hmmm think the missus might get upset if I leave a full bucket in the kitchen for a month.... and the shed might be too cold.
I bought the starter set from wilko (bucket , barrel , syphon) - added a gas injector barrel cap recently , and a new tap - barrel is now totally air tight! also got 24 bottles from the range (swing top reuseable) now a question of my own - the cider went down well (mixed fruit was nice , grape based elderflower not so much) - going to make some Belgian style lager, but want to flavour with lemon/lime best way to add it? in the primary on day 1? and ofc - zest or juice?
It depends on how strong you want the lemon taste to be - assuming that it works the same as hopping. Adding at the beginning will produce a more subtle lemon taste (and, I'm guessing, more of a marmalady bitterness) than adding at the end of the primary or in the secondary fermentation. Adding to the secondary fermentation (i.e. in the bottles or keg) will produce a brighter, more lemony taste - but at the risk of overpowering any hoppy characteristics the beer might have. If you want to add at the beginning, add peel during the boil; if you add as a late addition or as part of the secondary fermentation, I'd use juice - although you'll need a lot - the recommendations I've read are that the juice of 1/2 a lemon per litre of brew is required , meaning that you'd need 12 lemons per 25l brew.
Well this weekend was all about Cider making Everything setup, the press and the small wood chipper (stainless steel of course) The fermentation vessels are in the house where they will reside as they are so very difficult to move when each is full with 60L of Juice. We have 10 different varieties of cider apple in our orchard, totalling 27 trees, some of them were rammed with fruit some didn't have a great year, We had 5 varieties that really fruited well and we mainly used them, but we were able to use all 10 varieties for this pressing. It took 9 Barrow loads of Apples to get enough juice for about 145L of Cider, 2x 60L and 1x 25L We still have a decent amount of apples left and could have probably made another 60L or so, but we were running low on all but 3 varieties of apple so it would have been a very different final batch as we were mainly running on Dry apples at the end so much less juice. just a small shot of the different apples we had in one barrow, Because we used the chipper all we did to prep each apple was wash it (filled a barrow with water and put apples in there) then cut them to check for damage and insects, then they were shredded. Transferring the pulp to the press, you could really tell the difference in the apples here, if they were quite juicy they pulp would easily slide out, if it was a dry apple it would need coaxing with a spatula. The juice flowing, we collected the juice in a sanitized bucket (this was an old koi food one) that was then poured into the fermentation vessels equally so we were able to get the same blend of juice in each vessel. The fresh juice, we tried each different batch of juice when we got different apples to see what it was like, all was really good. You can really taste the difference between the varieties. The squeezed pulp was put into buckets in the 'puck' shape that it comes out of the press. The pucks were not wasted at all, Most of them went to our pigs (who will be in the freezer in 2 weeks, YUM!!) some went to the chickens, geese, ducks, goats and sheep and what we deemed as not needed went to the compost bins. All into the fermentation Vessels, At this stage we have just added nutrient and campden tablets, this kills the natural yeast that's in there, and gets the nutrients into the juice, 24 hours after this we will add the yeast, and then wait. Bottling will be done I think at the start of December, but we will rack it in 6 weeks or so. It will then be in bottles till we drink it, Above is a bottle I opened about 30 mins ago that was made in 2013 and its beautiful, quite dry and not overly sweet but a light fizz and tastes wonderful. All I need to do is get some form of label designed and made to jazz it all up, I will say SG readings say this will be about 7%abv when done
ok so a slight hiccup tonight - using coopers European mix added lime and lemon peel - then realised the instructions say to use brew enhancer over dextrose for the taste ; will it hurt the wort if I leave it for 24 hours in the airing cupboard without yeast in it? just 23 litres of brown liquid?
Yes, it could hurt the wort. The wort is perfect food for bacteria so the yeast needs get in there asap (immediately!) to outcompete the nasties. It's a war zone in there and the more time the bacteria have with all that food to themselves, the more off-flavours your beer will have. It's not ideal, but you could add brew enhancer after pitching the yeast. The problem is that since you've already added dextrose, this will throw your OG way out and you'll end up with a much stronger beer. Did you use 1KG dextrose? If so, you could add 500g of DME (dry malt extract) later instead of brew enhancer (which is just pre-mixed dextrose + DME). It's still not ideal but you'll get the benefit of DME without sending the gravity through the roof! Or you could just pitch the yeast and add nothing extra, and chalk it up as experience. The beer will still be OK, it'll just have less body than if you'd added DME. Whatever you decide to do, you need to pitch that yeast now!
Add 700g dextrose now, pitch the yeast and get it under an airlock. Add 500g DME as soon as you can get it. OR Add 1KG dextrose now, pitch the yeast, get it under an airlock and add no more fermentables later. This is the safest bet because adding fermentables after pitching the yeast is not ideal (infection risk and you don't want to aerate the wort after pitching the yeast. Not a problem with dextrose, but DME can go clumpy if not well stirred-in).
chucked the 1kg bag of sugar in and added the yeast ontop. next time I`ll make sure I have the right stuff first... still new to this do I want it in the airing cupboard ?
RTFM before you start next time. FORGET WHAT'S WRITTEN IN THIS EDIT - SEE THE POST BELOW. Edit: just saw your edit. You want to put it somewhere where it stays between 18 and 22 degrees C. Ideally about 19-20, certainly no higher than 25 (or the yeast will produce funky tasting esters) and not below about 16 (the yeast will sleep). Keeping it at the correct and stable temperature is one of the keys to making great beer.
I've just looked up the kit you're using - Coopers European lager - is that right? If so, you can forget my temperature advice above as that's for ale yeasts. Your kit uses a lager yeast which is a whole different kettle of fish. You're looking at below 15 degrees C fermentation temps, a diacetyl rest, and a long period of "lagering" at 2 to 3 degrees C. Ale yeast is MUCH simpler - ferment at about 20 degrees C, no diacetyl rest and no really cold "lagering". You've not made this very easy for yourself! Pick a lager kit that uses an ale yeast next time, such as Coopers Australian Lager. Much, much easier. Edit: This tells you which kind of yeast the various Coopers kits use (the few that use a mix of ale+lager yeasts are fermented at ale yeast temps): Original Series (including Australian Lager):- Ac (26807) International Series:- Australian Pale Ale - Ac+L (26807 Int) Mexican Cerveza - Ac+L (26807 Int) European Lager - L (26807 P) Rumoured to be Saflager Canadian Blonde - Ac (26807) English Bitter - Ac (26807) Brewmaster Selection:- Wheat - A (26807 W) IPA - Ac (26807 IPA) Irish Stout - A (26807 IS) Pilsener - L (26807 P) Rumoured to be Saflager Premium Selection:- Ac+L (26807 PS) Note: Ac = Coopers ale yeast, A = ale yeast and L = lager yeast
thank you! now - if I go and get some DME -should I open the bucket and add it? its still early in the brew process
think the European lager is shot - tried 1 for pressure today (been in the shed chilling , pressure quite a lot , a loud POP rather than a fizz. tried it and its undrinkable
