First Brew

kirky80

I am just about to start my first brew (coopers english bitter), I have got a coopers DIY ferminting vessel with the krausen collar, therefore, no airtight lid and/or airlock.  I have spoken to someone briefly today and he said that the best way to do it is to do the primary ferment in the coopers vessel, then syphon it to an airtight vessel (with airlock) add finings and leave a further few days, during which i obviously clean and sterilise the coopers equipment, then after a few days syphon back to the coopers FV, add100-120g of castor sugar (dissolved in a pint of the brew) and transfer to bottles. (I didn't want to get a keg just yet)

 

Can anyone tell me if this is the best way to do it,or should i just do it as per instructions i.e. ferment in coopers FV and transfer to bottles after a week or so.

Thank you!!

HBO_Staff

There are several ways to make your brew, the instructions with Coopers are the simplest, but they do not recommend finings as they are not really needed, but will help to clear the brew if you prefer to use them. If wanting to use finings then you could use a second vessel, but this is something you would choose to do rather than need to. It will result in a clearer beer but this means that secondary fermentation in the bottles will take longer.

Especially for your first brew we would suggest you keep it simple, brew the beer in the vessel Coopers supplied which is ideal, leave it until fermentation is complete, then use the bottling stick which attaches to the vessel to fill your bottles. The Coopers kits come with carbonation drops for priming the bottles, just add one or two to each bottle depending how fizzy you want it, and then leave it in the bottles somewhere warm for a few days to a week, before moving somewhere a few degrees cooler to help it clear. The brew will be ready to drink once cleared and after a couple of weeks, but ideally leave it somewhere dark for the best flavours to develop, a few extra weeks in the bottles makes all the difference.

The DIY kit comes with a DVD too which is really good showing the process, it is here on this page if you don't have one; http://home-brew-online.myshopify.com/collections/starter-kits/products/coopers-compete-starter-kit

Let us know how the English Bitter turns out wont you....