Jay Gaulard Blog

Coopers Stout Was Bottled

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Brewing the Coopers Stout gave my an opportunity to use my new bottle caps and capper. It also gave me an opportunity to use some glass bottles and eventually taste some more Stout. I like Stout.

Yesterday was the third day of the hydrometer reading 1.010. That means bottling is ready. I gave it five days. They say that if you let fermented beer sit too long, it can go bad. I had to get this stuff in the bottles.

I also took this pretty picture for you. Overall, I got 63 bottles out of the 23 liters I brewed. I have no idea how it’s going to taste, but hope it’s good. The capping was relatively simple and the capper worked great. The only issue was that I needed to adjust the height every so often, because some of the bottles were different sizes. That was really no big deal though. I would say the whole process took about an hour.

I am going to drink some of this beer before I go ahead with the Coopers Irish Stout. Firstly, I am almost out of bottles, second, I am running out of room to put them and thirdly, it’s just ridiculous having that much beer in the house.

I Brewed Real Beer!!! - Coopers Lager

Tuesday, February 26th, 2008

Tonight, I cracked open my first real home brewed beer. It’s the Coopers Australian Lager. I know I have told you many times that I don’t like light beers, and I still don’t. I have to say though, this beer ain’t have bad.

I poured it into my favorite beer mug and took a sip. I was surprised to see that it tasted just a bit better than the day I bottled it (two weeks ago…to the second). I was also surprised to see that it actually tasted like real beer. Laura took a sip too. We both agree that it tastes like Corona. Stick a lime in this thing and sit by Rob’s pool on a hot August day. There you go.

Looks pretty good, right? Two big parts of my beer drinking experience are the bottle the beer comes out of and the glass I am pouring it into. This looks like the real deal.

Today, I read that I should bottle my next batch…Coopers Stout, between 4-7 days, and after the hydrometer has a consistent reading for two days in a row. Today is the fourth day and the hydrometer read “1.010″ both yesterday and today. This batch is brewing faster than the lager partly because of the type of beer and partly because of the warmer temperature I am keeping it at.

With the hydrometer readings the way they are, I bottled one beer today. I wanted to make sure my capper was working properly for the remainder of them. Everything worked fine. I am keeping it stored upside down, just to see if there are any leaks. If not, I think tomorrow is the day to bottle them.

My Beer is Clear - Australian Lager

Sunday, February 17th, 2008

I picked up a bottle of my home brew this morning to notice that it was clear. I mean, it may have some color to it…I wouldn’t know, the bottle is brown. What I am saying is that the cloudiness has disappeared. Actually, I think it all settled to the bottom.

The bottles seem to be fully carbonated at this point because they all feel hard. I can squeeze them just with my fingertips. This Tuesday will be one full week since I bottled them. Next Tuesday will be the full two weeks I need to let them ferment before I am allowed to crack one open to try. I really can’t wait.

So far, I only have about ten glass bottles saved up. I need about thirty more before I can make my next batch of beer…the Stout. I have the capper and the caps, so all I need is the actual beer ingredients and the bottles.