Kit O' Beer

[Glass]

I picked up one of these Coopers DIY beer kits last weekend. Having a look around, one of the big liquor outlets had them for $80. Doing the numbers on all the bits bought separately and its clear the kit is a cheaper option.

It was warmer this week with a spike up to 30C. Summer is coming and it's ironic that larger, a good summer drop is best brewed in colder temps. In olden days past it probably worked out ok. Ideal temp for larger ferment is 16C. Not going to get that here without controlled environment.

It was cool yesterday so I brewed. Fairly straight forward I think. You sanitise like an obsessive, boil 3 ltrs water. Stand can of liquid malts upside in another pan of hot water. Pour box of Enhancer #1 in fermenter, pour in 2L boiled water, stir well, pour in malt liquids, last 1lt boiled water to rinse can and pour in, fill to nearly 23L, with cold water. Check temp and top with chilled or cold water as you need to target 21C.

I forgot about the temp and it was above 30 when I remembered. There is a litre or so extra chilled in there to bring it down to about 22 but it took a while. Sitting in a trough of water, iced bottles around, wet towel and fan. Down to 16C over night. Not going to be able to hold that in the day. Cooler today and I might get a few crucial days of low-mid 20C. So it's possible I could keep low 20 for a few days.

we will see. Now we just keep cool and wait.

I watched a lot of this guys videos for anyone who is interested.
I did pretty much this but only used what came in the kit.


He has 4 parters taking you through the whole process to bottling using the kit.

[Libertytree]

Which type of beer did you decide to make? What hops came with it? Yeast? Timeline?

[Glass]

The kit came with an aussie larger in a can so I decided on that one. time line? who knows. 7 days till looking to rack I suppose. We are still sitting around the 16 - 18C mark. The ambient is 24C. I wont be able to tend it on a working day so the temp will climb during the day.

End of week will be mid 30's so need to bottle by then. I can use some coolers to control temps a bit better when its bottled.

I notice what I think is some undissolved dextrose or what ever it was, enhancer above the tap and below it around some angled parts of the fermenter. Figured I wouldn't disturb things. I think something is going on in there.

I didn't take a OG because can't access tap with it in the trough. figured a small hose to syphon a bit off. Safe to do that? sanitized of course.

went to the brew shop to check out what they had. mix of stuff and a decent range but not a lot of choice. picked up a glass tempometre, a tap for a pail type fermenter and some white bottle caps so I can label.

[Libertytree]

The kit came with an aussie larger in a can so I decided on that one. time line? who knows. 7 days till looking to rack I suppose. We are still sitting around the 16 - 18C mark. The ambient is 24C. I wont be able to tend it on a working day so the temp will climb during the day.

End of week will be mid 30's so need to bottle by then. I can use some coolers to control temps a bit better when its bottled.

I notice what I think is some undissolved dextrose or what ever it was, enhancer above the tap and below it around some angled parts of the fermenter. Figured I wouldn't disturb things. I think something is going on in there.

I didn't take a OG because can't access tap with it in the trough. figured a small hose to syphon a bit off. Safe to do that? sanitized of course.

went to the brew shop to check out what they had. mix of stuff and a decent range but not a lot of choice. picked up a glass tempometre, a tap for a pail type fermenter and some white bottle caps so I can label.

Don't quote me on this and I'm sure BT has a definitive answer but I don't think you have to worry as much about the temp after its been bottled.

Yeah, it's safe to siphon some off, just sanitize whatever you use and it'll be fine.

[mick silver]

dam guys you all are making me want to make my own beer ,are there any good links to learn some of the basic stuff one would need to know .if so pm me thanks mick ... would a old copper moonshine sill work for beer

[Glass]

I linked to a video on YT of how I did it. See a couple posts below.

