First Home Brew - slow fermentation - advice pleas

[sly]

Hi all,

Being a complete newbie to home brew, I'd appreciate any advice from someone who knows better.

Since pitching my first brew, a can of "Australian Draught" supplied with my home brew starter kit, the weather has cooled substantially. The air temperature has been around 16-18 degrees for the first week of fermentation. There wasn't any activity in the airlock for the first 2-3 days, when I realised I hadn't tightened the fermeter lid (d'oh).

After tightening, saw a bubble approx 1 every 10 seconds or so. This rate continued for a couple of days, and since then has stopped completely. I started taking hydrometer readings to see how everything was going.

After one week, sample tasted quite nice, a bit like a shandy. SG was 1.014. Now it's been two weeks, SG seems stable at about 1.007 - 1.008. Still smells sweet but with a strong presence of alcohol. Also tastes funny, tangy, a bit bitter / sour, not something I'd like to drink. The colour looks like a murky orange, almost brown. Also I've noticed the last sample is a lot less fizzy than the earlier ones.

So my questions:

Is it infected - what would infected beer taste like?
What should the beer taste like at this stage?
Is it fully fermented / ready to bottle - or has fermentation stuck & I need to add more yeast, etc. From what I've read and SG of 1.008 is too high.
I might not be able to get to botting until the next weekend - will it be ok to leave in the fermenter for another 6-7 days?
Any tips on the best/easiest way to wash / sanitise recycled bottles?

Being my first attempt I really don't know what to expect, so I'm willing to take any advice on board!

[Bum]

Is it infected - what would infected beer taste like?

Sounds like a first kit beer to me. There's a thing called "kit twang" - it is a challenge to brew a kit beer without any present (some people claim to not be able to taste it though, lucky buggers).

What should the beer taste like at this stage?

It will taste better with time but it sounds like this is what it should taste like. You claim a slow ferment but looking at your SG readings it seems kinda fast early on to me [EDIT: looking at it again, I've got this a bit backwards, time seems reasonable. Sorry]. This can make for some not so perfect flavours. Plus, I wouldn't be hoping for anything too great from a kit labelled something so vague as "Australian Draft".

Is it fully fermented / ready to bottle - or has fermentation stuck & I need to add more yeast, etc. From what I've read and SG of 1.008 is too high.

1.008 is probably only high if you added dry enzyme to the brew. Otherwise I'd say she's done.

I might not be able to get to botting until the next weekend - will it be ok to leave in the fermenter for another 6-7 days?

This is pretty much always a good idea. More time lets the yeast clean up after itself, clears the beer a bit and beer conditions faster in larger volumes.

Have a read of these two threads before you start the next brew.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3814
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1966
Lots of good advice. Not all of it will be relevant to you - you can pick and choose what you want to try.

[Guru]

Welcome sly, good advice there from Bum. The only thing I can add is that you shouldn't judge your first beer too harshly. The cans that come in the home brew kits are generally at the poorer end of the scale in my opinion. I remember the one that came with my kit almost put me off brewing a second batch.

[sly]

Thanks, guys, for the replies.

I bottled the batch last week & it's tucked away in a dark cupboard. Hopefully the taste will improve with time.

Will definitely try something different for the next batch.

Can anyone recommend kits for a newbie that would produce better results?

[Marty]

Hi Sly,

I can highly recommend Boonie's LCPA. Link is here - http://homebrewandbeer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4814&hilit=boonie%27s+lcpa

Also highly recommended is Earle's Stone & Wood. Link is here http://homebrewandbeer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=10660

Both are very easy to make and very enjoyable.

Marty

[Tipsy]

Can anyone recommend kits for a newbie that would produce better results?

I always enjoyed the Coopers Sparkling Ale kit with some cascade hops added.