ooh bloody hell

[brysie]

oops rumbled.

oh the angst of a newbie home brewer.

[randomdave]

hehe I cant fault you really, i cracked open some of my recently bottled stuff last nite. I just couldnt resist

[Big Al]

Just to update, I have tried my latest coopers lager with spray malt, still young as its 8 weeks, but it does seem quite nice.
More of a Malty taste too it but that is to be expected. Gonna try one along side my coopers lager without malt.
To see which one I prefer and that should tell me if it is worth the extra expense

[verno]

thats a damn fine idea.

id love to know how the coopers lager that youve got conditioning with brewers malt turns out.

I have done Coopers lager with 500g light malt extract and some saaz hops. It wasn't as great to start with but I am down to about my last 5 litres and the recent ones which are about 3 months old are great. They have been left in a cold shed type area for about a month and they pour completely clear, look great and taste really nice.

Though I am not sure I can actually taste any hops. I also did the coopers brewmaster pilsner with just light malt and that tasted good to.

In summary I think they work better with a few weeks of cold conditioning and with as long a conditioning time as possible upto 3 months.

[brysie]

ok, so here i am just about to start me coopers bitter kit with a light spraymalt and im just reading the instructions,as you do.

it says for bottling `prime bottles at a rate of 8grams of sugar per litre`
now thats just over 3 and a half grams per pint. or over 140 grams per typical 40 pint kit.

i thought that around 80 - 100 grams was considered the norm, so does anyone have a definitive, specific reason for the correct amount of sugar required
or is it just down to personal preference/experience?

now....the bottles that i thought i had hugely overprimed at the beginning of this thread havnt exploded and [cos i had a cheeky taste tonight]
taste fine if a little sweet [early days yet]. theyre still slightly cloudy and im wondering if i put them down to condition too soon before secondary ferment had completely finished.

whaddaya reckon?

[randomdave]

8g sugar seems too much for an ale I reckon. I use that amount to do my lagers because I like em to be nice an fizzy. I reckon 80-100g would be better for ale.

As to the cloudyness I wouldnt worry overly about it, I think ive only had a few bottles mature enough (3-4wk) to actually be clear when im drinking it. So id just let it do its thing and it will probably fall bright. Could also be chill haze if they are too cold. The important thing is that it tastes good

[brysie]

cheers davey boy

that seems to be the common opinion on here i think but you have to wonder why the coopers folk recommend that much.
maybe they drink the bitter fizzy down in oz.

the coopers lager that got me back into brewing cleared like crystal in about a week though.
i brought a couple of the edme lagers back up into the warm for a few days, just to see if they would ferment some more, then put them in the fridge to do a taste comparison with one from the cellar last night.
they were clearer but the other one tasted better.
ive also got a youngs lager which is still in secondary ferment in pet bottles and that looks clearer too.

i think im taking this all way too seriously.

The important thing is that it tastes good

hello nail? id like you to meet head and hit him for me.

[randomdave]

hehe, when I started this I was overly concerned with the cloudyness, I knew part of it was me been inpatient an crackin open the bottles early. The only reason now i can think of as to why i was bothered is because people hear "Homebrew" see cloudyness an think its shite beer.

Now I realise im makin the stuff to MY tastes so sod everyone else. If its cloudy when i drink it then its just extra fibre in my diet, part of my one a day

Seriously though i think the level of clearing is also related the yeasts. Some yeasts fall out really quickly some take awhile.

Still all been equal, if ive made it ill sup it.

[brysie]

with you there davey boy.

ive read a few posts on here though and im wondering if i might have put me lager down the cellar a bit too soon after secondary ferment, so that theres
still too much yeast hanging around in suspension.
i might bring a few up and let them warm for a few days to see if the yeast will do a bit more, and then put them back down the cellar again.

cant hurt can it?

[randomdave]

Nah I wouldnt have thought so. Im thinking that could be why my lagers are staying rather cloudy too, I bottle em up an cant have 40 bottles layin round in the warm so I have to put em in my storage space once bottled.

Let me know if a quick warm clears em, I might then try it myself when I brew my next batch.

[brysie]

ok boy. will do.

i brought a couple up this afternoon and ill give em a couple of days and see.
mind, theyve been in the cellar for a couple of weeks and i reckon any yeasties might be dead by now.

i have been working on an idea for an insulated cupboard with a lightbulb in, that can go down there among the spiders
and see if that would help.

ill keep you posted.

[brysie]

ok. had a couple back in the warm for about 24 hours and they have cleared noticeably.

just putting them in the fridge now to sample later. be interesting to see if they go cloudy again. [chill haze?]

i did my insulated cupboard today and hope to get a min/max thermometer tomorrow so i can test it.
i might try and put a couple of photos on here if its any good.

[randomdave]

hehe nice one.
I had to do some diy to my beer storage cupboard to make it a viable space to store my precious brew when sorted.

If yours cleared down i think Ill get the remaining beers i have an stick em in the warm ready to stick in the fridge for the weekend.

[brysie]

sounds like a plan. let me know if it makes any difference then?

[randomdave]

Yeah will do, ill stick em in the warm tonite an give em a chill tommorow arvo an then sup the lot fri evening ^^