If you want to watch more longer videos here is CraigTubes brew video list for easy home brewing. There are lots of other good brew videos, full mash, extracts, this n thats. Seems you don't need to invest a lot to get going. Check out the Poor mans garbage can beer

I managed to keep the fermenter at about 18C for the weekend. The brewing weather gods were smiling. Still smiling today as we have 23-24C today. The fermenter does not have an air lock on it. It is a newer version of the Tooheys kit and it is supposed to burp excess gas. I have the beer wrapped in a damp towel and realized that the weight of the towel might stop the gas getting out as freely. Uncovered the fermenter for 30 minutes late at night and again early in the morning. Both times a nice beer aroma filled the room.

There are some things going on in the fermenter but its pretty laid back in there. Aussie lager so I suppose thats ok. It has maybe 1cm of foam floating on top and in one area there is a fairly large mound of foam where most of the action seems to be happening.

This kit apparently has ale yeast in it even though it's a lager, so newbies could brew at higher temps. I am trying to do it closer to lager temps so I'm figuring the ferment could be a bit longer than the 7 days or so expected.

[mick silver]

would a old copper moonshine sill work for beer ?

[Libertytree]

would a old copper moonshine sill work for beer ?

I don't know why not. All you're doing is boiling water, syrup, sugar and hops.

[Libertytree]

I linked to a video on YT of how I did it. See a couple posts below.

If you want to watch more longer videos here is CraigTubes brew video list for easy home brewing. There are lots of other good brew videos, full mash, extracts, this n thats. Seems you don't need to invest a lot to get going. Check out the Poor mans garbage can beer

I managed to keep the fermenter at about 18C for the weekend. The brewing weather gods were smiling. Still smiling today as we have 23-24C today. The fermenter does not have an air lock on it. It is a newer version of the Tooheys kit and it is supposed to burp excess gas. I have the beer wrapped in a damp towel and realized that the weight of the towel might stop the gas getting out as freely. Uncovered the fermenter for 30 minutes late at night and again early in the morning. Both times a nice beer aroma filled the room.

There are some things going on in the fermenter but its pretty laid back in there. Aussie lager so I suppose thats ok. It has maybe 1cm of foam floating on top and in one area there is a fairly large mound of foam where most of the action seems to be happening.

This kit apparently has ale yeast in it even though it's a lager, so newbies could brew at higher temps. I am trying to do it closer to lager temps so I'm figuring the ferment could be a bit longer than the 7 days or so expected.

Sounds like it's coming along nicely! Don't ya love that smell!

Also, to the best of my understanding using "lager" ingredients does not get you a lager beer. A beer can only be a lager if it is cold fermented for X amount of time. I found this to help me explain but BT has a better explanation, I'd bet on it!


"Beers fall into two broad categories: Those that are produced by top-fermenting yeasts (ales) and those that are made with bottom-fermenting yeasts (lagers). There are hybrids, but that's another discussion.


Ales came first, when brewers weren't exactly sure what role yeast played. Because ales were unstable, brewing ceased in warm weather and brewers would store reserves in as cool or cold an environment as they could find. Brewers storing their beer in very cold Alpine caves found that their beer was more stable because the yeast had sunk to the bottom.


We won't go into the evolution of this yeast, but this storage (lagerung in German) naturally selected bottom-fermenting yeasts. Operating at colder temperatures these yeasts worked slower, producing beer more attenuated, cleaner, rounder and less fruity than ales. Fermentation took one to three months.


Ales include everything with ale in the name (pale ale, amber ale, etc.), porters, stouts, Belgian specialty beers, wheat beers and many German specialty beers. They generally have a more robust taste, are more complex and are best consumed cool (50F or a bit warmer) rather than cold.


Lagers include pilseners, bocks and dopplebocks, Maerzens/Oktoberfests, Dortmunders and a few other styles found mostly in Germany. They are best consumed at a cooler temperature than lagers, although anything served at less than 38F will lose most of its flavor. "

[BrewTech]

I'd say that explanation is spot on... exactly the way I would have tried to explain it.