a few weak spots but overall an improvement.

Need to find a warmer spot to store these bottles. Been monitoring the current local and it's colder than I'd hoped it would get. I think I'm going to have to add heat no matter where I choose. it's winter. thats how it is.

bit tight for cash this week so KoB #7 is delayed a week.

[Glass]

Well its about 13 days since I bottled this one. The carbonation has been progressing fairly well for such a short time. I checked these and KoB #6 yesterday. KoB #6 is even more carbonated at this stage. One of those is in the fridge to try tomorrow.

I used carbonation drops with KoB #5 but they were a different brand than the Coopers ones. CopperTun I think. These seemed more consistent in size. 3gms a piece. So 60 in a 23l batch, 180gms, 6Oz. They seem to work at least as good. We'll see how it progresses. They may be a better option. I think I prefer bulk priming. Definitely with odd bottle sizes.

Taste test. I like this beer. Trying to remember back to KoB #1. Taking into account this one was fairly old and the way it was stored was suspect. It has the maltiness. I think it's not as prominent. I added some fresh lemon zest to the boiled water. It is not obvious in the taste but the beer seems more summery. It's lighter. I think there is faint aftertaste after a couple of minutes almost like home made lemonade. I might add a bit more zest and see but it may not benefit from it. Is it like a cerveza? maybe.

[Glass]

22 days. I haven't opened a glass bottle yet. Sampled another 2 PET bottles. The remaining PET's still seem fairly soft still. These were good and carb'd. It's a winner. It will get high rotation. The lemon lightens the whole beer up. tasty. Got a second opinion today. Much like want more. I felt a bit stingy cause I only had the one bottle. The carbonation is great for the duration. Excellent rich creamy head. Tastes like summer. Shame is so wet and cold here now.

[Glass]

Coincidence. Saw a tv show with that theme during the week. I tried a glass bottled one of these last night.

When I bottled this brew I ran short of bottles and had to grab a couple on the fly. I forgot to prime them. I lost track of one and didn't bother to reopen the other one. I just labelled it. I figured at some point I'd be disappointed with a flat beer.

Seems first one I tried was the one that I lost in the beer forest. Lets hope. totally flat. No real sediment. I remembered this and decided we need to try again. Tonight is ok. Obvious sediment. Nice 1 finger head although does not last. Lacing ok, carbonation ok. All good. The remaining PET bottles are still very soft.

1 and one half thumbs up.

[Glass]

been a while. Had a chilled one of these in the fridge and not much else. Saving it to share with a friend. Rummaging around the cupboards I turned up maybe 8 12oz bottles of this that I didn't have before. I can crack this one. Happy days.

This is nice. Mellowed. Hint of lemon still. You kow it's there but its faint. You taste it on your lips like a warm chilli. Non of the other slight smells or taste elements remain. Nice beer. Good beer. Licking out glass kind of tasty.

It's interesting seeing how a beer changes. It ebbs and flows. I feel like this beer is back where it was at maybe week 4 in the bottle. Anyway there is still a half to drink. Old Alfie used to say that. I'll have arf.